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Final Seance: The Strange Friendship Between Houdini and Conan Doyle

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Polidoro has compiled an excellent and well-written history of the relationship between two extraordinary individuals. Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle both possessed keen intellects, but found themselves on opposite sides of the spiritualism debate. Relying extensively on the actual correspondence of the two men, Polidoro traces their history and interactions to the unhappy, but perhaps inevitable, conclusion. Although clearly (and appropriately) a skeptic, Polidoro resists the urge many authors cannot to make fun of individuals like Doyle.
The sad moral of the story is that intelligence is not enough. A mind capable of creating characters and stories such as those that featured Sherlock Holmes and Professor Challenger could not see the simple ways in which he was being duped. The methods of the spiritualists are the methods of the magicians, and no training in physics or the other branches of natural science teaches you those tricks. If anything, such training may make you easier to fool, as experimental apparatus does not consciously lie and you are trained to trust what you see. Mercifully, Polidoro does not dwell on such topics as the fairy photographs that fooled Doyle, although they are mentioned.
The book held the interest all the way through, and one emerges with a much deeper appreciation of Houdini in particular, who inevitably comes across as the champion of experimental control, and therefore as the subtle winner of the debate.

I was so fascinated by this book that I read it in one evening. In a narrow sense, the topic is the discussion/debate between Houdini and Conan Doyle about spiritualism that first made them friends and then opponents. In a larger sense, I think that it has a great deal to say about the human mind and deserves a wide audience. It is an excellent example of how hard it is to consider objectively such subjects in which people invest so much emotion. Conan Doyle was so determined to believe that Houdini was a psychic that nothing Houdini said could deter him.

I have thought for a long time about the issue of trust and credibility. If I would believe someone if they told me that they just saw the bus go by, why don't I necessarily believe them if they tell me that they spoke to a spirit, or god, etc. As this book illustrates, these are issues which have historically involved some much delusion and deception that it is important to proceed with caution. (Of course, it would help if all prophets said the same thing.) I know that I will be thinking about it and quoting it to people for quite a while.

Polidoro is clearly on the side of the skeptics, and makes his affiliations clear up front. He remains, however, sympathetic to Conan Doyle and clearly admires the latter's kindness, intelligence and generally amiable and honorable character. Although he sides intellectually with Houdini, he doesn't attempt to cover his arrogance and boasting.

Recommended to everyone, except perhaps, convinced spiritualists, although even they might find it a useful cautionary tale, if not a convincing argument.

Two of the most famous personalities of early in the last century shared a strong interest in spiritualism, the belief that souls live on after death and can be contacted by the living. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the immortal Sherlock Holmes, was unassailably convinced that spiritualism not only worked, but that it was the religion that all of us soon would practice, once its truth were known. Harry Houdini, the brilliant showman and escapologist, was convinced of no such thing, but he was convinced that he never found a conductor of séances who used supernatural rather than fraudulent or erroneous means of getting results. These two domineering personalities became unlikely friends, for a five year period, sharing correspondence, dinners, and holidays. It isn't hard to believe that the friendship foundered over their differences on the keen shared interest, but it is surprising that the friendship ever existed. _Final Séance: The Strange Friendship between Houdini and Conan Doyle_ (Prometheus) by Massimo Polidoro is a good supplement to the current crop of biographies of both men. It gives capsule biographies of both, with an extensive and annotated account of the years when they were an item together, and thus provides an excellent picture of spiritualism, rationality, and the will to believe.

In many of these pages, Doyle emerges as the more interesting figure because he was obviously a thoughtful and sometimes brilliant man, and it is a puzzle that he kept the belief in spirituality despite what seems to be overwhelming evidence (some presented by Houdini himself). He abandoned an insistence on proofs of religious ideas, probably in response to grief over the death of his son. He could not accept that mediums used trickery if he himself saw a demonstration he accepted as psychic. Houdini was interested in spiritualism probably because of a desire to contact his mother, but such contact never happened in a way that he thought was genuine. He repeatedly demonstrated evidence that mediums were just magicians to Doyle (who thought even that Houdini was using psychic means for some of his tricks). It would have easily have convinced Sherlock Holmes, but it never convinced his creator. When, after a séance with Lady Doyle who supposedly contacted his mother, Houdini maintained that he had never witnessed any sort of psychic phenomena, Doyle took this as a personal insult, and the friendship was over.

Houdini went on to organize against mediums, including lobbying for ill-judged laws to ban spiritualism. He also offered large amounts of money to anyone who could demonstrate "psychic" powers that he could not explain or duplicate. As Polidoro shows in an intelligent critique, this was a flawed argument; Houdini's ability to duplicate an effect would not prove that the effect was not originally performed in a psychic way. However, the offer lead the way for the more comprehensive one by James Randi, who currently offers a million dollars for a demonstration of psychic powers under controlled conditions. No prize awarded yet. Houdini died in 1926, and Doyle resumed a solicitous correspondence with the widow of the man who was "in some ways, the most remarkable man I have ever known." Doyle died four years later, believing still. Houdini did us all the service of a final test; he was, if it was at all possible, to return and give his wife a message agreed between them. Mediums did try to summon him, and if anyone could have escaped from the reaches of "the other world" to get her that message, the great escapologist would have managed it. It never happened. John Edward, and you other people who make money off other's desire to believe, please take note.

