In this episode, we dive deep into the life of the legendary escape artist, Harry Houdini, and his surprising and eventually strained friendship with the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Houdini dazzled the world with his death-defying stunts and escapes, but as much as he wanted to believe in spiritualism, he couldn’t escape the doubts he had about its validity. In contrast, his friend Sir Arthur was so enamoured with the idea of the afterlife, Houdini couldn’t even convince him that he himself did not have true magic powers. Sp grab your handcuffs, hold your breath, and take a journey with us through magic and mediums!
CORRECTION: The world record for longest time spent awake is actually 18 days!
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SOURCES:
PBS - Timeline of Houdini's Life
Wild About Houdini - The life of Harry Houdini
The New Yorker - Harry Houdini and the Art of Escape
Villa Finale - The Spiritualist Versus the Illusionist: The Battle Between Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini PART 1 PART 2
Splice Today - Harry Houdini’s Spiritual Feud With Arthur Conan Doyle
American Magazine - When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (maybe) spoke with the dead
Murder & Mayhem - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Enduring Obsession With the World of Spiritualism
NPR - Lessons from sleeplessness: The 60th anniversary of Randy Gardner's world record
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