The Dollop with Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds - 544 - Houdini vs Margery - live

Episode Date: August 2, 2022

Comedians Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds examine the battle between Houdini and Margery Crandon. Recorded live at the Wilbur Theater in Boston Sources Tour Dates Redbubble Merch   Dad Grass Factor Meals

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This is an American History podcast for each week. I, Dave Anthony, read a story from American history to the guy who killed my dad. You've really put me in quite a position here. Gareth Reynolds who first of all did not kill Dave's father and has no idea it's Gareth and has no idea what the topic is going to be about. It's Welsh. No, no, no, no. No, no, no. It's a Welsh name. It's Gareth. I've been so clear. I don't know. You're a real piece of shit. Just as stated, I did not kill your father. Now what the fucking doctor said. And this is how I make my living so I got to

stay in fucking business with this guy, but he killed my dad. Emidically speaking, your podcasting partner killed your father. I knew it. Look at these x-rays. It's a hundred percent him who did it. Well, one thing I learned is that when they're taking your dad off the machines, you're not supposed to giggle. Oh, I mean, that is even for you, even for you. Can I pull it? Is that wrong? But I want to do it from far away, like running. I want to style it up a little bit. Can I pretend to trip over it and make it a TikTok? Can we make it a TikTok where I trip over the cord? Oh, no, now my dad's gone.

Did you get it? Let's do one more. They won't know he's already passed. Go and just beep off camera. This is really this fucking chaos at this point. Fucking ridiculous. It's a horrible precedent earlier. Some poor person has never. So you go to the show and then you yell out their animals a bunch. And they talk about stuff, but it's mainly an animal yelling show. I have animals and if you know them, then you just shout them out. And we are brought to you in part by Factor. Factor, they deliver meals to you. That's what they do. Low cost, high quality, very good. Their chefs make it for you, then they

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Year of our Lord Jesus Christ. I don't know why I don't have the full date. There's something happening. It doesn't fucking matter, does it? You got the year right. We got the fucking year right. Back off. Well, because when we were in Australia, you got the year wrong. I did. I got a year wrong on a story. We're like 10 minutes in. He's like, I think I yelled the wrong year. Got to be 150 by now. Minnie Marguerite Stinson was born in Picton, Ontario, Canada. Yeah. The name is Minnie. Marguerite Stinson. Is it a regular size person? Or this is? Well, I'm sure when born, no. When born. Well, nobody is when born. Okay. This is as big as it gets. No, who told you? Well, we already named it tiny, so it better not grow. This is a tiny man.

My son was born old, tiny, and bald. And bald? That's right. Yeah. So not much is known about her childhood. She moved in with her sister in Boston when she was 18. That was to get away from her fundamentalist father. Mm-hmm. There's more into that part. Yeah. And then she started calling herself Marjorie. So Marjorie was described as vivacious. Sure. Good looking and athletic. Oh, sure. Fuck yeah. She worked at a church where she first met grocer Earl Rand. Was that like his wrestling name? Earl Rand? Earl the grocer. He was a real grocer. Yeah. With groceries. Uh-huh. So they get married in 1918 and they had a son. In 1918, probably. Otherwise, they're waiting a

long time to tie the knot. 1918. 1918? Yeah, it's 2018. What year did we start? We started in 1888. Well, boy, I don't know. I don't know how this one's gonna go, man. Now, Marjorie had to have surgery probably for appendicitis. Probably? Yeah. We just know she got cut open. Yeah. Okay. The surgeon was LaRoy Gadard Crandon, who was a rich doctor. A witch doctor? Rich. Oh, I was like, what's going on now? Here we go. Don't jump. Don't jump the story. I want to, bud. He was a Harvard Medical School graduate and a surgeon at Boston City Hospital and was described as, quote, dour, autocratic and suave. Well, suave obviously comes across. Yes. Dour? I don't know about that. No. Okay. Nope. He's pretty ready to go. So he's a very, very well-known surgeon in Boston.

Man, I'll tell you what. I don't like that we're highlighting the surgeon. You're getting too jumpy these days. I know. I'm sorry. I've been hurt. So his nickname was... See, I don't like it. I don't like that the surgeon has a nickname. I don't like it. His nickname was Buttonhole Crandon. Yeah. See what I'm saying? Yeah. Don't tell me to not jump it. I mean, the skin is a coat. Uh-huh. And now it's because of how he did appendectomies. Oh, wait. I don't even know what that means and I don't want to know what it means. It's fine. It's fine. He's like, now you have a pouch. You're a marsupial, okay? If you ever want to put it back in,

you're just unbuttoned. It's like a little change purse. He went through the belly button. Oh, is that normal? Yeah, I think it is. Okay. Then why are they nicknaming him? Well, I think... New Wildman. I think he was one of the first. Okay. All right. So one day he operated on a woman for appendicitis, but it turned out she was pregnant. Okay. But that, you can make that mistake really easy. I found it. Jesus Christ, you got a big one. It's yelling. Okay. Don't freak out. Your appendix is blinking. Uh-huh. Let me just spank your appendix. There we go. So what does... So that was... He goes through the belly button and finds a baby. I mean, okay.

I'm not a great doctor. I'll say that so far. He almost lost his job because of that. Almost? They were like, look. One more fucking time. You just... You take one more baby out of the belly button. Uh-huh. Okay. So his reputation obviously takes a hit as a surgeon. Yeah. Oh, poor good. The victim. He gets very depressed and upset and responds by getting into yachting. And then he became Commodore of the Boston Yacht Club. So it's... What a comeback. Yeah. It's a story of a man who

failed and dusted himself off and got back on. Absolutely. Good for him. Now, sometime later, Marjorie ran into Crandon when they both volunteered at a naval hospital during World War I. Okay. And they hit it off. And soon, Earl is kicked to the curb. Oh, you mean curb stopped? Curb stopped. Marjorie curb stomped her husband, Earl. Yeah. Which is how they used to do divorces in Boston. Yeah. And he was like, I can fix his mouth. I'll go into the belly button. So Marjorie becomes Crandon's new trophy wife. She's 33. He's 53. Okay. Wow. But they still bought their groceries from Earl. Oh, what?

