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Miracle Mongers And Their Methods
Harry Houdini. Legend. Showman. Houdini's exploits and tricks of escapology are known the world over. What he accomplished still baffles the mind. We know what we see or what we think we see and can only marvel at his consummate skill. Here in his book Miracle Mongers and Their Methods he tells us much more than we knew or thought we knew.
161 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1920
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439 people want to read
About the author
Harry Houdini
129 books64 followersHarry Houdini, whose birth name in Hungary was Erik Weisz (which was changed to Ehrich Weiss when he immigrated to the United States), was a Jewish Hungarian American magician, escapologist (widely regarded as one of the greatest ever) and stunt performer, as well as a skeptic and investigator of spiritualists, film producer and actor. Harry Houdini forever changed the world of magic and escapes.
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August 17, 2014
When I was a kid I was obsessed with Harry Houdini, going through three stages from childish mystified hero-worship to mature intellectual respect. When other little boys were plotting their career paths as firemen, race car drivers, and cowboys, a PBS documentary on this man settled it for me. Stacks of picture books from the library served as research; the gift of a poster facsimile of one of his olde-timey promotional paintings was the coolest thing I owned; of course I pleaded for those beginners' magic kits.
A little older, my interest moved to the daredevil and escape-artist phase when my parents began to apply the brakes. Still later, long graduated from picture books to actual biography, I was fascinated to learn that he was an accomplished (and feared) debunker. He offered $$ rewards for people who could affect supernatural events that he could not mimic with fakery. He not only aped them, he outdid them.
The 19th and early 20th century was a curious period for science and entertainment. AMAZING DEMONSTRATIONS was a genre of live performance within which operated acts so wildly divergent as scientists like Edison and Tesla, magicians and escape artists like Houdini, and charlatans like The Davenport Brothers who took advantage of the current spiritualism craze and faked up ghostly manifestations and supernatural clap-trap, taking table-turning and spirit rapping from the parlor to the stage. Also among the fraudsters were those boasting amazing abilities in strength, endurance of pain, and astounding immunities to poison or fire.
This strange little book by Houdini himself reads like a more literary version of a report from a governmental agency. It reveals the mechanics behind a few dozen supposedly miraculous demonstrations being perpetrated on the public.
In the section on fire manipulators (fire-eaters, heat resisters, flame producers) the curiously literary facet of Houdini's interest begins with a brief cultural history of fire itself, its use in religious rites and domestic life, and identifies ancient precursors to his time's "miracles."
Then he starts pulling back the lush oxblood curtains in the theater of deception, exposing their secrets:
This quote opens the chapter titled THE ARCANA OF THE FIRE EATERS. How do you not love that? In it, he reveals the formula for a compound to be applied to the feet before walking across coals, and describes how "pure spirits of sulphur" would toughen the skin of the palm or lips and make them resistant to heat, "but if, after it has been very often repeated the upper skin should grow so callous and hard as to become troublesome...." Yipes! I doubt David Blaine will employ that method soon.
Other tricks involve alloys that glow at much lower temperatures than iron, brittle enough to be bitten. A bored-out nutshell stuffed with slowly smoldering flax, discreetly slipped into the mouth, allows one to spray sparks from the lips for a lively effect. You just put your lips together and blow. A sponge soaked in flammable spirits tucked into your cheek is a handy resource for oral geysers, but to prevent having your face burned off and the worst pizza burn you've ever had, keep that head back!
THE BURNING CAGE: A cage with bars wound with cotton linen soaked in kerosene is entered by the performer carrying a raw steak. The cage is ignited into an inferno. The performer exits unharmed (ideally). The steak? Ladies and gentlemen it's done! Well done! You'd think this would be a trap-door and switched-meat situation, but the cage was elevated on props. As the flames obscured the view, the would be heat-resister would hang the steak on a hook dangling from the cage's top, dive prostrate to the floor and cover himself with an asbestos cloak there while breathing face-down through openings in the cage bottom. As the heat subsided and flaming bars started giving off more smoke than flame, he slipped from his protection, smoothed it back flat, unhooked the beef entree, and emerged unbaked to claim miracle-man status. A trick, yeah, but still crazy dangerous.
HOW TO EAT A SPOONFUL OF MOLTEN LEAD, let it cool in your mouth, and produce a hardened mold of your tongue and teeth! Houdini supplies a formula for a lead with a low melting point because it contains bismuth and tin and other stuff, which you melt, take a cooling lozenge of, put it into your mouth to imprint your teeth and tongue, then allow it to cool further into the hard prop you will later pretend to produce spontaneously. On stage, you have some underpaid assistants wheel in a vat of actual molten lead and invite witnesses to join you, but not so closely that they can tell that when you dip your special spoon, the spoon doesn't penetrate the surface of the molten lead. The spoon is special because mercury is sitting in its hollow handle, fills the spoon's bowl when tilted (looking like molten lead) and then rolls back into the handle when raised to the lips by a practiced gustatory mountebank. If you accidentally ingest the mercury, call 911 or whatever equivalent your country offers. Have them test you for lead, too, while they're at it.
ON TO SWORD SWALLOWING. Get some dull blades (switched in with sleight-of-hand if they are demonstrated as sharp first), a little rubber sheath surreptitiously slipped on if they're pointy, and with practice and mental discipline the human throat can overcome the gag reflex and stretch to fit three or more blades. Encourage your children to try this at home.
BARFING JESUS MIRACLE Turn water to wine! Be a human vino fountain! Prep: after gorging yourself with water and puking it, repeatedly, to rinse out any pesky evidence of digestion's chunks and goo, you may then swallow a wine-dark dye tablet and stride onstage to find an array of glasses full of clear water. Drink them dry then vomit them back full of red "wine." Yes, people paid to see this. I do not know if anyone was paid to sip it and guess the vintage.
I really would love to go on and on with more examples, but I think I've delivered the gist, so I'll wrap that show up now. It should be remembered that Houdini did not go around spoiling the acts of fellow illusionists (unlike those traitors Penn and Teller); he aimed his skeptical eye only at those claiming supernatural causes and boasting special powers, people who were not only bilking folks for miracle-witness admission price, but often also then milking the awe to hock useless or harmful curative ointments, tinctures, unguents, and elixirs. This was way before the FDA.
Given how easy it is to be disillusioned by childhood heroes as you grow up to realize that adults are just humans and no humans aren't human, I feel I got lucky in the childhood hero lottery and found something out about mine that was so perfectly suited to undo that juvenile romance and encourage new habits of thought that had no need for a superhuman model, nor even any tolerance for that, as I was gently lured into the skeptic's realm of reason. Thanks, Harry!
A little older, my interest moved to the daredevil and escape-artist phase when my parents began to apply the brakes. Still later, long graduated from picture books to actual biography, I was fascinated to learn that he was an accomplished (and feared) debunker. He offered $$ rewards for people who could affect supernatural events that he could not mimic with fakery. He not only aped them, he outdid them.
The 19th and early 20th century was a curious period for science and entertainment. AMAZING DEMONSTRATIONS was a genre of live performance within which operated acts so wildly divergent as scientists like Edison and Tesla, magicians and escape artists like Houdini, and charlatans like The Davenport Brothers who took advantage of the current spiritualism craze and faked up ghostly manifestations and supernatural clap-trap, taking table-turning and spirit rapping from the parlor to the stage. Also among the fraudsters were those boasting amazing abilities in strength, endurance of pain, and astounding immunities to poison or fire.
