Harry Houdini VS Dracula

[@carolescutt2257]

Jow have i not found thisbloody brilliant channel before ....'Doh'

[@SpookyHistory]

We went quiet for a while but we're back again :)

[@HoudiniWild]

Great stuff! I admit I've never actually read "The Spirit Fakers of Hermannstadt". But now I have to. It sounds bonkers!

[@SpookyHistory]

Hope you enjoy it! Oliver who wrote this episode is becoming a bit of a Houdini fan (He's going to be writing our Margery/ Mina Crandon episode at some point too!)

[@anthonyarcanumsanctumregnu9551]

He died getting punched in the stomach I believe getting surgery from the damage caused and had a heart attack on the table? I didn't google this I'm just seeing if I remember his real death cause right!

[@SpookyHistory]

So the punch to the gut's impact on his death is unclear. Houdini claimed to be able to take a punch from any man BUT usually needed to prepare and tense properly, then a student in his dressing room took him off guard. Now Harry had been feeling unwell for a few days already, and after the punch felt worse, though not immediately. It took a few more days before finally being convinced to go to the hospital at which point he was diagnosed with pancreatitis which had become severe due to his not seeking help sooner. A week later that's what killed him. There is debate as to whether the punch caused the rupture but that's not something that can ever be known, and is unlikely really, but we do know he was already ill and it's likely he attributed the increased pain to the punch and that stopped him seeking help sooner. But he was notorious for never canceling shows so it could be he'd have avoided treatment anyway even if he had felt that bad without the punch. Fun little conspiracy theory- there's an idea that the student who punched him was hired by the spiritualists (Probably Mina Crandon) to punch him hard and without mercy as revenge and that it was an unintentional hit job. Some go further and say they knew he was ill and had the punch arranged in order to exacerbate his condition. Seems fairly far fetched but is a fun little addendum.

[@h.a.fromireland3961]

Actually, it was peritonitis from a ruptured appendix (from which he was feeling the effects prior to the infamous sucker-punch.) "The Witch of Lime Street" is good background on the Mina story and Houdini's valiant efforts to protect the gullible :)

[@SpookyHistory]

@@h.a.fromireland3961 Yes Appendix, not pancreas. Thanks for correcting.