Look, I'm not happy about this, but obviously if you need produce, I'm your guy. I don't mind being that guy. Here's your paper towels and... We also wanted some bananas and some almonds. That's a can of tears. We don't care about that. Well, I brought that for you anyway. Do you have condoms? Ah, we won't need those. I'm going through the belly button. Well, look at that. So she was his third wife. Okay. And he took every wife on a honeymoon to the same resort. It's really great. It's been a good omen so far.

No, I fuck you on the left side of the bed. That's my side. Everyone. I love you. Thank you. So Crandon is an atheist and quote morbidly preoccupied with his own death. Perhaps this was his intellectual attraction to the spiritualist notion that death was not the end. It's just a very puzzling fact. So spiritualism, spiritualism is still very popular. It had taken off in the mid 80s with the Fox sisters. With the Fox sisters? Fox. I mean, I get the name. I'm getting a look at them and maybe... Where are the Fox sisters?

Yeah. What's up? What's up? The Fox sisters were from New York and they communicated with the dead. Okay. Sure. Yeah. As one does continue. Yeah. They talked to the dead. They're from New York. They were the ones who made it big. Like everyone was fucking... They were talking to the dead. Everyone was into it. I mean, they were just fucking... They were like really like... One of the sisters was like cracking her toes and they're pretending like that was the ghost knocking on the ground.

Oh, so they weren't talking to the dead. No, it turns out they weren't. If you could imagine that, but it's not like John Edwards can really talk to the dead. Yeah. Did they do it like him? Or they're like, someone's got an A. I mean, no, they would have... Someone has an A name. They would have like a seance. It would be like you and a table. And then more of them would like crack their toes and they'd be like, oh. And they're like, oh shit, something's going on. They do talk to the dead. And they said, her shoes off for some reason, but that's okay.

But they finally admitted it was a hoax in 1888. And yet people still... Well, that's okay. We'd still like to have you keep doing it. Okay. Okay. Wow. We really did not expect that reaction for sure. We'll keep talking to the dead for you. Even though as we just told you, we've been making it up. What did the dead think of that? They're cool with it too. They're not upset at us. Awesome. Can I give you some money? Yeah, for sure. Wow. Holy shit. You got a fucking moron.

Well, so when they finally admitted to hope, there's just tons of people doing spiritualism. So it's still really popular. However, that happened. So it... And then it saw a resurgence after World War I, when all the soldiers died, and then the flu pandemic. If you guys can imagine the pandemic, some of you can't. Crandon decided to hold this seance at his house. Were they calling it a scam? Were there people like, Scam, Demik. Now, I want to talk to my aunt. I don't believe in crazy shit, but I'd like to talk to my dog. I'm not buying this whole...

It's contagious shit, but I want to talk to Jesus Christ. Can you get a letter to him from me? Yeah, why couldn't you talk to Jesus? Why couldn't you? No, if there was someone doing a seance, why couldn't you be like, I want to talk to fucking Christ. Let's go to the top. Yeah, if you're in bullshit, are you like, yeah, he's here right now. He's here right now. What's he saying? His hands and feet hurt a lot. He's complaining about arthritis in his hands and feet,

and he said his head has really got a headache. He also said... He's starving. He wants a sandwich. Yeah, he wants a sandwich. He also says... He wants a hoagie. He keeps asking for a grinder, I think is what he's calling it. And he said, you guys should fuck. Like, that's something I totally regret. Yeah, he's into that. Yeah, and he said, I should participate? Yeah. He said, don't... Just hang out with dudes. Like, mix it up. Yeah, yeah. What's going on?

I don't know. He says, more ladies in the mix is all. All right, I'm probably going to go my own way with this stuff, honestly. Not that I haven't enjoyed working with you. Maybe where there's going to be different Jesuses? Huh? Yeah, you come up with yours. I'm going to go my own way. The stuff you pitched, it's a little off. I want to kind of stick to the hands and feet stuff.

He wants a sandwich. You kind of take it in that... Also said he was killed by the Mexicans? Not the Romans? You said that? Yeah, Jesus just said... All right. There's two Jesuses here right now. And his is not the one I'm talking to. Mine is just... His is not awesome. I'm not loving the stuff that his is saying. If I were you, I would probably not listen to him.

I'd probably not say the stuff he's saying. Mine is, again, he's just hungry. He's really happy to be here. No, no, no. Yours should not talk anymore. Mine is right here. Mine is actually objectively saying that yours is not real and not even here. So you're just kind of saying some of this stuff. Mine is totally telling me, Son of God, he's starving. He's... Yeah, he does not appreciate the end. He's like kind of bullshit.

Anything about Mexicans? No, nothing. No, no, no, no. He loves this Easter stuff. Shut the fuck up. Don't say anymore. He's saying you can get a two for one cruise. He's got like coupons. I mean, honestly, I'm not... His is... I don't know whose his is. But mine is, again, very straight and narrow. And yeah, so take care. Maybe you and yours should go fucking cruising or whatever.

Well, he want... Yeah. Yeah, great. Good answer. Get out. You're Jesus? I know, buddy, this is... You're not helping anything. My Jesus says you're being mean. And he's glad you got down to a cross. I thought it hits him. I'm not Jesus, you dumb shit.

He's fucking... I know, but I'm talking to you like you're the Jesus because you... Well, that's a really... Well, maybe he's tell people that because it sounds like you think I'm him. Oh, Jesus fucking Christ. He's right here. That's not his middle name. It's Houdini. Ham.

