867: John Cox - What's New With Houdini?

As we end our “Month of Boo'“ on The Magic Word Podcast, we close it out on the 98th anniversary of the death of Harry Houdini who passed on Halloween (October 31st), 1926. It is fitting that we have a chat with the internationally noted expert on “all things Houdini,” John Cox. John is the blogger of “Wild About Houdini” which is a daily blog about the master of escapes. He always seems to find some interesting nugget about Houdini’s life that has been long overlooked or “escaped” his attention.

If you are more of a visual person, then you might enjoy watching our conversation that was recorded over Zoom.

This week, John Cox talks about the many variations of the “Houdini Seance” since the first one by Bess Houdini first held on the year following Harry’s death. These modern day seances includes the current “Official” one hosted by Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brookz and the “Original” one hosted by Tom Boldt and Bill Radner. John also tells us some details about Houdini’s trial in Germany, plus he updates us on the books he is writing including the elucidation on Houdini’s diary from his early years before he rose to his legendary status.

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866: Albert Lucio - Do The Spirits Return?

Keep Austin Weird. That is the city’s slogan, and there is much that proves they are indeed, keeping it weird. One such business entity that does just that is “The Austin Seance” run by Albert Lucio and Jake Cordero. They conduct these seances throughout the year in and around the Austin area, but they are kept particularly busy, as you would imagine, during the “Month of Boo,” October. This week we chat with Albert about not only the seances, but also he provides us with a scholarly look at the rise of Spiritualism and more than just a brief history of this religion.

This week, Albert talks about Spiritualism in America, how it traveled abroad and why it captured the hearts and minds of the public. He also talks about The Austin Seance that is different from most seances you might attend. He tries to “keep it real” and not use any trickery or magic props or electronics. It is an “organic” seance that creates a new experience for guests each time they visit. One never knows what they will see, hear, or feel from one seance to the next.

865: Michael Rangel - Queen Mary Medium at Large...Ship

In the middle of this “Month of Boo,” we are getting much more serious about “things that go bump in the night” as we feature a Magic Castle member who regularly performs seances aboard the Queen Mary. This grand old ship sailed for 31 years before being permanently docked in Long Beach, California, operating as a passenger liner from 1936 to 1967. Michael’s seance is called “57 Ghosts” which runs sporadically throughout the year, but five nights a week now through November 3, 2024. For more information, Click Here.

We begin our chat discussing the loss of a mutual friend, Greg Arce, then go on to talk about other seance venues and how Michael got involved with and focusing on the Queen Mary. He shares several stories from the Queen that are, no doubt, also told with much more detail during the seance.