Final Séance is a strange book about two strange individuals who strangely enough became involved in a strange friendship:

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Creator of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, internationally known author and believer in Spiritualism, who chose to believe in more or less any medium he encountered, as long as the messages received confirmed his preconceived ideas.

Harry Houdini - The world's greatest escapologist, acclaimed magician and illusionist who never said his performances had anything but natural explanations, and over the years one of the foremost debunkers of many alleged occult matters.

Or in other words, the skeptic vs. the believer. Could these two gentlemen really be friends? Absolutely, and good ones, too. Massimo Polidoro of the Italian Committee for the Investigation of the Paranormal has written a book where he tells the stories of how they met, why they met, how their friendship evolved over the years yet ultimately came to a tragic end.

Their friendship was quite unorthodox: Doyle the believer in everything and Houdini the believer in nothing (though he said himself if was willing to believe were solid evidence ever to be shown to him). Fine, but is it interesting to read a book about a friendship, unusual as it may have been, and furthermore, a book that is mostly based on surviving letters between the two? For sure, because Final Séance is more than just a book about their friendship. It's actually a whole lot more.

First of all, it offers a good description of how Spiritualism evolved in Great Britain and North America at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. People everywhere became convinced that communication with the dead was indeed possible, and in dark rooms on both sides of the Atlantic different mediums claimed to be able to make contact with the ones who had passed on. The fact that mediums on a regularly basis were exposed as frauds never dampened the spirit (no pun intended), and that alone is an interesting cultural phenomenon well worth investigating.

Secondly, one cannot avoid being fascinated about the fact that two so very different people were able to ever be friends, when one of them believed wholeheartedly in what the other one rejected passionately. Humbleness and tolerance were the key ingredients, and the elegant use of the English language they both used in their letters truly is a joy to experience.

Furthermore, many of the ideas that evolved during these years are still with us today, and thus the book is useful to anyone interested in the historical background to what today is known as New Age.

However, the main focus is on the friendship, and because of this the book is merely complementary to the history of the New Age and the growth of Spiritualism. But if you're interested in reading about two fascinating human beings and at the same time have a reminder that different beliefs don't necessary equal discord, then Final Séance is well worth looking into.

Original research based on original correspondence and photos makes for a unique coverage of a strange friendship between Houdini and Conan Doyle in this excellent biography. Polidoro reconstructs the dialogue between a believer and a skeptic, from their unlikely associations to the rift which ended their friendship. Final Seance is an unusual biographical account for fans of either man.

Polidoro gives an excellent account of the relationship between master stage magician Harry Houdini and the genius behind Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Brought together by their intense interest in Spiritualism, Houdini and Conan Doyle would come to stand at opposite sides of the issue. While Doyle embraced it as a new religion, Houdini undertook a crusade to expose fraudulent mediums by demonstrating their methods.

While firmly in the Houdini camp of skepticism, Polidoro manages to treat Doyle with a great deal of deserved respect. The book gives many examples of how the two men tried to assist one another in psychic investigations (at least in the early years); and how Houdini's widow, Beatrice, maintained a relationship with the Doyles that was both touching and cordial.

Interesting and educational, Polidoro's dual bio is recommended reading.

I will keep this short and sweet. I was disappointed in this book. The kindle version was easy to manuever but the book itself was a little boring. It seemed to repeat itself and it was a dry read. I found myself skipping sections to get to the end. It seems a shame to take two interesting characters like Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and make them boring.

The friendship between Houdini and Conan Doyle was truly a strange one. The first man made his living at deception, yet spear-headed a crusade to unmask other deceivers. The second man is famous for the logical-minded, methodical, and observant character he created, but as for himself, he must have been the most gullible man alive. Conan Doyle actually believed that Houdini had the power to dematerialize and was even fooled by the rather infantile finger trick -- by which a person "disconnects" the forefinger up to the first joint.

Although the topic is fascinating, sadly, the letters of Houdini and Conan Doyle are tedious and wordy. I found myself endlessly skimming them in order to return to the next seance or the next significant event.

Still, I found all the accounts of mediums and their spiritualistic shenanigans mysterious, in spite of Houdini's repeated attempts to discredit them. Some of the explanations presented by the author Polidoro are so complicated and unwieldy, it would be easier to believe in the spirits! Is it really possible to swallow a roll of gauze and regurgitate it later as "ectoplasm?" Could a man really surgically alter his wife so that she could smuggle items into a seance? (Shudder.)

Worth reading for those fascinated with the topic (like me), but we could wish that the two principal subjects had been a little less tedious in their correspondence -- or that Polidoro had just summarized more often!

This book was very interesting, but it made for dry reading. Certainly not a page-turner. If you can get through the first half of the book, it gets more interesting toward the end.

In addition, the author did not impress me as being an impartial source. It was clear that he agreed with Houdini from the start and he set out to make Conan Doyle look as ridiculous as possible. Perhaps Conan Doyle really was that foolish, but the author was too biased for me to take his word for it.