It's Jesus Ham Christ. That's where the Monte Cristo comes from. So Crandon started holding... He decided to hold a seance at his house at 10 Lime Street. He had a regulation-sized seance table built. So the refs were there? This works. That's out of bounds. They did. They had a table that was supposed to be a certain size.

This goes to be like a... No, it's supposed to be... Well, we'd like to communicate, but it's pretty tiny. Six feet? I mean, we could try... No, I don't love it. We don't love it. So he invites four friends and Marjorie, when they start, she starts laughing. And he gets really fucking mad. He scolds her and he's like, this is really serious. Shut up. We're trying to talk to ghosts.

It's your deal. So he's such an asshole. So then they all sit there and then the table slides and it rises up and it falls down. Okay. And let me guess. Nobody was doing anything. Well, so then Crandon says, since each person out of the room wanted a time... Sure. And the table was only still when Marjorie was out of the room.

So that meant that she was the medium. So you figure it out. But why... And again, Dave, I'm not saying this is bullshit, obviously, but if she... She's laughing and she's the table lifter. Seems like it doesn't match up great. I don't know what to tell you, man. And he didn't have a backup plan for when she left the room? Ghost work in weird ways.

Like, I don't know how ghosts work. No. Am I supposed to tell you right now how ghosts work? I can't. Well, we don't have the table. So that was a very successful say-out. So they held the second one. Sure. It sounds like it went great.

And this time, before it started, he told the spirit to wrap once for no, three for yes, and two for wrap on. Yeah. No, no. All right. Give me a beat. Yeah. Yeah. The other ghost was like, all right.

All right. I'm on beatbox. Ready? Jesus too. You're on beatbox. All right. So the spirits did and it worked. They talked to him and then a third sands was held at a friend's house. And at that one, a plate fell off a shelf and then it moved when it was put on the table. The same plate?

Yep. What kind of unbreakable plates did they have? Oh, there. It was back in. Plates were better back then. Yes. Simpler times. Plates could fall off the mantle and not shatter. So Cranid wanted more clothes.

That's what I would do. I'd be like, where did you get that plate? Dude, that just, a ghost is moving it. That's incredible. But also, it didn't break. Where did you get this plate? Can you stop talking about it? I'm amazed that there are spirits in the room with us.

Oh my God, there is another realm after we pass away. But while we're in this one, can we appreciate the value of these unbreakable pieces of plates? Fucking heavy plates. Do you have bowls that don't shat? Oh, shut the fuck up. Spirits, do you have bowls with similar properties? What are you doing? Go buy them at Sears.

Oh, Sears? We'll have a Sears on, maybe? What are you doing? Oh yeah, I guess I'm just a guy, huh? Mine's got a little blurry. That was very weird. What a great plate though. Look at that.

How was it? Unbelievable. They got these plates. They don't break. They're falling off a mantle. Spirits are kicking them. Sorry, what are kicking them? Spirits.

You got ghosts and shit. There was a ghost there. I feel like, yeah, that's the headline, I think. Well, a lot of people felt like that too. But I, on the other hand, who lives with someone who's broken a plate or two, is pretty impressed with these. I mean, I don't know what they're, I asked what they were made of. They tossed me out though, they don't want me there anymore, but...

We have to go to a place called Sears. I'm not sure where it's located. It might not be in this realm. So this is about me breaking the plates. That's what this is about. It's fucking bullshit. You fucking son of a bitch. It's our biggest problem in our marriage.

So Crandon wants more. Quote, our means of communication with your world... He's talking to the spirits. The guy in the room's like, our world? With your world as clumsy, it would be much more efficient if you were to utilize the medium's own vocal cords to convey your messages. Jump in our mouths, spirits. Talk through my girl.

Here, go in through my wife's belly button. You can fit a lot in it, wink, wink. Hey, they call me Crandon. So for a spirit to talk through Marjorie, she had to go into a trance. Sure. Yeah, of course. Which meant it's not as fun for her. So she said, quote, I will do nothing of the sort.

And then Crandon ordered her, quote, little sister, you will do exactly as Big Brother says. And everyone there was like, we're going to go. Did we? We're going to actually get going because I don't love the dynamic. Like I thought, we got to get going. I have to go. I'm leaving.

It's jumped into taboo role play and I'm not really comfortable. Really? Big Brother. So then the spirit, after he said that, wrapped three times for yes. And that spirit was Marjorie's big brother, Walter, who died 12 years before. The what is amazing? Someone's like, wait, what? What the fuck?

The story just took a turn. There's a new big brother in town. So in a trance, she closed her eyes and swayed. And then Walter's voice came out of her, quote, I said I could put this through saying he could come through her. Sure. Soon, Sansa's were held every night for the fancy Boston Society people. So all the all the Boston Society people are like in a flutter about this.

Oh, my God. Crandon sends a letter to a famous British spiritualist, Dr. Arthur. Dr. Arthur's the name. Hello. I'm Dr. Kenneth Arthur. Let us Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle. Oh, wow. Who wrote Sherlock Holmes.

Oh, wow. So he was also, so that guy was a spiritualist. Huge spiritualist. He also believed fairies were real. That's amazing. So I mean, he wrote like some of the greatest mystery stories of all time. And he's also like, as well as I've got a fairy living in my garden. People are like, this book's incredible.

Yes, a dead man gave me the plot. He was about to publish a book called The Coming of the Fairies. Go ahead. It was a, it was a... You've just got to put your pinky in their bums. That's not true. Don't get, come on their wings. That's not true.

I also need genital stimulation. Shush, shush, shush my love, shush, shush. I've had a three-way with a river sprite. That's right. I'm just here coming up with novels about mysteries between two men. And in my downtime, I'm having a snifter of brandy and banging a fairy in a river sprite. Nothing to see here, just a man eating opium. Consuming it by the bar.

Can I please leave, please? Shut up. I swear, we're just in a bit of a row right now. We're normally quite... Help. She doesn't mean help. This is one of our favorite scenarios where she pretends that I've taken her from her fairy family and that she's held captive here as my little sex fairy, isn't that right?