This strange little book by Houdini himself reads like a more literary version of a report from a governmental agency. It reveals the mechanics behind a few dozen supposedly miraculous demonstrations being perpetrated on the public.
In the section on fire manipulators (fire-eaters, heat resisters, flame producers) the curiously literary facet of Houdini's interest begins with a brief cultural history of fire itself, its use in religious rites and domestic life, and identifies ancient precursors to his time's "miracles."
Then he starts pulling back the lush oxblood curtains in the theater of deception, exposing their secrets:
The yellow thread of exposure seems to be inextricably woven into all fabrics whose strength is secrecy, and experience proves that it is much easier to become fireproof than become exposure proof.
This quote opens the chapter titled THE ARCANA OF THE FIRE EATERS. How do you not love that? In it, he reveals the formula for a compound to be applied to the feet before walking across coals, and describes how "pure spirits of sulphur" would toughen the skin of the palm or lips and make them resistant to heat, "but if, after it has been very often repeated the upper skin should grow so callous and hard as to become troublesome...." Yipes! I doubt David Blaine will employ that method soon.
Other tricks involve alloys that glow at much lower temperatures than iron, brittle enough to be bitten. A bored-out nutshell stuffed with slowly smoldering flax, discreetly slipped into the mouth, allows one to spray sparks from the lips for a lively effect. You just put your lips together and blow. A sponge soaked in flammable spirits tucked into your cheek is a handy resource for oral geysers, but to prevent having your face burned off and the worst pizza burn you've ever had, keep that head back!
THE BURNING CAGE: A cage with bars wound with cotton linen soaked in kerosene is entered by the performer carrying a raw steak. The cage is ignited into an inferno. The performer exits unharmed (ideally). The steak? Ladies and gentlemen it's done! Well done! You'd think this would be a trap-door and switched-meat situation, but the cage was elevated on props. As the flames obscured the view, the would be heat-resister would hang the steak on a hook dangling from the cage's top, dive prostrate to the floor and cover himself with an asbestos cloak there while breathing face-down through openings in the cage bottom. As the heat subsided and flaming bars started giving off more smoke than flame, he slipped from his protection, smoothed it back flat, unhooked the beef entree, and emerged unbaked to claim miracle-man status. A trick, yeah, but still crazy dangerous.
HOW TO EAT A SPOONFUL OF MOLTEN LEAD, let it cool in your mouth, and produce a hardened mold of your tongue and teeth! Houdini supplies a formula for a lead with a low melting point because it contains bismuth and tin and other stuff, which you melt, take a cooling lozenge of, put it into your mouth to imprint your teeth and tongue, then allow it to cool further into the hard prop you will later pretend to produce spontaneously. On stage, you have some underpaid assistants wheel in a vat of actual molten lead and invite witnesses to join you, but not so closely that they can tell that when you dip your special spoon, the spoon doesn't penetrate the surface of the molten lead. The spoon is special because mercury is sitting in its hollow handle, fills the spoon's bowl when tilted (looking like molten lead) and then rolls back into the handle when raised to the lips by a practiced gustatory mountebank. If you accidentally ingest the mercury, call 911 or whatever equivalent your country offers. Have them test you for lead, too, while they're at it.
ON TO SWORD SWALLOWING. Get some dull blades (switched in with sleight-of-hand if they are demonstrated as sharp first), a little rubber sheath surreptitiously slipped on if they're pointy, and with practice and mental discipline the human throat can overcome the gag reflex and stretch to fit three or more blades. Encourage your children to try this at home.
BARFING JESUS MIRACLE Turn water to wine! Be a human vino fountain! Prep: after gorging yourself with water and puking it, repeatedly, to rinse out any pesky evidence of digestion's chunks and goo, you may then swallow a wine-dark dye tablet and stride onstage to find an array of glasses full of clear water. Drink them dry then vomit them back full of red "wine." Yes, people paid to see this. I do not know if anyone was paid to sip it and guess the vintage.
I really would love to go on and on with more examples, but I think I've delivered the gist, so I'll wrap that show up now. It should be remembered that Houdini did not go around spoiling the acts of fellow illusionists (unlike those traitors Penn and Teller); he aimed his skeptical eye only at those claiming supernatural causes and boasting special powers, people who were not only bilking folks for miracle-witness admission price, but often also then milking the awe to hock useless or harmful curative ointments, tinctures, unguents, and elixirs. This was way before the FDA.
Given how easy it is to be disillusioned by childhood heroes as you grow up to realize that adults are just humans and no humans aren't human, I feel I got lucky in the childhood hero lottery and found something out about mine that was so perfectly suited to undo that juvenile romance and encourage new habits of thought that had no need for a superhuman model, nor even any tolerance for that, as I was gently lured into the skeptic's realm of reason. Thanks, Harry!
April 30, 2014
Publicado en http://lecturaylocura.com/traficantes...
“Traficantes de milagros y sus métodos” y “Diez”. Dos curiosas propuestas
Hoy os propongo un par de posibilidades ciertamente divergentes entre sí; quién sabe las razones que me llevaron a alternarlas, pero el resultado dispar es, a pesar de todo, bastante apetecible. No hablamos de obras que vayan a pasar a la historia por su calidad, pero sin embargo, nos ofrecen un entretenimiento más que digno.
El primer caso es otro exponente de la “Houdiniexploitation” que estamos viviendo en la actualidad, bienvenido sea, pero con precaución, ¿qué es lo que nos podemos encontrar en este libro? Pues el menú de un tragafuegos:
“El menú solía consistir en lo siguiente:
De primero, antorchas de brea ardiente, carbón incandescente y pequeños cantos rodados calentados al máximo.
El asado, cuando Dufour se sentía realmente hambriento, consistía en nueve kilos de buey o media ternera. A modo de fogón, se valía de la palma de la mano o de la lengua. La salsa de mantequilla con la que se servía el asado era azufre, derretido o cera ardiendo. Cuando el asado estaba listo, ingería el carbón y el asado juntos.
De postre se tragaba los cuchillos y los tenedores, las copas, y los platos de barro cocido.
Se encargaba de mantener al público animado presentando todo esto con un espíritu cómico y grosero y, para reforzar el elemento cómico, incluía el número la participación de varios gatos amaestrados.”
Tal menú nos hace una idea de lo que surgió en la época en cuanto a esas figuras, Houdini se dedica a describir los pormenores, las vidas, los trucos que utilizaban estos personajes; desvelando al mismo tiempo la antigüedad de algunos de los trucos utilizados; estamos ante un desfile de rarezas que desafían nuestro sentido de la maravilla y que nos retrotraen a una época distinta que, probablemente, no se volverá a dar:
“Siempre habrá entre nosotros personas forzudas, ya sean embaucadoras o atletas genuinos. Pero, con el gradual refinamiento de los gustos del público, la demanda de exhibiciones como las que ofrecen tragafuegos, tragasables, masticadores de cristal y el repertorio entero del así llamado Avestruz humano fue decayendo paulatinamente, y sólo recuerdo un anuncio de la actuación de un artista de este género en un teatro de primera clase de este país durante la generación presente, y el número nunca llegó a efectuarse.”
Esos “dime museums” vivieron un “exploitation” en su momento que nosotros, actualmente, no podemos ni sospechar, pero sí podemos hacernos una idea, la televisión y sus realities han sustituido con creces a esos “freaks”:
“Todavía existía una demanda considerable de esas personas en los dime museums, hasta que el enorme incremento del número de establecimientos de esta clase creó una necesidad de freaks que excedía con mucho la oferta, y muchos se vieron obligados a cerrar porque no había freaks disponibles, ni siquiera a pesar del enorme incremento de los salarios que por entonces se produjo.”
