Harry Houdini

Harry Houdini died on Halloween in 1926. The official cause of death was peritonitis, internal poisoning resulting from a ruptured appendix. For full ten years after Houdini's death, his wife Bess conducted a séance each Halloween. Houdini had told Bess that if it were possible, he would send a message to her "from beyond", in secret code. Though Bess eventually stopped participating in the séances after 1937, members of the magic fraternity have kept the tradition going. Each Halloween, there are numerous Houdini séances held around the world.