Houdini’s Posthumous Communication Test

Record summary

Before his death in 1926, Harry Houdini reportedly arranged a private code intended to authenticate any communication from him after death. His widow, Bess Houdini, participated in séances and publicized a final attempt in the 1930s, while repeatedly concluding that Houdini had not successfully communicated. The episode matters because it created a named, testable criterion within the wider dispute between spiritualism and stage magic. Accounts differ over the exact wording, timing, and evidentiary significance of the code, so researchers should consult contemporary reporting and Houdini-related archival material.