A Magician Among the Spirits
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
From my early career as a mystical entertainer I have been interested in Spiritualism as belonging to the category of mysticism, and as a side line to my own phase of mystery shows I have associated myself with mediums, joining the rank and file and held seances as an independent medium to fathom the truth of it all. At the time I appreciated the fact that I surprised my clients, but while aware of the fact that I was deceivingthem I did not see or understand the seriousness of trifling with such sacred sentimentality and the baneful result which inevitably followed. To me it was a lark. I was a mystifier and as such my ambition was being gratified and my love for a mild sensation satisfied. After delving deep I realized the seriousness of it all. As I advanced to riper years of experience I was brought to a realization of the seriousness of trifling with the hallowed reverence which the average human being bestows on the departed, and when I personally became afflicted with similar grief I was chagrined that I should ever have been guilty of such frivolity and for the first time realized that it bordered on crime.
As a consequence my own mental attitude became considerably more plastic. I too would have parted gladly with a large share of my earthly possessions for the solace of one word from my loved departed—just one word that I was sure had been genuinely bestowed by them—and so I was brought to a full consciousness of the sacredness of the thought, and became deeply interested to discover if there was a possible reality to the return, by Spirit, of one who had passed over the border and ever since have devoted to this effort my heart and soul and what brain power I possess. In this frame of mind I began a new line of psychical research in all seriousness and from that time to the present I have never entered a seance room except with an open mind devoutly anxious to learn if intercommunication is within the range of possibilities and with a willingness to accept any demonstration which proves a revelation of truth.
Customer Reviews
Extremely thorough but largely dull
I never realized Houdini was a genius till I read (most) of this book. His thinking and vocabulary are extremely clear, precise and logical. I gave this book 4 stars more as an historical document that documents the 1920’s craze in mediums and seances by one of its most famous stars. Houdini tells us who the major players were, what they did in typical 1920s seances, and how they did it - including some confessions from the perpetrators. He also writes thorough histories of the most famous fraudulent “spiritualists” in the 19th century, leading up to the 1920’s craze. It’s so thorough that it’s largely dull. I skipped through a lot of the book after reading the first 20-30 or so pages in most chapters. But still it’s a valuable historical document of the Roaring Twenties.