He bought me from my dad. Oh, well, that part's true. I'm not going to push her. Well, that part's true, I'm not going to push back on that. I did buy her, absolutely. Now, anyway, would you like to publish these books? Please picture a dick going in this little tiny body. Well, now, to be fair, I'm hung very poorly.

I really, I've got the cock of a gnome, honestly. I've really... Anyway, I'm going through the belly button anyway. It doesn't even matter, does it? So he's... Crazy. He's not a real doctor, if you can imagine that. Okay.

Anyway, him and Crandon start riding back and forth. Oh, good. Good. Crandon and Marjorie then go visit Doyle in London where she does seances. And during one, when Walter shows up, Crandon turned on the light to show there were no tricks happening. Well, what is the... But she's just, what is someone...

She's just talking, correct? Yeah, but she's doing stuff also. Like, they, like, ring a bell and knock. Like, it's... Oh, right. Okay. The rapping, right. Move a plate.

Whoa. That guy's still there. Never breaks. Shut up, Tom. I'm sorry. So when the lights came on, Marjorie had her feet, quote, nestled in Doyle's lap. Walter was...

I'm spoken for if Kelly the Fairy finds out about this. Walter whistled and a rug fell on Marjorie's head. What, they got a roof rug? Where's the rug? I think it was rolled up, like, on top of something. On top? Okie dokie? Sure.

Sure. Yeah. All right. Well, before we start, let's just staple the rug to the ceiling and then we'll get moving. Everyone understand how this works? Just gonna put the table on the ceiling and then we'll get moving. So Doyle is very taken with Marjorie, and afterwards he calls her charming and spread the word of her talents.

Okay. Well, yeah, he got foot chopped. So Marjorie now was nicknamed the Witch of Lime Street. The Witch of Lime Street, okay. Okay, and Doyle recommended she be considered for a prize that Scientific American magazine was offering to find a medium that could, quote, produce a visible psychic manifestation that would satisfy their judges. I feel like the scientific community is like, we are searching for someone who can talk to ghosts.

That is, we're people of science. Yeah. We need a ghost person. Does anyone know? No. Well, actually. One of the judges was someone you brought up earlier. Harry Houdini.

Oh my God. All right. Yeah. Another man of science. Yes. For sure. I mean, we got, I mean, we don't have, we have some weird scientists now, so I guess it's fair. Well, yeah.

Well, so Harry had, he had done stunts in Boston before. In 1908, he jumped off the Harvard Bridge handcuffed and chained to a collar around his neck. I did that when I was in school here. Yeah, yeah, yeah. In 1911, he had escaped from the stomach of a dead 1600 pound sea turtle on stage. Right here. I'm going to. Right on this stage.

Is that, was it here? That'd be amazing. Bring out the turtle. You're going to do it right now. Bring out the turtle. It's an honor. No, who came up with that one? He was like, I'm running out of stuff.

Well, bold pitch. Have you ever thought about living inside of a turtle and then just popping out through its belly button? And then Crandon's like, I mean, you're either coming out the mouth of the ass. There's no other hole in the turtle. Well, there is now. But now what were they expecting? Where is he? He's in the turtle.

What's the plan? He's going to get out of it. Oh, these tickets were a little expensive for a guy. Is he chained up? Nope. He just went in it. Okay. They're expensive, but they're, I mean, they're cheaper than that podcast we saw.

That's true. More entertaining too. So at this point, Houdini was actually known for exposing spiritualists. Oh, okay. Himself. I know you're going to say, yeah. Wow, he really found his penis. After his mother died in 1913, started going to say ounces for years and each one is a

fraud. And each time he'd get more and more pissed off. And after a while, he started basically waging war on spiritualists. Nice. Okay. And he was, yeah, that's okay. Yeah. Wow.

And he was very good at it because he knew magic. So he would know their tricks. Right. And she just cracked her toes. Damn it. He's good. He's very good. Houdini began to call himself the scourge of spiritualism.

Marjorie is becoming more and more popular. Houdini published a book titled A Magician Among the Spirits, which was a history of spiritualism calling out specific mediums. He exposed secrets and he detailed deaths that were related to the spiritualist movement. Like a 14 year old Rhode Island medium who said her baby brother would die and he did because she poisoned him. She wasn't wrong. Wow.

Man. And then another, in the same town, another medium. You poisoned him. I know, but. I said he was going to die. What did you guys think was happening? Well, why do you think he's a baby? I was he going to, anyway.

I know, but I was like saying he's going to die and you guys were like. No, no, we didn't think. You're right. Good work. And so. No, you really, you're good at this. I was like at a crossroads. I was like, do I want to be a liar or a murderer?

Well, good news. And I was a way to hybrid it. I'll just, I'll just kill my brother and they great. So I'm going to jail and I can talk to the police. Oh, yes, same thing. And the same town. Another meeting was sent to jail for poisoning her stepson. So there's all these instances of people killing.

Like if someone was like, my, my friend's going to die. They'd be like, get her, get her now. She's going to kill Jeff. Get out of town. What's going on? So spirituals are furious at the book. They say it's very one sided, which yeah, because it's a fucking attack on. Yeah, right.

He didn't even put in there what we said, which was total bullshit. So there were a lot of errors in it, but that was because it was rushed. Because he thought he might not live long enough to see it printed. He is Houdini. So wait, what did you just say? He is Houdini. He thinks he's not going to live long enough to see it printed. So he rushed it a little bit.

He, he kept thinking he was going to die. Right. Yeah. He didn't have time for a spell check. I'm climbing out of turtles. What do you think is going to fucking happen? It's a matter of time. So this is the Scientific American Committee.

