http://blogs.funeralwise.com/dying/2009/10/27/magicians-hope-for-harry-houdini%e2%80%99s-ghost-to-hack-into-their-computers-on-halloween/ Digital Dying explores trends in the ritualization of death and dying. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:54:19 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://blogs.funeralwise.com/dying/2009/10/27/magicians-hope-for-harry-houdini%e2%80%99s-ghost-to-hack-into-their-computers-on-halloween/comment-page-1/#comment-31260 Dying wishes of the rich and misogynistic « Digital Dying Tue, 28 Sep 2010 16:21:01 +0000 http://blogs.funeralwise.com/dying/?p=487#comment-31260 [...] The master magician Harry Houdini died abruptly in 1926, as a result of a ruptured appendix. In his will was a final wish that instructed his wife Bess to hold a séance every Halloween following his death in order to give him a chance to contact her from beyond the grave. Before his death they had agreed upon a code that Houdini would whisper in her ear so she knew it was him and not an imposter. Bess held the séances for a decade, posh parties packed with starlets and reporters, but Houdini never appeared. “Ten years is long enough to wait for any man,” Bess said. But Houdini aficionados continued the séance for decades in front of his grave at the Machpelah Cemetery in New York City, until the management stopped the event due to excessive vandalism. Last year, a séance was held online. [...] [...] The master magician Harry Houdini died abruptly in 1926, as a result of a ruptured appendix. In his will was a final wish that instructed his wife Bess to hold a séance every Halloween following his death in order to give him a chance to contact her from beyond the grave. Before his death they had agreed upon a code that Houdini would whisper in her ear so she knew it was him and not an imposter. Bess held the séances for a decade, posh parties packed with starlets and reporters, but Houdini never appeared. “Ten years is long enough to wait for any man,” Bess said. But Houdini aficionados continued the séance for decades in front of his grave at the Machpelah Cemetery in New York City, until the management stopped the event due to excessive vandalism. Last year, a séance was held online. [...]

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