Master magician Harry Houdini and Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were unlikely friends, but they had one thing in common, a strong fascination with Spiritualism. Houdini’s interest began after the death of his beloved mother. Conan Doyle’s interest began after his son Kingsley died in World War I. After a séance where he believed that he had been contacted by his son, the author became Spiritualism’s most high profile supporter.

Spiritualism

Houdini and Conan Doyle first met in 1920 when Houdini was touring Europe. Doyle believed that the magician’s tricks were by other worldly sources as opposed to trickery. By this time, Houdini had a series of encounters with psychics and mediums to contact his mother’s spirits, and found them all to be fakes. During several years of his friendship with Conan Doyle and their long conversations about Spiritualism, Houdini kept his true feelings about these beliefs to himself. In fact, Houdini used his friendship with Spiritualism’s strongest spokesman to gain introductions and access to the highest circle of psychics and mediums.

Lady Conan Doyle

The rift between the two men began when Lady Conan Doyle conducted her own séance to contact Houdini’s mother using a popular psychic technique called automatic writing. During the séance, Mrs. Doyle’s writing yielded a voice that spoke proper Victorian English and made the sign of the cross. This offended Houdini because his mother had been a rabbi’s wife who mostly spoke Hungarian and Yiddish. The great magician, however, once again kept his displeasure to himself.

By 1923, Houdini began expressing his disbelief to his friend in private conversations that became increasingly heated.

Mina Crandon

Also in 1923, Houdini’s most public skirmish was with the socialite/psychic Mina Crandon who had gathered a following of supporters for her channeled spirit “Margery”, including Conan Doyle. She was most famous for her powers of telekinesis, or the ability to move objects with her mind. Crandon had accepted a challenge from Scientific American Magazine to anyone claiming telekinetic powers. Houdini sat on Scientific American’s prestigious judging panel. He attended a séance at the Crandons’ home. Initially, he was impressed by her powers, but soon saw the trickery. He asked for a second séance, but this time the medium would be put in a special box of Houdini’s design. Crandon reluctantly agreed to this precondition. This second séance was a failure. As a result, Houdini strongly lobbied the judges to give the socialite the thumbs-down, further exposing her trickery in a demonstration at Boston’s Symphony Hall. Conan Doyle, however, remained a strong supporter of Crandon’s psychic powers.

New York Times

Eventually Houdini and Doyle stopped talking to each other except in a series of feuding letters that were published in the New York Times. Houdini accused Conan Doyle of gullibility, while the author accused Houdini of doing anything for publicity.

Their friendship ended and Doyle died in 1929, a Spiritualist to the end.

Houdini died in 1931.