Haunted California: The Ghost of Harry Houdini

Laurel Canyon is one of the most recognizable areas of southern California. Yet many people don't realize that the ruins of one house in particular is haunted.

One night a young man spent some time with his lover on a balcony of his father's home. The two men were deeply in love and had grown accustomed to sneaking around and stealing those hidden moments when they could. On that night their relationship went horribly wrong. A fight ensued and before long the boy's lover lay dead on the ground beneath the balcony. The boy was acquitted at trial, but not before his father lost his gorgeous home. Most of his fortune went to defending his son. That was enough to convince many people that the house was cursed, but things got worse when Harry Houdini moved in.

Houdini was quite possibly the most famous escape artist in the world, but he was also fascinated with the supernatural and what waited on the other side. He turned to Spiritualism after his mother died and tried every way possible to contact her. Those close to him claimed that he was also convinced that spirits from the other side were helping him with his tricks and they were the ones responsible for his death defying escapes.

Harry would eventually move west to California in the hopes of becoming a star on the Hollywood screen. He moved into the same castle like mansion where the young man had killed his lover a few years before. Unfortunately his film career never picked up and most of his movies were dismal failures.

The mansion was home to a number of séances held over the years. At times Houdini believed he had some success in contacting the other side, though most of the séances ended in failure. Eventually he would go on to tell the public that he didn't believe in Spiritualism anymore. He even furthered his career by showing how some mediums faked their work and showing the public how the trickery happened.

Harry Houdini died after suffering from acute appendicitis. The magician started to become sick in late October, but refused to seek medical treatment. He continued to carry on his shows and suffered through his act. When he finally did seek treatment, an emergency surgery was performed, but doctors felt that he would never recovered. On Halloween night he passed away from complications due to his condition.

Houdini promised a few special people in his life that he would make contact from the other side after his death if there was an afterlife. His wife would see a number of people who claimed to receive word from him, but none were able to give her the code they decided on before he died.

Following Houdini's death his wife Bess continued to live there for a number of years before selling the Laurel Canyon house to a female writer. She would later leave the house and it sat empty for several years before it was destroyed by a fire that ravaged the area in 1959.

Though the house is long gone, some still believe that Houdini walks the ruins that remain. Many people have seen a dark shadow in the area, but only on Halloween night. Though no one was ever able to successfully contact him in the afterlife, many believe that his spirit still lives on, in the house that he once called home.

Sources:

http://www.prairieghosts.com/hollywood7.htmlhttp://ghosts-hauntings.suite101.com/article.cfm/haunted_hollywood_homes