No se equivocaba al suponer que con el tiempo ese tipo de representaciones escénicas desaparecerían.
“El dime museum ya no es más que un recuerdo, y dentro de tres generaciones habrá caído, con toda probabilidad en el olvido. Algunos de los números eran lo bastante buenos como para que mereciese la pena seguir a los empresarios en su incursión en el vodevil, pero estos no tienen cabida en esta crónica, cuya finalidad última es la de conmemorar ciertas formas de entretenimiento a las que el olvido amenaza con sumir en la oscuridad bajo la envergadura de sus grandes alas.”
Para los que hemos leído el fantástico “Cómo hacer bien el mal” que sacó el año pasado Capitán Swing puede que este libro nos resulte menos novedoso e, indudablemente, la calidad de este último era mayor; los lectores noveles lo disfrutarán mucho más. Mención aparte, las Ilustraciones de Iban Barraenetxea en mitad del libro que describen uno de los trucos del gran Houdini y que sirven de aderezo a esta buena edición de Nórdica.
diez-Gretchen-McNeil-portadaLa segunda curiosidad es algo que no me “pega” nada aparentemente; aunque los seguidores del blog y los que me conocen saben que una novela como “Diez” con el argumento de “Diez negritos” de Agatha Christie y un desarrollo de slasher noventero (estilo Scream), son dos reclamos más que suficientes para que caiga en ella sin remedio.
Gretchen McNeil es una escritora que fue cantante de ópera y en este segundo libro (enfocado al público juvenil, no en vano lo saca Maeva en su sello Young para este segmento); la premisa de partida es, como podéis imaginar, la novela de la gran dama del crimen; la primera parte, de presentación de los personajes, ciertamente resulta más cargante de cara al público más adulto que pudiera leerla: se reflejan con demasiados detalles los típicos amoríos juveniles y pueden llegar a un momento de saturación; afortunadamente, sin abandonarlos, entra en faena a toda velocidad y en cuanto empiezan a producirse los crímenes, pasan a un segundo plano y se integran con la trama principal.
La presentación del ambiente es, como de costumbre, necesaria para el buen hacer de la novela, una de las bazas para que funcione es mostrarnos el aislamiento y la impenetrabilidad del lugar en el que tendrán lugar los acontecimientos:
“White Rock House se erguía ante sus ojos. Mezcla de faro y mansión criolla, relucía como un foco en mitad de la nada. Había un patio cubierto y cercado por una balaustrada de hierro forjado frente a la fachada principal que continuaba por los laterales, los hastiales de la segunda y la tercera planta sobresalían por encima de las ventanas, quizá para protegerlas de la furia de la madre naturaleza. Del centro de la casa emergía una enorme torre de cuatro pisos que parecía no tener relación alguna con la fachada.
Por el rabillo del ojo, Meg percibió un resplandor en un lateral de la casa. Entrecerró los ojos y se dio cuenta de que todo el suelo alrededor de la casa estaba cubierto por piedras blancas y brillantes.
De ahí el nombre de White Rock House.”
A partir de ahí se sucederán las muertes, una tras otra, en un desarrollo típico de slasher y que recuerda “Sé lo que hicisteis el último verano” o “Scream” ; afortunadamente, la resolución está a la altura y funciona a la perfección mostrándonos a uno de esos enemigos que desafían las leyes de la cordura:
“Da igual -dijo Tom-. Eres culpable por asociación.
Una lógica genial y demencial.”
Teniendo en cuenta lo anterior, los elementos terroríficos y de típica novela policíaca se desenvuelven con la suficiente coherencia para obtener una lectura amena y que nos hará pasar unas buenas horas de diversión. Buena propuesta sin duda.
Traducción del inglés de Alicia Frieyro de “Traficantes de milagros y sus métodos” de Harry Houdini en Nórdica.
Traducción del inglés de Daniel Hernández Chambers de “Diez” de Gretchen McNeil en Maeva Young.
“Traficantes de milagros y sus métodos” y “Diez”. Dos curiosas propuestas
Hoy os propongo un par de posibilidades ciertamente divergentes entre sí; quién sabe las razones que me llevaron a alternarlas, pero el resultado dispar es, a pesar de todo, bastante apetecible. No hablamos de obras que vayan a pasar a la historia por su calidad, pero sin embargo, nos ofrecen un entretenimiento más que digno.
El primer caso es otro exponente de la “Houdiniexploitation” que estamos viviendo en la actualidad, bienvenido sea, pero con precaución, ¿qué es lo que nos podemos encontrar en este libro? Pues el menú de un tragafuegos:
“El menú solía consistir en lo siguiente:
De primero, antorchas de brea ardiente, carbón incandescente y pequeños cantos rodados calentados al máximo.
El asado, cuando Dufour se sentía realmente hambriento, consistía en nueve kilos de buey o media ternera. A modo de fogón, se valía de la palma de la mano o de la lengua. La salsa de mantequilla con la que se servía el asado era azufre, derretido o cera ardiendo. Cuando el asado estaba listo, ingería el carbón y el asado juntos.
De postre se tragaba los cuchillos y los tenedores, las copas, y los platos de barro cocido.
Se encargaba de mantener al público animado presentando todo esto con un espíritu cómico y grosero y, para reforzar el elemento cómico, incluía el número la participación de varios gatos amaestrados.”
Tal menú nos hace una idea de lo que surgió en la época en cuanto a esas figuras, Houdini se dedica a describir los pormenores, las vidas, los trucos que utilizaban estos personajes; desvelando al mismo tiempo la antigüedad de algunos de los trucos utilizados; estamos ante un desfile de rarezas que desafían nuestro sentido de la maravilla y que nos retrotraen a una época distinta que, probablemente, no se volverá a dar:
“Siempre habrá entre nosotros personas forzudas, ya sean embaucadoras o atletas genuinos. Pero, con el gradual refinamiento de los gustos del público, la demanda de exhibiciones como las que ofrecen tragafuegos, tragasables, masticadores de cristal y el repertorio entero del así llamado Avestruz humano fue decayendo paulatinamente, y sólo recuerdo un anuncio de la actuación de un artista de este género en un teatro de primera clase de este país durante la generación presente, y el número nunca llegó a efectuarse.”
Esos “dime museums” vivieron un “exploitation” en su momento que nosotros, actualmente, no podemos ni sospechar, pero sí podemos hacernos una idea, la televisión y sus realities han sustituido con creces a esos “freaks”:
“Todavía existía una demanda considerable de esas personas en los dime museums, hasta que el enorme incremento del número de establecimientos de esta clase creó una necesidad de freaks que excedía con mucho la oferta, y muchos se vieron obligados a cerrar porque no había freaks disponibles, ni siquiera a pesar del enorme incremento de los salarios que por entonces se produjo.”
No se equivocaba al suponer que con el tiempo ese tipo de representaciones escénicas desaparecerían.
“El dime museum ya no es más que un recuerdo, y dentro de tres generaciones habrá caído, con toda probabilidad en el olvido. Algunos de los números eran lo bastante buenos como para que mereciese la pena seguir a los empresarios en su incursión en el vodevil, pero estos no tienen cabida en esta crónica, cuya finalidad última es la de conmemorar ciertas formas de entretenimiento a las que el olvido amenaza con sumir en la oscuridad bajo la envergadura de sus grandes alas.”