They started going to Marjory's for seances. Now Walter was ringing a bell box. So it's like a, it's a bell at a box. It's like hard to push and get to like it's a little contraption. Sure. And was its purpose just for it's, it's to make it look like it's hard to ring, but then it would ring and they'd be like, wow, how'd he do that? The bell's in the box.

Like, so we could do another hour on whatever the fuck that thing is, but I won't, I won't torture you. I was being like, I literally first wrote it up in here on how that worked. And I was like, I'm going to kill myself. So I took it out. Like it's like the explanation is just, just trust me. It's a bell in a fucking box. Now I want to know there's a bell in a box.

Okay. Well, we'll talk about it later at the hotel. Hey, just going to ring the bell in the box. That's all through the belly button. As I always do at a seance on July 13th, Marjorie was held by people on her right and left. Cool. Which is what always happened that you hold the, you hold the mediums here.

Absolutely. Now I'm going to talk to the dead. Strap me down. Let's make sure, and Walker rings the bell over and over and someone asked to see Walker's finger when it pressed. No. And then a light shaped finger came from under Marjorie's chair. A light shaped finger.

Yeah. It's a little light like a light finger, like an ET digit. It's a light shape. It's a finger light. Yeah. It's a bright finger. That's right. Okay.

Not attached to your body. It's just a finger. It's just, how do they know it was a finger? It could be a worm. It's shaped like a finger. Well, a lot of things are shaped like a. Okay. So just a floating, a floating light finger.

And it goes up. Whoa. And it presses the box and the bell rings. I'm impressed that I'm not even there. Yeah. And then Walter said, see, quote, quote, never mind the circle. Everybody get up and stand around and look at it.

So everybody got up and watched the weird light finger float and press the box. It's incredible. Everyone's like, this is fucking amazing. Holy shit. Holy shit. Where are they getting these plates? Get out of here.

So two nights later, Walter is just fucking going off. He is ringing the bell. He's talking. He's whistling. He's shaking a tambourine. All right. All right. Now for my next one.

He even brought back a dead dog. All right. Here we go, everyone. Upsy-daisy. There we go. Good girl. He does that all the same night. So this is fucking, I mean, it's like,

it's like the end of a fireworks show. Like he's just, before, before seances, Crandon would often show nude pictures of Marjorie from previous seances. So I mean, it's really a show. I mean, you're really. It's a fucking show. You're like, oh man, a fucking finger was ringing the box.

You're like, that ain't shit. You want to see a finger ring a box? He opens with nudes of his wife. And what? That would be good enough. But then he's fucking whistling. He's playing the goddamn tambourine. I think he was playing some monkey's tunes.

Just when I'm like, I can't take anymore. He brings a fucking dog back. I got to tell you, I was done after the nude pictures. Like I was like, thank you. Yeah, I left. I didn't want, I left after the nude pictures. All right, before we start, everyone have a look at my wife naked.

Everyone feel good and warm? All right. Hey everybody. Now, over the man event. Before we begin, can I just say tits? There we go. I wonder how she felt. She was like, mm-hmm.

Is everyone happy? That's my man. Everyone having a good time? That's me. Well, so being nude was actually very common for women during seances. For sure. I wonder if men were like, and one more thing.

I think the ghost should hate clothes. What? Well, you know what I mean? It's like, people are going to think you're hiding something. Let's just make sure they don't even ask a question. So you get naked for this. That probably makes the most sense. So the ghost said, just bring it down.

Just blow the nipple. Yeah. Ghosts, yeah. Is it cool? That's a ghost. Like, I don't want it, but I'm just saying. But I'm the one who talks to the ghosts. Get the lights up.

I'm the one who talks to the ghosts. Yeah, yeah. Put on some music. You want some gin? You're not listening to me. You want gin? What? You want some gin?

No, I don't know. But you're not talking to the ghosts. I'm the one. Just go ahead and turn around for me. OK, but I'm just sort of like not understanding why. Boo, boo. All right. This is a seance.

When did the audience come? When did the other people get here? When the ghost says it's OK. But I talked to the ghost, the whole. Why don't you shake the backside? I'm not going to actually, I feel like this isn't an event anymore. This table isn't even the right size. No ghost is going to show up here.

Oh, shit. Marjorie is considered like the hottest. That's why one of the reasons she's so popular. She's, I consider, one of the hottest ones out there. Thomas Tetz wrote. Thomas Tetz? Tetz. Tetz?

Tetz. Tetz. Wrote of her quote, she was a slim and pretty woman whose roundness of limb and pertness of attitude men found too attractive for her own good. Wow. What a crazy thing to write. Have you ever, have you never described here?

What are you? Absolutely. Oh, that's how I introduced my wife. You should see her pertness of attitude. She's too much for men to take. What? Yep, men should not be around her. But here she's naked.

So here we go. She also had the ability to make men think there was a unique connection between them. So a stripper. She touched my leg. That's, that's Doyle. Wow, she put her feet in my life. And let me tell you, mystery solved, mate.

So Marjorie is now a big fucking deal. And the New York Times wrote, she had astounded experts and might win the $2,500 Scientific American Prize. Quote, not the least hint of fraud. Yeah, I love it. Not the least hint. A hundred percent talking to ghosts from science. Scientifically speaking, she's definitely talking to ghosts.

We're a hundred percent sure. Scientists, there's no way. Look, what could she be doing? She's naked. There's a fucking finger ringing a box. Gentlemen, shut up. This is happening. May I get naked for the event as well?

Well, could the finger ring my bell? It's $50 extra. Here, let, can I borrow the finger? Would it be possible to? He would like to take the finger from tonight. I would just part the evening. I was thinking it maybe would just test. I'm sure that bit half of the finger for just the evening of just, you know, whatever.

I mean, it might not even play, not play, use it. But it would be great to be able to. I've just never seen a glowing digit. And I just thought it could take it home and just have it at the house for a bit. And if it were to do a little doo doo, then it was a little doo doo. But it's not anything that I probably go to bed early, call it a night after some pie, most likely. But it would be fun to have the option.

