The Haunted Hollywood Home of Harry Houdini
Jackie Post of Hoboken, NJ sent us this picture that she took at
the abandoned Hollywood estate of world renowned magician and
escape artist, the late Harry Houdini. Several ghostly images of
peoples faces seem to appear in the photo. See how many you can
find. This picture has not been retouched or otherwise doctored
in any way. Here Jackie explains how the photo came to be:
In June of 1993 I went out to Los Angeles to visit my best friend
Barbara, another New Jersey native that found southern California
to be a more welcoming climate. We did a lot of cool stuff, but to
cut to the chase, we picked up a little tourist booklet entitled
"This is Hollywood An Unusual Movieland Guide By Ken Schessler,"
at a book shop on the Sunset Strip. We always had a penchant for
the supernatural, and being that my time was limited, we figured
this was a good bet.
We hit the usual spots; where Marilyn died, her grave site, the
Tate house (where the Manson murders had occurred), where Diane
Linkletter took the plunge, where the Black Daliah's corpse was
found and the rest of the old star hangouts, graves and suicide
sites all good fun.
So on June 21st., on my ride back to the airport with this handy
handbook and camera in my pocket, we were driving down Laurel
Canyon Boulevard and I had one final request: to stop at the
"haunted" ruins of Harry Houdini's house.
Give me five minutes guys, I begged, and my ride reluctantly
pulled over to an embankment below some old, crusty, stone ruins of
something that would have been formerly described as palatial. I
said I'd be right back.
I flew up what had to be at least a 30 foot stone stairway
surrounded by grottos and palm trees and overgrown foliage. There
were rotting walkways, stone benches and dead calm. Everywhere I
turned I felt like I just had to pop a shot. The whole time I felt
like I wasn't alone, so when I heard a voice behind me saying What
the fuck are you doing? You've been pacing around here like a cat
for a half hour. We gotta get out of here!, I didn't think much of
it. It was my friend Barbara, and I just thought she didn't want me
to miss my flight. But at the same time I started to get bugged and
was glad she found me and got me out.
I had a good flight back, had the film developed, and without
thinking much of anything, I put the prints in a box. Two months
later I had some friends over and showed them my "vacation"
pictures. When someone was looking at this particular photo, I was
asked Who's that guy? Then someone over her shoulder said What's
going on down there?
The negative has since been sent to Cal. State U., and is
documented as an authentic paranormal phenomenon. The negative
has not been tampered with and is intact. I am happy to share this
story with you guys. Maybe we don't have to wait for Halloween for
Harry to come back after all.
Jackie Post, Hoboken, NJ
P.S.: In the mid 90's the property was sold. All that was left
standing was bulldozed, and a new house was constructed. II have
heard that the new owners have since abandoned the property.
Houdini died on Halloween,1926. According to the Houdini Historical
Center, Appleton, Wisconsin:
Houdini was known as a debunker of fake mediums and spiritualists.
His interest began during his bereavement after the death of his
mother, Cecilia Weiss. Because of his background as an illusionist,
he recognized the techniques of mediums who claimed to have
contacted the spirit world. Houdini became a crusader against these
charlatans who bilked grieving families of their money. He
frequently attended seances in disguise in order to expose the
mediums...
The Official Houdini Seance, held each year since the magician's
death in 1926, originated from Houdini's efforts to expose
fraudulent mediums. He claimed that if there were truly a way to
contact the living after one's death, he would do so. He set up a
code with his wife Bess, who faithfully attended the annual seances
and awaited his return for 10 years, after which time she gave up.
The seance, currently organized by Sidney H. Radner, is held each
year in a location with a significant connection to Houdini's
life.