Para los que hemos leído el fantástico “Cómo hacer bien el mal” que sacó el año pasado Capitán Swing puede que este libro nos resulte menos novedoso e, indudablemente, la calidad de este último era mayor; los lectores noveles lo disfrutarán mucho más. Mención aparte, las Ilustraciones de Iban Barraenetxea en mitad del libro que describen uno de los trucos del gran Houdini y que sirven de aderezo a esta buena edición de Nórdica.
diez-Gretchen-McNeil-portadaLa segunda curiosidad es algo que no me “pega” nada aparentemente; aunque los seguidores del blog y los que me conocen saben que una novela como “Diez” con el argumento de “Diez negritos” de Agatha Christie y un desarrollo de slasher noventero (estilo Scream), son dos reclamos más que suficientes para que caiga en ella sin remedio.
Gretchen McNeil es una escritora que fue cantante de ópera y en este segundo libro (enfocado al público juvenil, no en vano lo saca Maeva en su sello Young para este segmento); la premisa de partida es, como podéis imaginar, la novela de la gran dama del crimen; la primera parte, de presentación de los personajes, ciertamente resulta más cargante de cara al público más adulto que pudiera leerla: se reflejan con demasiados detalles los típicos amoríos juveniles y pueden llegar a un momento de saturación; afortunadamente, sin abandonarlos, entra en faena a toda velocidad y en cuanto empiezan a producirse los crímenes, pasan a un segundo plano y se integran con la trama principal.
La presentación del ambiente es, como de costumbre, necesaria para el buen hacer de la novela, una de las bazas para que funcione es mostrarnos el aislamiento y la impenetrabilidad del lugar en el que tendrán lugar los acontecimientos:
“White Rock House se erguía ante sus ojos. Mezcla de faro y mansión criolla, relucía como un foco en mitad de la nada. Había un patio cubierto y cercado por una balaustrada de hierro forjado frente a la fachada principal que continuaba por los laterales, los hastiales de la segunda y la tercera planta sobresalían por encima de las ventanas, quizá para protegerlas de la furia de la madre naturaleza. Del centro de la casa emergía una enorme torre de cuatro pisos que parecía no tener relación alguna con la fachada.
Por el rabillo del ojo, Meg percibió un resplandor en un lateral de la casa. Entrecerró los ojos y se dio cuenta de que todo el suelo alrededor de la casa estaba cubierto por piedras blancas y brillantes.
De ahí el nombre de White Rock House.”
A partir de ahí se sucederán las muertes, una tras otra, en un desarrollo típico de slasher y que recuerda “Sé lo que hicisteis el último verano” o “Scream” ; afortunadamente, la resolución está a la altura y funciona a la perfección mostrándonos a uno de esos enemigos que desafían las leyes de la cordura:
“Da igual -dijo Tom-. Eres culpable por asociación.
Una lógica genial y demencial.”
Teniendo en cuenta lo anterior, los elementos terroríficos y de típica novela policíaca se desenvuelven con la suficiente coherencia para obtener una lectura amena y que nos hará pasar unas buenas horas de diversión. Buena propuesta sin duda.
Traducción del inglés de Alicia Frieyro de “Traficantes de milagros y sus métodos” de Harry Houdini en Nórdica.
Traducción del inglés de Daniel Hernández Chambers de “Diez” de Gretchen McNeil en Maeva Young.
July 19, 2015
Erik Weiss mejor conocido como Harry Houdini (1874 – 1926) fue sin lugar a dudas el mas grande escapsita e ilusionista dentro de la historia de la magia, gracias a sus impresionantes escapes logró realmente cambiar lo que se conocía hasta ese momento como magia, nadie puede negar que hay un antes y un después luego de la increible carrera de quien se conoció como El Gran Houdini.
Aunque anteriormente ya había hablado de él en otra publicaión de este mismo blog en esta oportunidad voy a escribir sobre una parte que pocos conocen de este gran mago y es su fasceta como escritor aunque no propiamente de novelas pero si llegó a escribir unos pocos libros en el area que manejaba como nadie, la magia y el escapismo. En lo que respecta a su lucha contra el espiritismo desconozco exactamente cuantos habrá escrito, conozco el libro “A magician among the spirits” libro del que sale la bella publicación realizada hace poco en español por La Felguera Editores “Sherlock Holmes contra Houdini – Arthur Conan Doyle, Houdini y el mundo de los espirítus”, otro de sus libros aún no traducido fue “Houdini on Magic”, el editado por Capitan Swing “Como hacer bien el mal” y ahora esta hermosa sorpresa que presenta en español Nordica Libros “Traficantes de milagros y sus métodos” con unas geniales ilustraciones de Iban Barrenetxea.
En este libro que se convierte en un trabajo muy bien cuidado paro todo aquel que busque un poco de historia de la magia o que la practique Harry Houdini recopila y analiza a profundidad con fechas exactas, nombres de magos, ilusionistas y escapistas que lo inspiraron y quienes también de alguna manera dejaron su nombre dentro de la historia de la magia. Desde los casi imposibles usos del fuego por ilusionistas como Dufour quien mezclaba el humor con la magia en el Paris de 1780 para impresionar a los espectadores, los arriesgados faquires, Monsieur Chabert bautizado como el Rey del fuego en 1829, el español Lionetto quien se bañaba en aceite hirviendo y los tragasables hirvientes de Ling Look en 1877. El mago Cliquot quien tuvo en mas de una oportunidad altisimos riesgos de morir, Thardo desafiando cascabeles y Jack “el vibora”. Harry Houdini también hace mención de su completa biblioteca llena de libros antiguos como “De Mirabilibus Mundi” y “De Secretis Mulierum” ambos de Albertus Magnus o su cuidada y vieja edición “Hocus Pocus” de 1635 en las que se ocultan los grandes secretos para realizar estos efectos ante los asombrados espectadores.
Lo que hace aún mucho mas interesante y necesario este libro es que luego de la mitad el Gran Houdini descubre paso a paso la manera y los metodos con los que estos grandes magos realizaban sus trucos logrando salir airosos y con mucho éxito de cada uno de estos inolvidables riesgos en cada una de sus presentaciones. Todos ellos llenaban las salas de teatro, las tabernas y las calles llevando ilusion y riesgo a todo aquel que deseaba o bien regresar a su niñez o simplemente divertirse en una epoca donde la comunicación y las sorpresas eran muy diferentes a las que hoy en día tenemos.
A destacar el trabajo de Iban Barrenetxea como ilustrador de esta hermosa edición con unas caricaturas que no solo se encuentran como portada del libro ya que a mitad de su lectura encontramos una historia con los personajes y magos que son los protagonistas de este libro. Un libro imprescindible para todo mago, ilusionista o todo aquel al que simplemente le apasione la historia de este complicado y arriesgado arte.