But how much for the finger? I'll pay anything I have it would be great. The New York Times went on quote, Marjorie, the Boston medium passes all psychic tests. Scientists find no trickery in a score of seances. Oh, man. Scientific American writer Jay Malcolm Bird wrote about how amazing Marjorie was. And close to getting the award. OK.

Houdini, when he read this, was pissed and called the article, quote, pitiful. Houdini's coming off fantastically in this. And he demands to see Marjorie in person. Meet me in the turtle. I turned it into a house after I got out of it. Hello. Houdini had just exposed two mediums trying to get the Scientific American Cash Prize. He's on the committee.

So he said he would see her with an open mind. Sure. Now, Crandon is worried, but he had seen the committee's notes so far and said, if anything was different, quote, I have the material to crucify them. We are not wasting any time in compliments or politeness. It is war to the finish. And they know I shall not hesitate to treat them surgically if necessary. So he's going to fuck up this committee.

He's like, if they fucking say she's a fake, I'm going to fucking come at them with everything I have. Right. Which is not the attitude of someone who's like, we're really doing this. I'll fucking cut you. I will fucking cut you. Why don't you just prove that you're doing it? Well, yeah, that's the plan. And in this case, we'll kill him.

Yeah. On July 11th, the seance with committee members happened. Walter made Marjorie's breasts glow, and then... Now, this is the one Houdini's at? Well, no, Houdini's not there yet. He's on his way. Okay, so he's just trying new materials. Yeah, he's trying to do stuff.

But now we're going to go, we're going big. We got Houdini coming over. Honey, your tits need to be lights. You know what I'm saying? She's like, I really, shut up. Come on. Well, we can't find the fingers. Are we going to...

As I said, I'm sure it was on the bed stand when I... Anyway, where would it even go? It's not important. It's... So after Walter made her breasts glow, he then sang a song about Houdini. Quote, Well, Houdini, what is happening?

Let's sing it. Sure. Breast glow, let's sing. Houdini, Harry, Houdini, he sure is a sheenie. Houdini, a man with a crook in his shoe. Okay, as to Walter, I'll lead him to slaughter. Is this part of the song? Yeah, it is.

I don't think it is. I think that's the end of the song. So his song is Houdini, Harry, Houdini, he sure is a sheenie. A man with a crook in his shoe. Yeah, and then Morris says he... He says, that's all. It says he asked Walter, I'll lead him to slaughter. Slaughter, but says Walter, perhaps I'll get you Houdini.

Wow. That was it. That's really good. Yep. So, by the way, next time you're going to write song lyrics for me, I would like it spaced out a little bit differently. That was not easy for me. I know.

So I would love it to be... I always forget you don't know how to read. Thank you, Daddy. So, Walter's now taunting Houdini a little bit. Take that, asshole. Two things later, credit writes to Doyle to say Marjorie is so upset by Houdini that she's throwing up in the morning. She's pregnant, you idiot.

Okay, so... She's getting nervous. Right, sure, sure. Houdini learned two of the committee members were staying at 10 Lime Street. So two of the guys are staying in their fucking house. And Houdini's like, how the fuck can they be impartial? We are. We're just...

We love to hang out with them, too. We'll be fair. Come on. Don't be weird. Just let us live with them and then we'll figure it out. And both guys... Her breasts are lights, Houdini, for the love of God. And both men want to give her the prize.

One was Malcolm Byrd. And then he really, really wants to have sex with Marjorie. He's super into her. There is a real kind of like orgy vibe to all of it, too, right? Kind of? Buddy, we are just getting started. Well, that's crazy news, isn't it? Well, Byrd wanted to have sex with her while the other committee member,

Huard Carrington, was already having sex with her. Oh, okay. Wow. Huard Carrington. Huard, H-E-R-E, Huard. So it's a name we just have not used anymore. It's a name we got rid of because it's fucking stupid. Yeah, because it's a good reason.

Yeah, right. And every time you said it, people would go, what are you talking about? Here, Huard. You know, like, forward, but if it were here. My mother was intoxicated. So he's already screwing her. Okay. Your terms are not great.

He's making fucking this shit out of her. All right. Well, let's just... Things are not great with the card at this point. The couple are not having... The Crandon and Mark, yeah. Yeah, they're not having a great time. Can't have an idea what's going on.

Yeah, for sure. Part of that is because she wants to kiss Carrington before seance in front of everyone. So that's hard when your wife makes out with another guy. She's already possessed. That's Walter. Put an asshole. Stop it, Walter.

Walter's kissing Hereward? Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep. And I think he might have fucked him earlier. And my fucking bed. Where's the finger? I swear it was on the nightstand when I passed out. I was exhausted. Oh, my.

Pie wasn't the only thing in my stomach that night. I can't get clean. You sound like the finger. Okay, so she's getting... She's taking a pubway. Now, Crandon is only nice to Marjorie now when she pulls off a good seance. So for this seance...

Good job, little sister. For this seance, Marjorie wore a flimsy dressing gown, slippers, and silk stockings. I mean, it's so easy. Mostly men are coming to this? Yes. Yeah, so it's just so easy for the male mind to be like, it has to be true.

Look at her nipples. Yeah, okay, dumbass. He's like, well, are you going to argue with this beautiful naked lady? She's obviously telling the truth. She's naked. So this circle for Marjorie are panel members. Dunn, Bird, Houdini.

Houdini sits on Marjorie's left, Crandon's on her right, and they both hold whatever hands and put a leg over hers. That's like the standard way that they did it. Absolutely, yeah. Perfect. That's how you do it. Just very gynecological. Whatever.

I'll stir up the left and eye the right. It'll look like when holding her legs open. It'll be very normal. She then to begin hiked her skirt up above her knees and asked for the lights to be turned off. This is very bizarre. Houdini's like, mm-hmm, okay. Now Marjorie's...

