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Harry Houdini seance held in Melrose

E-mail|Link|Comments () Posted November 11, 2009 11:00 AM

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A shot from the recent Houdini Seance.

A group of Harry Houdini enthusiasts from across the US gathered in Melrose late last month to conduct a seance in hopes of contacting the late magician.

Yes, they are serious. So serious in fact that local Houdini enthusiast Gene Yee has issued a press release describing the event, which took place on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1:26 pm -- the time that Houdini died in 1926.

According to Yee's press release, the group used a professional medium to reach out to the "afterlife." A website on the event can be found here.

"Participants met on the grounds of Heathman Manor, the former estate of Anna Eva Fay,'' Yee's release said. "Fay was a longtime friend of Houdini's and a famous mentalist and entertainer in her own right.''

Houdini and Anna Eva Fay in the garden of her home in Melrose

The rest of the release follows:

According to Seance Director Sidney H. Radner, of Palm Beach, FL, "Houdini left complicated codes with magicians and friends to prove that if there was a way to communicate from the grave, he would do it.

"His wife Bess tried to reach him for 10 years," Radner said, "before she gave up. We honor his memory each year with this seance. We create the proper conditions at locations we feel can lead to success."

"Houdini and Anna Eva Fay corresponded for over 12 years," said Radner. "Houdini visited her home in 1924 and wrote a lengthy report about their afternoon meeting.

The Official Houdini Seance was by invitation only.