“Mi vida profesional ha sido una cadena constante de desilusiones, y muchas de las cosas que causan asombro a la mayoría de los hombres no son más que el pan nuestro de cada día en mi negocio. En este libro he plasmado historias de algunas de las extrañas personas y atípicos artistas que he ido reuniendo a lo largo de muchos años de investigación.” – Harry Houdini
“Traficantes de milagros y sus métodos”
Harry Houdini
Editado por Nordica Libros (2014)
236 páginas
Aunque anteriormente ya había hablado de él en otra publicaión de este mismo blog en esta oportunidad voy a escribir sobre una parte que pocos conocen de este gran mago y es su fasceta como escritor aunque no propiamente de novelas pero si llegó a escribir unos pocos libros en el area que manejaba como nadie, la magia y el escapismo. En lo que respecta a su lucha contra el espiritismo desconozco exactamente cuantos habrá escrito, conozco el libro “A magician among the spirits” libro del que sale la bella publicación realizada hace poco en español por La Felguera Editores “Sherlock Holmes contra Houdini – Arthur Conan Doyle, Houdini y el mundo de los espirítus”, otro de sus libros aún no traducido fue “Houdini on Magic”, el editado por Capitan Swing “Como hacer bien el mal” y ahora esta hermosa sorpresa que presenta en español Nordica Libros “Traficantes de milagros y sus métodos” con unas geniales ilustraciones de Iban Barrenetxea.
En este libro que se convierte en un trabajo muy bien cuidado paro todo aquel que busque un poco de historia de la magia o que la practique Harry Houdini recopila y analiza a profundidad con fechas exactas, nombres de magos, ilusionistas y escapistas que lo inspiraron y quienes también de alguna manera dejaron su nombre dentro de la historia de la magia. Desde los casi imposibles usos del fuego por ilusionistas como Dufour quien mezclaba el humor con la magia en el Paris de 1780 para impresionar a los espectadores, los arriesgados faquires, Monsieur Chabert bautizado como el Rey del fuego en 1829, el español Lionetto quien se bañaba en aceite hirviendo y los tragasables hirvientes de Ling Look en 1877. El mago Cliquot quien tuvo en mas de una oportunidad altisimos riesgos de morir, Thardo desafiando cascabeles y Jack “el vibora”. Harry Houdini también hace mención de su completa biblioteca llena de libros antiguos como “De Mirabilibus Mundi” y “De Secretis Mulierum” ambos de Albertus Magnus o su cuidada y vieja edición “Hocus Pocus” de 1635 en las que se ocultan los grandes secretos para realizar estos efectos ante los asombrados espectadores.
Lo que hace aún mucho mas interesante y necesario este libro es que luego de la mitad el Gran Houdini descubre paso a paso la manera y los metodos con los que estos grandes magos realizaban sus trucos logrando salir airosos y con mucho éxito de cada uno de estos inolvidables riesgos en cada una de sus presentaciones. Todos ellos llenaban las salas de teatro, las tabernas y las calles llevando ilusion y riesgo a todo aquel que deseaba o bien regresar a su niñez o simplemente divertirse en una epoca donde la comunicación y las sorpresas eran muy diferentes a las que hoy en día tenemos.
A destacar el trabajo de Iban Barrenetxea como ilustrador de esta hermosa edición con unas caricaturas que no solo se encuentran como portada del libro ya que a mitad de su lectura encontramos una historia con los personajes y magos que son los protagonistas de este libro. Un libro imprescindible para todo mago, ilusionista o todo aquel al que simplemente le apasione la historia de este complicado y arriesgado arte.
“Mi vida profesional ha sido una cadena constante de desilusiones, y muchas de las cosas que causan asombro a la mayoría de los hombres no son más que el pan nuestro de cada día en mi negocio. En este libro he plasmado historias de algunas de las extrañas personas y atípicos artistas que he ido reuniendo a lo largo de muchos años de investigación.” – Harry Houdini
“Traficantes de milagros y sus métodos”
Harry Houdini
Editado por Nordica Libros (2014)
236 páginas
December 9, 2018
Part-expose, part-oral history, part-tribute to performers he respects and part-bitchy dismissal of those he doesn’t, Houdini’s 1920 book is a fascinating read. Freely available as a public domain book at the Internet Archive, on Project Gutenberg and as an audiobook on Librivox, it potentially has a huge audience, which it (mostly) deserves.
Opening with a discussion of the role fire has played in human history and pre-history, Houdini playfully points out, after describing the usage of fire in some Christian religious ceremonies that “I might call attention to the fact that the Devil is supposed to dwell in the same element.” It’s not the last time he’s slyly amusing in this conversational, occasionally rambling overview of his years of research and personal experience.
Spending the first few chapters on the long history of the art of fire-eating, and of fire-resistant acts, it takes Houdini a while to get around to exposing just how some of these seemingly impressive and, to their audiences, impossible feats were achieved. Essentially, it’s all down to sleight of hand, showmanship, imagination and household chemistry.
He devotes an entire chapter to ‘the Master' [Ivan] Chabert, a nineteenth century fire resister and poison eater who died in 1859, a quarter of a century before Houdini was born. Clearly admiring of Chabert’s legend, Houdini is still sure to sadly note that, after emigrating to the US in 1832 and embarking on a “financially disastrous” tour that couldn’t live up to his reputation in Europe, Chabert spent the last years of his life peddling quack cures from his pharmacy in New York.
After dwelling on the fire-eaters for so long (too long, really), in chapter six, Houdini reveals exactly how so many of their tricks were achieved. It’s a fascinating read, with the basic science explained quite clearly.
By chapter eight, Houdini has moved on to sword-swallowers and manages to condense his thoughts on the art and its exponents, how it’s done, and some fist-chewing descriptions of times when it’s gone wrong into one brisk, highly readable chapter.
“In New York, when swallowing 14 nine-inch bayonet swords at once, Cliquot had the misfortune to have a too sceptical audience, one of whom, a medical man who ought to have known better, rushed forward and impulsively dragged out the whole bunch, inflicting such injuries upon this peculiar entertainer as to endanger his life, and incapacitate him for months.”
Houdini knew Cliquot personally and is clearly an admirer of his work. The same can’t be said for at least one unnamed performer he watched:
“By apparently swallowing sharp razors, a dime-museum performer, whose name I do not recall, gave a variation to the sword-swallowing stunt. This was in the later days, and the act was partly fake and partly genuine. That is to say, the swallowing was fair enough, but the sharp razors, after being tested by cutting hairs, etc., were exchanged for dull duplicates, in a manner that, in better hands, might have been effective. This chap belonged to the great army of unconscious exposers, and the ‘switch’ was quite apparent to all save the most careless observers… His work was crude, and the crowd was inclined to poke fun at him.”
Ouch.
But the crude razor-blade swallower gets off lightly compared to a man called Bosco, a geekshow animal abuser who stole the name, but not the act, of eighteenth century conjurer Bartolomeo Bosco. “I also witnessed the disgusting pit act of that degenerate, Bosco, who ate living snakes, and whose act gave rise to the well-known barkers' cry HE EATS 'EM ALIVE! If the reader wishes further description of this creature's work, he must find it in my book, ‘The Unmasking of Robert Houdin’, for I cannot bring myself to repeat the nauseating details here.”
Houdini took stagecraft and performance seriously. Biting the heads off live animals isn’t stagecraft.
In chapter ten, Houdini writes of less grotesque reptile defiers, like “Thardo [who] was a woman of exceptional beauty, both of form and feature, a fluent speaker and a fearless enthusiast in her devotion to her art. She would allow herself to be repeatedly bitten by rattle-snakes and received no harm excepting the ordinary pain of the wound. After years of investigation I have come to the belief that this immunity was the result of an absolutely empty stomach, into which a large quantity of milk was taken shortly after the wound was inflicted, the theory being that the virus acts directly on the contents of the stomach, changing it to a deadly poison.”
