From the archives: Unraveling the Houdini whodunit

 This story was first published on Oct. 21, 2001, in the Montreal Gazette.
When asked if I could do anything religious, I said that the only thing I could do was to take up the collection. You have no idea how easy it is to fool anyone under the guise of a spiritualistic meeting. If I should die tonight, the spiritualistic mediums would hold a national holiday.
The Gazette, Wed., Oct. 20, 1926
The speaker was Harry Houdini, still hailed by many as the king of magicians. And while he did awa