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Episode 13: Houdini + Sarah Winchester
CW: References to invasive medical exams (not graphic), alcohol use and alcoholism, death and child loss (not detailed), spiritualism and séance practices, accusations of fraud and public humiliation, and gender-based scrutiny and mistreatment.
In this episode, Heather explores the surprising overlap between Harry Houdini’s mission to expose fraudulent séances and the legends surrounding Sarah Winchester’s sprawling home. The episode follows Houdini’s rise as a sceptic determined to protect grieving people from exploitation. It also unpacks how Winchester’s real life became buried under ghost stories and mythmaking. Together, their histories reveal a moment when spiritualism, grief, and spectacle shaped American culture.
Sources:
- “Margery (Mina Stinson Crandon).” Psi Encyclopedia. Society for Psychical Research. https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/articles/margery-mina-stinson-crandon
- “Houdini and Margery: The Medium and the Magician.” American Experience. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/houdini-margery-pamphlet/
- Troy Taylor. “Margery the Medium: Houdini’s Greatest Trick.” American Hauntings Ink. https://www.americanhauntingsink.com/margery
- Cara Giaimo. “Houdini’s Greatest Trick: Debunking Mina Crandon.” Mental Floss. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/53424/houdinis-greatest-trick-debunking-medium-mina-crandon
- Ruth Brandon. The Spiritualists: The Passion for the Occult in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1983.
- Robert A. W. Lowndes. The Mediums and the Detectives. New York: Bell Publishing Company, 1967.
- “Mina Crandon.” RationalWiki. https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Mina_Crandon
- “Sarah Winchester.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sarah-Winchester
- “Winchester Mystery House.” National Register of Historic Places. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP
- Mary Jo Ignoffo. Captive of the Labyrinth: Sarah L. Winchester, Heiress to the Rifle Fortune. University of Missouri Press, 2010.“The Spiritualism Craze.” Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com
- “Houdini and the Spiritualists.” PBS: American Experience. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/houdini-spiritualists/
- “Haunted by Spirits or Guilt? The Legend of Sarah Winchester.” History.com. https://www.history.com
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By Altar EgoCW: References to invasive medical exams (not graphic), alcohol use and alcoholism, death and child loss (not detailed), spiritualism and séance practices, accusations of fraud and public humiliation, and gender-based scrutiny and mistreatment.
In this episode, Heather explores the surprising overlap between Harry Houdini’s mission to expose fraudulent séances and the legends surrounding Sarah Winchester’s sprawling home. The episode follows Houdini’s rise as a sceptic determined to protect grieving people from exploitation. It also unpacks how Winchester’s real life became buried under ghost stories and mythmaking. Together, their histories reveal a moment when spiritualism, grief, and spectacle shaped American culture.
Sources:
- “Margery (Mina Stinson Crandon).” Psi Encyclopedia. Society for Psychical Research. https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/articles/margery-mina-stinson-crandon
- “Houdini and Margery: The Medium and the Magician.” American Experience. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/houdini-margery-pamphlet/
- Troy Taylor. “Margery the Medium: Houdini’s Greatest Trick.” American Hauntings Ink. https://www.americanhauntingsink.com/margery
- Cara Giaimo. “Houdini’s Greatest Trick: Debunking Mina Crandon.” Mental Floss. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/53424/houdinis-greatest-trick-debunking-medium-mina-crandon
- Ruth Brandon. The Spiritualists: The Passion for the Occult in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1983.
- Robert A. W. Lowndes. The Mediums and the Detectives. New York: Bell Publishing Company, 1967.
- “Mina Crandon.” RationalWiki. https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Mina_Crandon
- “Sarah Winchester.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sarah-Winchester
- “Winchester Mystery House.” National Register of Historic Places. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP
- Mary Jo Ignoffo. Captive of the Labyrinth: Sarah L. Winchester, Heiress to the Rifle Fortune. University of Missouri Press, 2010.“The Spiritualism Craze.” Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com
- “Houdini and the Spiritualists.” PBS: American Experience. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/houdini-spiritualists/
- “Haunted by Spirits or Guilt? The Legend of Sarah Winchester.” History.com. https://www.history.com