It’s here that Houdini, reading this book almost a century later, starts to veer wildly off course. Even today, milk is sometimes touted as a cure for snake poison. It’s no such thing. Even worse, Houdini ends the chapter with a list of ‘cures’ for various types of poisoning that range from the obvious to the bizarre to the utterly ridiculous. Do NOT use this book for medical advice.
In his final two chapters, Houdini writes about strongmen (and women) and describes one of his favourite acts, the brilliantly named ‘Human Claw-Hammer’. He writes briefly and somewhat sadly about the decline of the ‘dime museum’ and its freakish performers, which he puts down to “the gradual refinement of the public taste.” Houdini died, aged 52 in 1926. So he never got to see what’s on YouTube, unfortunately.
Opening with a discussion of the role fire has played in human history and pre-history, Houdini playfully points out, after describing the usage of fire in some Christian religious ceremonies that “I might call attention to the fact that the Devil is supposed to dwell in the same element.” It’s not the last time he’s slyly amusing in this conversational, occasionally rambling overview of his years of research and personal experience.
Spending the first few chapters on the long history of the art of fire-eating, and of fire-resistant acts, it takes Houdini a while to get around to exposing just how some of these seemingly impressive and, to their audiences, impossible feats were achieved. Essentially, it’s all down to sleight of hand, showmanship, imagination and household chemistry.
He devotes an entire chapter to ‘the Master' [Ivan] Chabert, a nineteenth century fire resister and poison eater who died in 1859, a quarter of a century before Houdini was born. Clearly admiring of Chabert’s legend, Houdini is still sure to sadly note that, after emigrating to the US in 1832 and embarking on a “financially disastrous” tour that couldn’t live up to his reputation in Europe, Chabert spent the last years of his life peddling quack cures from his pharmacy in New York.
After dwelling on the fire-eaters for so long (too long, really), in chapter six, Houdini reveals exactly how so many of their tricks were achieved. It’s a fascinating read, with the basic science explained quite clearly.
By chapter eight, Houdini has moved on to sword-swallowers and manages to condense his thoughts on the art and its exponents, how it’s done, and some fist-chewing descriptions of times when it’s gone wrong into one brisk, highly readable chapter.
“In New York, when swallowing 14 nine-inch bayonet swords at once, Cliquot had the misfortune to have a too sceptical audience, one of whom, a medical man who ought to have known better, rushed forward and impulsively dragged out the whole bunch, inflicting such injuries upon this peculiar entertainer as to endanger his life, and incapacitate him for months.”
Houdini knew Cliquot personally and is clearly an admirer of his work. The same can’t be said for at least one unnamed performer he watched:
“By apparently swallowing sharp razors, a dime-museum performer, whose name I do not recall, gave a variation to the sword-swallowing stunt. This was in the later days, and the act was partly fake and partly genuine. That is to say, the swallowing was fair enough, but the sharp razors, after being tested by cutting hairs, etc., were exchanged for dull duplicates, in a manner that, in better hands, might have been effective. This chap belonged to the great army of unconscious exposers, and the ‘switch’ was quite apparent to all save the most careless observers… His work was crude, and the crowd was inclined to poke fun at him.”
Ouch.
But the crude razor-blade swallower gets off lightly compared to a man called Bosco, a geekshow animal abuser who stole the name, but not the act, of eighteenth century conjurer Bartolomeo Bosco. “I also witnessed the disgusting pit act of that degenerate, Bosco, who ate living snakes, and whose act gave rise to the well-known barkers' cry HE EATS 'EM ALIVE! If the reader wishes further description of this creature's work, he must find it in my book, ‘The Unmasking of Robert Houdin’, for I cannot bring myself to repeat the nauseating details here.”
Houdini took stagecraft and performance seriously. Biting the heads off live animals isn’t stagecraft.
In chapter ten, Houdini writes of less grotesque reptile defiers, like “Thardo [who] was a woman of exceptional beauty, both of form and feature, a fluent speaker and a fearless enthusiast in her devotion to her art. She would allow herself to be repeatedly bitten by rattle-snakes and received no harm excepting the ordinary pain of the wound. After years of investigation I have come to the belief that this immunity was the result of an absolutely empty stomach, into which a large quantity of milk was taken shortly after the wound was inflicted, the theory being that the virus acts directly on the contents of the stomach, changing it to a deadly poison.”
It’s here that Houdini, reading this book almost a century later, starts to veer wildly off course. Even today, milk is sometimes touted as a cure for snake poison. It’s no such thing. Even worse, Houdini ends the chapter with a list of ‘cures’ for various types of poisoning that range from the obvious to the bizarre to the utterly ridiculous. Do NOT use this book for medical advice.
In his final two chapters, Houdini writes about strongmen (and women) and describes one of his favourite acts, the brilliantly named ‘Human Claw-Hammer’. He writes briefly and somewhat sadly about the decline of the ‘dime museum’ and its freakish performers, which he puts down to “the gradual refinement of the public taste.” Houdini died, aged 52 in 1926. So he never got to see what’s on YouTube, unfortunately.
December 26, 2019
Houdini was a fascinating character and it's certainly interesting to read his work. In this book, he provides a brief history of "miracle mongers" (performers of what we'd today consider to be side-show stunts like walking on hot coals or eating stones) and exposes many of their methods. His purpose was, as many magicians have followed in his footsteps by doing, to prevent people from being deceived into believing that acts of trickery were anything more than entertainment.
This is a grand tradition of debunking, and Houdini was one of its greatest practitioners. However, the particular "miracles" under consideration in this book are little more than historical curiosities to the modern reader, which leaves us in a rather unusual position of reading an excellent book of little relevance to ourselves.
Readers interested in stories about Houdini will not be impressed by this book. The only personal anecdotes in its pages detail Houdini's encounters with performers of the types of material about which he writes. Furthermore, readers interested in learning the actual methods behind these stunts would be STRONGLY advised to choose a different book. Houdini's descriptions of the methods provide enough information to demonstrate to the reader that these feats can be achieved by natural means, but they are not complete enough (nor always accurate enough) for would-be performers to risk their lives by following his instructions.
However, if your interest is historical or academic, this is just the book for you. It provides a historical account of a fascinating branch of the performing arts and a unique skeptical perspective on workers of wonders. This book is highly recommended for this select audience; general audiences may be disappointed by its academic tone.
This is a grand tradition of debunking, and Houdini was one of its greatest practitioners. However, the particular "miracles" under consideration in this book are little more than historical curiosities to the modern reader, which leaves us in a rather unusual position of reading an excellent book of little relevance to ourselves.
Readers interested in stories about Houdini will not be impressed by this book. The only personal anecdotes in its pages detail Houdini's encounters with performers of the types of material about which he writes. Furthermore, readers interested in learning the actual methods behind these stunts would be STRONGLY advised to choose a different book. Houdini's descriptions of the methods provide enough information to demonstrate to the reader that these feats can be achieved by natural means, but they are not complete enough (nor always accurate enough) for would-be performers to risk their lives by following his instructions.
However, if your interest is historical or academic, this is just the book for you. It provides a historical account of a fascinating branch of the performing arts and a unique skeptical perspective on workers of wonders. This book is highly recommended for this select audience; general audiences may be disappointed by its academic tone.
February 5, 2019
No wonder Harry Houdini wasn't well-liked by his peers in the profession of illusion. He rips the fake psychics to shreds and exposes their tricks. Back then mediums and seances were all the rage, and more than half believed in--this book caused an uproar and more than a little controversy.
