READING COMPREHENSION:ESCAPE ARTISTS : HOUDINI

ESCAPE ARTISTS : HOUDINI

Speaking Beyond the Grave

Master escape artist Harry Houdini died eighty-one years ago. The man remains legendary, his name associated with
magic, vanishing acts, and death-defying escapes. But few people know about his fight against spiritualists, or charlatans
who claimed to be capable of talking to the dead. Houdini believed they were nothing more than greedy people who
bilked others of money for a last chance to speak with dead family members and loved ones. Their claims were
fraudulent, and the magician spent the last years of his life exposing their lies.
Tied up with his death (pun intended), which history claims came from a punch in the stomach and a ruptured appendix,
have been rumors that he was poisoned. And now, his great-nephew wants the body exhumed for answers. Modernday
scientists and investigators will examine the body, test for poison or other foul play, and finally put to rest the
question: "Was Houdini murdered?"
In the 1920s, Houdini's pursuit against the spiritualists resulted in several death threats. As such, it's quite possible that the
magician, who was in extraordinary physical shape, didn't die a natural death. In 1924, for example, one spiritualist
contacted a "ghost" named Walter, who threatened, "I put a curse on you now that will follow you every day for the rest
of your short life."
Irregularities with the death certificate have caused additional speculation over the years. It stated that Houdini's appendix
was on the left side rather than the right. It also doesn't question that death from a stomach punch is highly unusual. Most
curious, though, is the fact that the death certificate was completed after Houdini had been buried!
In a bizarre twist, though, Houdini may be the one speaking from beyond the grave.