Harry Houdini: Master of Escapology

Harry Houdini has always been known as the worlds greatest escape artist. He has amazed people throughout history with his inane ability to crawl, squirm, and rotate his way out of anything you could put him into. People of his time were in awe of him; escape artists in our time worship him. It is with his amazing, and sometimes disturbing abilities, that has allowed him to pick the locks and free the wonderment in our souls.

As a child, Ehrich Weiss, now known as Harry Houdini, led his peers to believe he was born in Appleton, Wisconsin. Truthfully, he was born in Budapest, Hungary to Cecile Steiner Weiss and Mayer Samuel Weiss. However, when he was two, his family traveled to Appleton to begin a new life (Cox 1).

His family struggled severely. His mother suffered from the loss of many children, only six of an unknown number survived to adulthood. While his father went from job to job as a rabbi at any church that would offer to pay him. Eventually, they moved to Milwaukee in hopes of finding a better life for their whole family.

When Ehrich was in school, he was highly active in swimming, diving, and running track at the Pastime Athletic Club. This helped him build the physical strength he would require in order to succeed in the most dangerous escapes.
Ehrich began shining shoes and selling the Milwaukee Journal to help support his family. But the day after his twelfth birthday, he ran away from home.

While he was away his father left Milwaukee by himself to continue his career as a rabbi in New York City. After yet another failure, he gave up the ministry. He then found a monotonous job at a necktie-cutting factory. When Ehrich came home to find his father gone, he went on to New York and acquired a job at the same dull factory.

After Ehrich and his father collected enough money, they moved into a small apartment in Manhattan along with the rest of the family. But for this to be possible Mayer Weiss had to sell his beloved set of The Codes of Maimonides. This is a code of Jewish law written by a medieval Jewish philosopher, jurist, and physician. But then his father died in 1892 after having surgery for cancer of the tongue.

Ehrich originally became interested in magic when he was working for a photographer's assistant around the age of 16. While the photographer was on a break he showed Ehrich and his brother Theodore a magic trick. He made a coin vanish and reappear. The brothers were very perplexed and pestered the photographer until he consented to teach them.

Ehrich bought himself The Memoirs of Robert-Houdin Ambassador, Author, and Conjuror, Written by Himself and became deeply immersed in Robert Houdini's works and the art of magic. Robert Houdin, the Father of Modern Magic, quickly became Ehrich's idol. Years later Houdini wrote, from the moment I began to study the art he became my guide and hero. I asked nothing more of life than to become in my profession like Robert Houdini (qtd. in Cox 5). He soon partnered up with Jacob Hyman and began performing at local boys clubs.

Originally, Ehrich billed himself Eric the Great, but Hyman inspired Ehrich to go by the stage name of Harry Houdini. He took up Harry as an Americanization of Ehrie and Houdini, which is French for like Houdini's (Cox 7).
He worked constantly perfecting his various tricks, claiming my mind is the key that sets me free (Woodson

4). One such trick was the Needle Trick. He would begin by swallowing several needles and thread. Moments later he would regurgitate the needles. Every one of them threaded.

He was so incredible that he could amaze anyone with the simplest of tricks. He had "an unshakeable belief in his destiny, the courage to try virtually anything, and a smile and stage presence that captivated audiences (Cox 6)
Houdini's tricks were quite amazing and incredibly dangerous. He, however, never seemed to have the slightest trouble escaping from them. He effortlessly escaped from Scotland Yard.

Not even a transport wagon used to carry Russian convicts to Siberia was capable of holding him. He also managed to easily remove himself from an air-tight galvanized iron can filled to the brim with water and locked with six padlocks. All spectators were invited to bring their own locks. He had no fear of being held by a lock because he had never seen a lock of which he did not know the secret. He would collect locks in sets of two. One to take apart and study, the other one he would use for practice.

At all of his shows he would offer huge rewards to anyone who could keep him locked up. William Fenton, hoping to bring fame to his family, took him up on this offer. He sent a letter to Houdini which read, Dear Sir, I have a patent lock with wood handcuffs attached, and if you would allow me to fasten you, I challenge you to pick the lock if you will kindly accept the challenge, I shall be pleased to handcuff you at any time convenient to you (qtd. in Pain 5). The lock he spoke of was 150 years old, and only three were still in existence.

The lock contained three separate chambers, which must each be unlocked individually. Houdini was intrigued by the locks outward appearance, and requested permission to study it before he was cuffed. Fenton refused, fearing Houdini would discover the secret of the locks separate chambers, so Houdini declined the offer. Most spectators were amazed at this and assumed that the lock must be truly incredible for Harry Houdini to decline being handcuffed with it.

There are many beliefs as to how Houdini died. One of the most common beliefs is that in October 1926, Houdini told a group of medical students that his abs were so strong that they could punch him and it would not hurt him. One student surprised him by punching him directly in his abdomen without warning. Houdini could not tighten his abs in time causing him to develop a severe case of peritonitis and died on October 21. However, Scientists believe that he already had peritonitis and a punch to the stomach had nothing to do with his death and that this event never occurred (Punch 2).

Despite the many mysteries about Houdini's life, and his death, there are some things we know for certain. Only the insane would lock himself into an iron can full of water, and only the genius could get himself out again. It is by this method of combined genius and stupidity that Houdini held so many people under his awe-inspiring sway of wonderment.