I mean, I've lived in a turtle, then what the fuck is going on right now? Marjorie's Walter voice was now more demonic and seemed to come from outside her body. So she's been perfecting this voice. Yeah, no, she's been on the road. And as Houdini's there with his leg, he feels something touches leg,

and then Walter says, that's me. Why wouldn't Walter be like, I'm in the body, it's obviously me? Well, she's not supposed to move. Right, but she's possessed by Walter. Right, but she, no, he talks to her, but she's not supposed to actually move. Okay, sure. I'm not gonna, this is the bell in the box.

Let's keep going. So that happens over and over again, and then Walter asks for a break. May I take an equity five? I'm actually Union, I'm sorry. Can I go smoke a smoke? I'm gonna go rip a butt. And then they came back,

and then the bell box doesn't work, and then Walter says, it's missing a part. Walter? Yeah, it's missing the... I think my husband, I mean, Crandon. And then Walter said, quote, I've got the megaphone in the air, Houdini, where should I throw it?

What? A megaphone, is there a megaphone in the air? Yeah, there's a megaphone, yeah. In the air, okay. Well, Houdini says, we'll throw it to me, and then it falls at his feet, and then the cabinet fell over. All those plates are five?

Whoa. God damn it. Eat your heart out, Houdini. I said you can come back one more fucking time. Well, I told you, this is way different, because this is five or six points. Oh, Jesus Christ. Plus, that cabinet looks pretty much intact,

except for it not being on the wall. You're right, you're right. But yeah, that's just, I mean, not a crack. Not a crack. I've seen it all, Jack. Doyle, you should write a book about these plates. You got something to say, or you just... No.

Oh, yeah. I'm hoping you stop talking. Okay, yeah. No, let's get back to this. This is crazy, too. This is all crazy, but... But you've got to give me the recipe. It's not a fucking recipe, it's a plate.

How do they get made? It's wood. They're wood and plates. That's interesting. They're wood. They're wood. So... Didn't see that?

Go ahead. Walter takes another break. Well, he's really exhausted. And now the part of the bell box was missing, has been returned, and it rings a bunch. Interesting. After words, after the sands, the three panel members go to Houdini's hotel,

and Houdini's like, I know how she did every single trick. And he knew how she did the bell, because she wore a silk rubber bandage... He wore a silk rubber bandage around his leg, below the... Houdini. Uh-huh.

So all day before he goes, he wears a silk rubber bandage around his leg, it makes his leg swell, and feels super, super tender. So any time... Houdini is... Yeah, Houdini's like... I'm gonna...

Oh, I'll fucking get her. I think they're full of shit, so I'm gonna swell my leg up by not letting blood go into it all day. Get me my rubber bandages! Here you go, hun. I got her! Wow, looks really like a honey-baked ham, babe.

Yep. Goddamn right it does. Legs need blood to be okay, and I've not given mine any. Oh, it looks like a giant dick! Oh, honey, stop. Any movement of her leg muscle, he could feel.

So he knew she was moving, and the next night, Houdini wore garters, which she then caught her stocking on, so she couldn't move it to ring the bell box. So some time, she was ringing the bell box with her foot, and now she can't do it, because her leg is caught on his stocking.

Oh, because of the leg placement is like that the whole time? Yes, they're never supposed to move. Right, so he's just got a fucking turkey leg, and he's got garters on, and he's like, baby, I came to play, too. So after the next sound, he does the same thing with the committee members,

and he explains how she did every single trick. They're like, you didn't let blood go into your leg all day. That's right, you guys are, you're burying the headline here, you're not listening properly. So Houdini wants to expose her immediately. Houdini and Dunn, they catch a train back to New York,

while Bird rushes back to New York, and they're like, while Bird rushes back to the Crandons to tell them what Houdini was doing. Bird not only knew she was a fraud, but he was helping them stage the seances. I mean, he's one of the guys staying there. He's a committee member.

Yeah, and he's like in the house. He's like, all right, listen, the science is not buying it anymore, but we need to figure that out. You're a great friend. I'm a real dipshit. Now, listen. Here's the deal.

I just want to fuck you once. I would love to just be great. Can I touch your bosom? Anything, God. Unfortunately, he had no idea that Marjorie found him repulsive and was never going to have sex with him. Please.

That's the whole reason he's doing it. She's like, he's disgusting. But he's like, I'll help you. You deserve this award. If I can just have one time, please. Let me bosom. Potentially, I could be expressionless for one less moment.

I've finished. OK. The mere thought has done it again. I think the ghost did it. And she's also really into Carrington, who has now asked her to run away to Egypt with him. Sure. As one does.

Yep. And Crandon's like, we have an 830. So she can't knock it off asshole. And no more kissing is the beginning. That's not the opener. The opener as we pass around naked pictures of her. Read the fucking lineup, Jack. Well, speaking of that, one man at a seance,

one of Marjorie's seances, explained how it went. Quote, As soon as the lights went out in the dark, Marjorie took my hand and put it between her legs. She was naked under her robe. She tried to make me masturbate her, but I was embarrassed. Oh, by the way, I, from now on, am referring to any hand manipulation on anyone as masturbating me.

I was masturbated by her. And then I masturbated her. We masturbated each other. She tried to make me masturbate her, but I was embarrassed and pulled back. And she pulled me in again, and I finally just pulled my hand away and froze. I was very embarrassed. Well, by the way, what's with this guy?

Let's go. I mean, I mean, the first recoil is like my husband's here. The second one's like, I'm in the fucking party. All right, let's do this. Have you ever heard of a hot wife? I dare you. Welcome to the hot wife lifestyle. From the secret life of Houdini, quote,

there is a long, rich, lured history of sex in the seance room, especially between mediums and the men who investigate them. Right. Yeah. Okay. So, yeah. Seances were often fronts for sex workers. Oh, wow. Okay. Joseph Rinn reported in the 1880s that hundreds of mediums in New York City were often in the middle of the world. City were also madams.