April 2, 2021
Estudio histórico de personas famosas en diferentes aspectos de los trucos de feria. Tragafuegos, comedores de piedra, faquires diversos… todos son analizados por el ojo experto de Houdini.
https://liblit.com/harry-houdini-traf...
https://liblit.com/harry-houdini-traf...
May 23, 2022
The technical details about how these performers operated were sometimes boring and sometimes disturbing, but the personal stories about them were fascinating! I came out of this really wishing I could get a look at Houdini's personal library.
March 28, 2020
I will confess, the sword-swallowing chapter made me a bit nauseous. Some of the “solutions” presented have also since been proven dangerous. Still an enthralling read.
February 19, 2022
Entertaining.
January 21, 2023
No es lo que yo esperaba, sin embargo a sido un viaje muy entretenido. Por cierto, a sido muy curioso leer un libro escrito por el Gran Harry Houdini.
December 19, 2024
Brilliant read.
December 24, 2024
Houdini fue un mago, ilusionista y artista de vodevil que además se interesó y profundizó en la historia de estas artes y de sus artistas y sus poderes “mágicos” y en su búsqueda de la verdad desenmascaró a los “traficantes de milagros” que dan título al libro, lo que no le impidió admirar a los artistas verdaderos. Es famosa su labor como detector de falsos médiums que prometían ponerle en contacto con su difunta y muy querida madre.
Desde muy joven me ha fascinado la figura de Henry Houdini y cuando se publicó me propuse leer el presente libro. En él encontramos historias de tragafuegos, pisadores de brasas, hombres incombustibles, masticadores de azufre, tragasables, tragacuchillas, tragaparaguas, litófagos, comedores de serpientes, escupeaguas, forzudos, así como de la ciencia o de los trucos que sus actuaciones encerraban. No me ha decepcionado, es diferente y entretenido, aunque habría preferido que el autor contara más sobre sí mismo. Quizá pueda profundizar en su personalidad en otros
libros, como “Handcuff Secrets”. Hablando de un tragador de ranas: “Norton podía tragarse cierto número de ranas medianas y regurgitarlas vivas. Recuerdo el estado de ansiedad en que me lo encontré en una ocasión cuando regresaba su camerino; al parecer, había perdido una rana o por lo menos no podía dar cuenta de la totalidad del rebaño y parecía muy asustado. Es probable que debido a la incertidumbre de si tendría o no que digerir una viva.”
Para los no iniciados, recomiendo la película de 1953 del director George Marshall “Houdini”, protagonizada por el maravilloso Tony Curtis, de origen húngaro, como el gran escapista y mago.
https://mgallegog.blogspot.com/2024/1...
Desde muy joven me ha fascinado la figura de Henry Houdini y cuando se publicó me propuse leer el presente libro. En él encontramos historias de tragafuegos, pisadores de brasas, hombres incombustibles, masticadores de azufre, tragasables, tragacuchillas, tragaparaguas, litófagos, comedores de serpientes, escupeaguas, forzudos, así como de la ciencia o de los trucos que sus actuaciones encerraban. No me ha decepcionado, es diferente y entretenido, aunque habría preferido que el autor contara más sobre sí mismo. Quizá pueda profundizar en su personalidad en otros
libros, como “Handcuff Secrets”. Hablando de un tragador de ranas: “Norton podía tragarse cierto número de ranas medianas y regurgitarlas vivas. Recuerdo el estado de ansiedad en que me lo encontré en una ocasión cuando regresaba su camerino; al parecer, había perdido una rana o por lo menos no podía dar cuenta de la totalidad del rebaño y parecía muy asustado. Es probable que debido a la incertidumbre de si tendría o no que digerir una viva.”
Para los no iniciados, recomiendo la película de 1953 del director George Marshall “Houdini”, protagonizada por el maravilloso Tony Curtis, de origen húngaro, como el gran escapista y mago.
https://mgallegog.blogspot.com/2024/1...
March 11, 2016
Houdini writes about the various acts of performers such as Fire Eaters, Fire Resisters, Sword Swallowers, Strong Men, and Poison Resisters that handle Snakes.
He describes the various performers and their acts in detail, many of acts he reveals how they are accomplished. While it is shown that the majority of performances are not as they seem, illusions of sort, it is made clear that all took great skill and mental and physical prowess to perform.
Houdini did a good job of explaining how the really amazing thing about these types of side show performances is the intelligent planning and execution of the performers themselves.
While many would question the sanity of the performers, who are willing to do seemingly insanely dangerous stunts, Houdini reveals that each performer is not haphazard with their safety, but are rather ingenuous in their knowledge of physics, anatomy, and chemistry.
One thing that I found to be true that Houdini reveals is the desire of the audience to believe that which they are seeing. The audience wants to believe in magic, or that it is possible for men to do the impossible. This is the root attraction we all have toward performances of the impossible.
The performers simply use this desire as their greatest tool.
I found this to be an interesting point. Because this is not only true of those watching performances such as these, but it is equally true in the realm of religion and politics.
The religious and political figures are the performers showing their audience what they already want to see.
I found this book entertaining and informative. The next time I see a performance of any type I can say that I will be able to respect the performers not for their ability, but for the dedication, preparation, and planning that goes in to a performance.
He describes the various performers and their acts in detail, many of acts he reveals how they are accomplished. While it is shown that the majority of performances are not as they seem, illusions of sort, it is made clear that all took great skill and mental and physical prowess to perform.
Houdini did a good job of explaining how the really amazing thing about these types of side show performances is the intelligent planning and execution of the performers themselves.
While many would question the sanity of the performers, who are willing to do seemingly insanely dangerous stunts, Houdini reveals that each performer is not haphazard with their safety, but are rather ingenuous in their knowledge of physics, anatomy, and chemistry.
One thing that I found to be true that Houdini reveals is the desire of the audience to believe that which they are seeing. The audience wants to believe in magic, or that it is possible for men to do the impossible. This is the root attraction we all have toward performances of the impossible.
The performers simply use this desire as their greatest tool.
I found this to be an interesting point. Because this is not only true of those watching performances such as these, but it is equally true in the realm of religion and politics.
The religious and political figures are the performers showing their audience what they already want to see.
I found this book entertaining and informative. The next time I see a performance of any type I can say that I will be able to respect the performers not for their ability, but for the dedication, preparation, and planning that goes in to a performance.
April 28, 2012
An expose of the tricks and cheats used by spirit mediums, fortune tellers, palm readers and other persons who claim to have occult or paranormal skills, usually demonstrated for money. Houdini's crusade against the deception practiced by these people upon vulnerable, frequently grief- or guilt-stricken people, is well documented.
What comes as a delightful surprise is Houdini's sprightly and engaging style. The master of stage illusion 'tells all,' based not only on his decades on stage mystifying audiences, but also gleaned from his own and his undercover operatives' attending the seances and readings of scores of mediums.
Though the language is of an earlier time, it is relatively straightforward and clear for today's reader. What is decidedly current is the deception that is still practiced today. Houdini recounts not only how an illusion or trick is presented, but the mechanics of how it is performed, including 'mind reading,' 'spirit writing,' 'spirit manipulation' of objects, et cetera. Most dismaying is how simple many of these illusions are, at their base, and how suggestible any of us can be given the right circumstances.
