Harry Houdini spent the majority of his life performing as an escape artist. Gibson said, "Whatever Houdini's hopes, ambitions, or claims in the twin-fields of magic and mystery, his name was built upon his skills at releasing himsel

In the remaining years of his life, Houdini concentrated on seeking out false spirit mediums. Gibson stated, "No phase of Houdini's career created more of a controversy and furor than his attacks on fraudulent spirit mediums and psychic swindles during the last few years of his life" (121). After his mom's death, Houdini started visiting spiritual mediums, as if to contact his dead mother. Houdini went to numerous mediums and found that all were fakes. Fed up with all the lies and robbery the spiritualists were performing, Houdini went to Congress. Houdini fought to pass a bill that prohibited fortune telling for fees in the District of Columbia. He publicized a general challenge for spirit mediums to say the name that his mother called him when he was a boy, but no spiritualist could to give the wanted information. At the congressional procession, Houdini told Congress how spirit mediums hide and get away with their work because it is acted upon like a religion. How Spiritualists rob money by telling things that are almost common knowledge and the victims get amazed and give donations. And that they say that they are ordained reverends but you can be unable to read, and can still be ordained (Gibson 125-6). Houdini said, "When the men have women in the room -- I have this under oath -- they get the women alone, and they have put their hands all over their bodies" (Gibson 126). Houdini Thought that congress needed a little proof of how false the spiritualists are and asked the audience of spiritualists of the pet name his father called him, and no one from the audience gave a word. Houdini wrote to the House of Representatives, "I hereby wish to change the conditions of the $10,000 challenge, especially for today, if any medium present will read and properly answer five sealed questions that I will write; if they will put the sign of the cross on a slate or if they will make any inanimate object move three times in my presence; in fact, if they will do any physical manifestation which they claim to do by spirit agency -- should I fail to detect, expose and duplicate what they have done, they may immediately take possession of the $10,000. The Congressmen present are to act as judges" (Gibson 127). N

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1494
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)