Researching Houdini's connection to the infamous Davenport Brothers, we suddenly perceived a new wrinkle in the old spiritualism racket, one that we had seen but not believed in.
You may recall that the Davenports, Ira and Willy, were two American brothers who were among the first to dazzle the world with displays of levitation, table turning and other high-end spirit phenomena. Houdini himself met Ira late in life and wrote about him at length in A Magician Among the Spirits. Houdini was proud of the fact that Ira had freely revealed their secrets to him - a fellow "past master" of deceptive arts. He noted that Ira had never publicly claimed to have "powers." Yet Houdini glossed over one incredibly curious fact: that their father, Ira Sr., a police officer in Buffalo, NY, had genuinely believed in their powers and they had never disabused him of this belief!
According to Ira, it would have unhinged the old man. But why? Surely a tough cop, who had broken heads at the Buffalo riots, would be interested in the facts?
According to Ira, it would have unhinged the old man. But why? Surely a tough cop, who had broken heads at the Buffalo riots, would be interested in the facts?
In the theatrical trailer above, based on the Davenports' true life story, we see a frightening image: tears of blood extruding from the eyelids of a spectator. This was indeed one truly strange phenomenon for which the brothers were known: when the lights came back on, audience members would sometimes turn up with broken noses or bloody limbs! Even Penn & Teller never went this far!
We suddenly recalled our own strange experience, some years ago, with an acquaintance whom we'll call Mike. He asked us to go with him to see a young woman in Brooklyn who had "genuine psychic powers." She intended to take up our friend James "The Amazing" Randi on his million dollar challenge. Would we go along with Mike as "magic consultant"? Of course we said yes.
Mike drove us out to the ends of wild Brooklyn - Brighton Beach, a/k/a "Little Russia." We parked the car and waited for a rendezvous. We were soon picked up by a fellow who, if he were Italian instead of Russian, would have been described as a goomba. I believe the Russian word is vor. This tattooed tank engine drove us in circles and eventually pulled up in front of a corner rowhouse. We went inside and met his sister the "psychic," a nubile 14-year old teeny-bopper named Natalia, and her parents - fellow vory, from the look of them.
They raved about the daughter's talents, and especially about the million dollar prize they planned to soon claim from Randi. We politely asked for a demonstration.
They passed out stacks of colored 8x10 cards. Then, they blindfolded the girl. They asked us, one at a time, to hold up any card. The girl, through the blindfold, was able to tell us the color.
If you've read of our own youthful encounters with Kuda Bux, the "Sightless Vision" man, you won't be surprised that we were more than skeptical. But we held our tongue - we were guests in the other person's house, after all, and it would not do to be too rude.
So after Natalia had done a number of successful trials, and only a few misses, we asked if we could try it.
They were surprised, but they agreed, and blindfolded us. It was immediately clear that it was easy to see down the nose and out the corners of the blindfold. Moreover, the room was full of "shiners" -- mirrors, polished samovars, reflective glass picture frames, etc.
Our first thought was - "Randi is going to take their skin off!"
They held up the cards. We got every one right - an even higher score than the young "psychic." They were impressed, and cried:
"You see! It's a miracle! She has even transmitted the power to you!"
We had to bite our tongue to keep from laughing.
We eventually took our leave. On the drive home we were dismayed to realize that friend Mike had swallowed the whole thing, sinker and all. We had to wise him up.
"Mike, you've got to stop them. Randi will eat them alive!"
"What do you mean?"
"It's all fake!"
"But you did it yourself!"
"Yes, that's what I mean! I faked it too."
He refused to believe us and drove the rest of the way in a huff.
We called Randi the next day and begged him to go lightly - after all, she was just a kid, and no doubt put up to it by her goon-like parents.
"You're totally wrong!" Randi thundered. "She's the one who's fooling everybody! Including the parents!"
Stunned by that idea, we dropped the matter. And our potential friend Mike dropped us - never spoke to us again. And of course the Russians did not separate Randi from his million.
There things stood until today, when we realized matters were very much the same with the Davenports. Why would Natalia need to fool her parents? Why did the Davenports need to fool their father, who, after all, became their manager? The answer, we believe, lies in blood.
In researching the Davenports' story we learn that threats of violence surrounded the family, tales of murder abounded in the revelations of the 'spirits' and in general an atmosphere of fear and horror imbued their work. We assume something similar in the lives of the children of the vory. The stench of violence is strong. The only protection against abuse is fear - of the unknown.
RELATED:
GHOSTS OF MAGIC
So after Natalia had done a number of successful trials, and only a few misses, we asked if we could try it.
They were surprised, but they agreed, and blindfolded us. It was immediately clear that it was easy to see down the nose and out the corners of the blindfold. Moreover, the room was full of "shiners" -- mirrors, polished samovars, reflective glass picture frames, etc.
Our first thought was - "Randi is going to take their skin off!"
They held up the cards. We got every one right - an even higher score than the young "psychic." They were impressed, and cried:
"You see! It's a miracle! She has even transmitted the power to you!"
We had to bite our tongue to keep from laughing.
We eventually took our leave. On the drive home we were dismayed to realize that friend Mike had swallowed the whole thing, sinker and all. We had to wise him up.
"Mike, you've got to stop them. Randi will eat them alive!"
"What do you mean?"
"It's all fake!"
"But you did it yourself!"
"Yes, that's what I mean! I faked it too."
He refused to believe us and drove the rest of the way in a huff.
We called Randi the next day and begged him to go lightly - after all, she was just a kid, and no doubt put up to it by her goon-like parents.
"You're totally wrong!" Randi thundered. "She's the one who's fooling everybody! Including the parents!"
Stunned by that idea, we dropped the matter. And our potential friend Mike dropped us - never spoke to us again. And of course the Russians did not separate Randi from his million.
There things stood until today, when we realized matters were very much the same with the Davenports. Why would Natalia need to fool her parents? Why did the Davenports need to fool their father, who, after all, became their manager? The answer, we believe, lies in blood.
In researching the Davenports' story we learn that threats of violence surrounded the family, tales of murder abounded in the revelations of the 'spirits' and in general an atmosphere of fear and horror imbued their work. We assume something similar in the lives of the children of the vory. The stench of violence is strong. The only protection against abuse is fear - of the unknown.
RELATED:
GHOSTS OF MAGIC
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