There is much here for writers of historical fiction, and for anyone interested in 'how do they do that?' Deception in the 21st century may be more 'high-tech' than in Houdini's time, but human psychology-the needs that make us vulnerable, gullible, and the desire of others to prey upon those needs-remain the same.
What comes as a delightful surprise is Houdini's sprightly and engaging style. The master of stage illusion 'tells all,' based not only on his decades on stage mystifying audiences, but also gleaned from his own and his undercover operatives' attending the seances and readings of scores of mediums.
Though the language is of an earlier time, it is relatively straightforward and clear for today's reader. What is decidedly current is the deception that is still practiced today. Houdini recounts not only how an illusion or trick is presented, but the mechanics of how it is performed, including 'mind reading,' 'spirit writing,' 'spirit manipulation' of objects, et cetera. Most dismaying is how simple many of these illusions are, at their base, and how suggestible any of us can be given the right circumstances.
There is much here for writers of historical fiction, and for anyone interested in 'how do they do that?' Deception in the 21st century may be more 'high-tech' than in Houdini's time, but human psychology-the needs that make us vulnerable, gullible, and the desire of others to prey upon those needs-remain the same.
April 5, 2013
For those unfamiliar with Houdini, he had the utmost respect for magicians/illusionists and folks who did tricks to entertain and mystify crowds. But he despised those same practitioners who would take advantage of people in any respect and in his later life, he set about exposing a number of charlatans and giving away tricks to shield people from being duped. He was famous for de-bunking seances and mediums who could conjure ectoplasm -- not because he wanted to expose the trick (he respected how they did it) but because these people were taking advantage of grieving spouses and children and charging top dollar to contact their dead loved ones.
This book focuses a great deal on fire tricks (fire eating, heat resistance, etc.) which date back to pre-historic times and were used as proof that someone was superhuman or godlike because mortal are not immune to fire. He mostly takes umbrage with the fire illusionists of his day because they were quacks -- not only could they pull off impressive feats but they also were selling their elixirs for burns and healing products that were, in actuality, junk science but the performances that they gave lended undue credibility.
I would agree with other reviewers that this book is VERBOSE and very long-winded, although excellently researched. It's a bit of a slow read, but full of interesting tips on how anyone could be "fire resistant" if they had the same arsenal of trickery.
This book focuses a great deal on fire tricks (fire eating, heat resistance, etc.) which date back to pre-historic times and were used as proof that someone was superhuman or godlike because mortal are not immune to fire. He mostly takes umbrage with the fire illusionists of his day because they were quacks -- not only could they pull off impressive feats but they also were selling their elixirs for burns and healing products that were, in actuality, junk science but the performances that they gave lended undue credibility.
I would agree with other reviewers that this book is VERBOSE and very long-winded, although excellently researched. It's a bit of a slow read, but full of interesting tips on how anyone could be "fire resistant" if they had the same arsenal of trickery.
March 5, 2015
Además de ser el escapista más famoso de todos los tiempos, Houdini dedicó parte de su tiempo a desenmascarar impostores, ya fuera denunciando a farsantes que se aprovechaban de la buena fe de la gente invocando espíritus mediante trucos de feria, o explicando los entresijos de espectáculos de variedades de poca o mucha monta.
Este libro explora esa segunda variante más lúdica, recopilando casos de tragasables, devoradores de ascuas, bebedores de aceite hirviendo o caminadores sobre brasas. Houdini expone a los más notables "traficantes de milagros" y aporta las explicaciones científicas o prácticas que desvelan sus negocios. Pero sus trucos no, eh? Una obra curiosa y una bonita edición con ilustraciones centrales.
Este libro explora esa segunda variante más lúdica, recopilando casos de tragasables, devoradores de ascuas, bebedores de aceite hirviendo o caminadores sobre brasas. Houdini expone a los más notables "traficantes de milagros" y aporta las explicaciones científicas o prácticas que desvelan sus negocios. Pero sus trucos no, eh? Una obra curiosa y una bonita edición con ilustraciones centrales.
October 10, 2014
It seems 19th century society loved a good freak show. To me it appears the entertainment value of REAL feats like eating red hot embers, swallowing swords, chewing glass, drinking poison, being roasted alive (and other things of the sort) were held in a higher esteem than the regular illusions we are now taught to expect from our XX and XXI century magicians. Other than mere illusions,those really demanded physical prowess and scientific knowledge about materials, chemistry, physics and pharmacology - This book is about the methods used for achieving those types of effects.
Was a good reading experience but not about debunking charlatans as I was expecting at first. Recommended nonetheless.
Was a good reading experience but not about debunking charlatans as I was expecting at first. Recommended nonetheless.
May 22, 2015
El libro tiene una premisa interesante y el hecho de que el escritor sea Harry Houdini lo hace aun más atractivo. En la práctica, sin embargo, la lectura se puede tornar monótona y repetitiva. El entusiasmo inicial que generan los tragafuegos, tragasables y demás personajes pintorescos desaparece rápidamente entre tecnicismos y largas listas de actuaciones e implementos. Es un libro para entusiastas de estos actos más que para un lector casual que quiere adentrarse en un mundo que desconoce.
La edición de Nórdica y las ilustraciones de Iban Barrenetxea le dan un muy necesario respiro al texto y, de por sí, hacen de este libro un objeto valioso y digno de colección.
La edición de Nórdica y las ilustraciones de Iban Barrenetxea le dan un muy necesario respiro al texto y, de por sí, hacen de este libro un objeto valioso y digno de colección.
June 2, 2015
Una agonía de libro. Me pareció muy interesante porque me gusta el mundillo del circo a principios del siglo XX y los trucos de magos... y además me pilló en la temporada en que estaba viendo la cuarta temporada de American Horror Story... pero Dios mío... menos mal que Houdini se dedicaba a lo que se dedicaba porque como escritor... una pena.
Caso tras caso sobre artistas circenses que, si hubiera explicado más sobre sus vidas, vale, pero sólo ha sido un nombre tras otro y el programa y las funciones que hacían.
Sobre Houdini, nada de nada.
Caso tras caso sobre artistas circenses que, si hubiera explicado más sobre sus vidas, vale, pero sólo ha sido un nombre tras otro y el programa y las funciones que hacían.
Sobre Houdini, nada de nada.
January 13, 2012
Very interesting, Harry Houdini, world renowned escape artist from the late 1800s, tells secrets of some of the most popular acts of all time. Fire-eating, sword swallowing, and strongman acts are all included. While more then half the book is the history of these feats, the other half reveals the secret behind them.
Read
December 24, 2007I expected the book to be about the trick show, but so far it is about history of magic and rituals. Houdini seems a bit dissappointed in the lack of development in the magic trick of fire walking and fire eating.
December 23, 2014
This was quite an interesting book, discussing fire eaters, strongmen, and sword swallowers, and how they do their tricks. I had never heard of fire-eaters before, but now I know everything about them. It was interesting to read a book written by Houdini.
Want to read
June 10, 2008whaaaat?
December 26, 2010
This was fantastic. It has a number of types of acts and how they were done.
The English was a bit dated but it did have a great impact.
The English was a bit dated but it did have a great impact.
August 15, 2011
Houdini describing how magicians, fire walkers, sword swallowers, strong men, etc, do their tricks. Interesting, but not great.
Read
April 4, 2012Treak of magicians revealed! Nice book
January 1, 2015
2 1/2 stars. Houdini sheds light on several tricks from the past. the book was interesting, easy to read. recommended for Penn and teller fans.
January 14, 2016
Excellent!
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