There was a lot of voyeurisms and investigators got a little on the side to keep quiet. I don't think they kept quiet. Medium Eva C said she produced something called semen. Ectoplasm. I'm sorry, that's semen. Ectoplasm? This is supposed to be the bioenergy of spirits.

Sure. Right. That's what I was going to say. Um, oh boy, this sentence doesn't make sense. Well, we'll be fine. What is it? Well, I can read it. Yeah. Why don't you just read it? Let's have a little fun. Okay. When she a doctor investigated,

he saw her sponsor during the pre-sense exam. Yep. That's fine. At Emerson, we would call that a sentence. You're fine, baby. You're fine. Okay. I know what this says now. So when a doctor investigated Eva C, he saw during the pre-sense exam, which again, normal thing to have.

Her sponsor put her finger into Eva's vagina to make sure no ectoplasm was already in there to trick him. As one does. Don't over-inspect. This is just a pre-sense inspection. Now Eva, I'm going to inspect your vagina for ectoplasm. Okay. All right.

Nope. Yep. Nothing in there. Nothing in there. Nothing in there. I believe you may be talk to ghosts now. This is normal. Okay. Now I'm going to talk to ghosts with my vagina.

All right. Walter, are you in there? Yes. That yoga is paying off. At the end of the seance, Eva would often get naked and demand another examination. But it's over. Check me again for ectoplasm.

I'll check. Nope. Keep checking. Keep checking. Check harder. Harder. Wow. Check harder to the left.

A little bit to the left. So you get a... Check. Okay. Now keep that safe. Just keep that motion. Try and go. All right. There you go.

Uh-huh. Okay. Okay. Uh-huh. Should I check your butt for some? Holy fuck. Yeah. Give me my butt. Put your finger in my ass.

Put your finger in my ass. Quick, quick, quick. There's a bunch of ectoplasm. There's a bunch of it now. Now there's a bunch of it. Whoa. Man. I don't know where she was hiding it. But it's here.

Oh, God. She just had an ectogasm. Wow. What a wild time these things are. I feel like it's not just about ghosts. So Houdini wants Scientific American to print an article exposing Marjorie immediately, but a bunch of the committee are like no.

No, no. Yeah. And they refuse to vote on it. Houdini, you're being a real jerk. Stop trying to figure this out. It's fine. Come on. Let's give the Nobel Prize already. So what does the rest of the committee want?

Houdini kicked off. No, they want more seances. What Houdini's not allowed to come, but we will. I think we got to do a lot more of these. And then Houdini's like, I can't. My leg won't take it. Look at my leg. It is not looking good, Houdini.

And then Crandon came up with a new idea. Oh, good. Good, good, good. Good. One-on-one sittings with just Marjorie and an investigator. The champagne room. Wow. So then again, the committee goes to Boston.

This time, however, they had a restraint for Marjorie to keep her hands and feet from moving. Okay. And on top of that, Houdini built a box to prevent her from moving. So Houdini was like, look, I'm not pitching anything crazy, but let's put her in a piano house. Let's just put her in your dad's desk from childhood.

Let's just, let's put a table on a dog house and she'll live in that. I got to tell you, I liked Houdini before this. I'm a huge Houdini fan. Yep. I love everything. Yep. So Houdini refuses to let anyone see the box

before the seance claiming he was being watched by, quote, hostile interests. Yeah, which is true. So Cranon had a new way for Walker to tap messages in Morse code while hitting a tambourine and whistling. What is going on? Like, what is that? Like, I know these scientists are like, yeah.

I mean, I know these scientists are like pretty much bought, but at this point, isn't anyone like, this is getting fucking crazy. All right. Look, he'll just do Morse code through a tambourine. Perfect. Perfect. That's the way to defeat Houdini's head house.

And then she can win the science prize. And then I get to have sex with your wife, Cranon. This is a perfect plan. I'm glad we got here really easily. Whoa, fuck. I think a finger just went on my butt. Oh, it's a miracle. This is a great seance.

I thought it was a tail. So Cranon has no idea about the box. And when it shows up, he fucking loses his shit. We have to postpone because it rained. It's a rain delay. He said Marjorie should be allowed to test run it with her friends. So the committee's like, all right.

Well, the committee is really, I mean, amazing. Yes, of course you should. So she needs to be able to have it for a week, Houdini, and then we'll come back. Well, give her a half hour. Okay, all right. To try it out. They practice for a half hour and then they begin.

At one point, the bell rang and Houdini said the box had been opened. And then he revealed two... I'm still stuck in the past. Keep going. And then he revealed two bent brass strips. So he put brass strips so if it opened, they would bend. So it did open from the inside.

That's how he proves it. He's like, I put brass here. Oh, oh, he did. Okay. It's bent out. Okay, gotcha. Cranon then said Walter had opened it. Walter did a lot of this.

And then... He is the worst ghost. And then... And he's off beat with that tambourine. And then Cranon and Houdini just start fucking screaming at each other. And she's like, guys, come on. My knees hurt.

And Walter says, I need a break. I need another five minutes. And then Walter goes, hey, can we try this alone again? To who? To the committee. Walter's like, hey, you break. Also, can we get like 20 alone with the box once more? As a ghost.

I just, I wasn't expecting it as a ghost. So I just need a couple, like five or eight, you know, whatever we can do. Of course, Walter. Walter would like another breather. Is that cool? The ghost is exhausted. Well, you put his ghost body in that little house.

So they go outside the room and they leave, they leave her and her friends. I love that Houdini's like, fine. I mean, he must just be like, this is such bullshit. Yeah, he, yeah. And so outside the committee heard, quote, Walter whistling with his best cockiness. How do they know the difference between a Walter whistle

and a Crandon or Marguerite whistle? There is more demonish. So the committee comes back in. Everything good in him. We're fine. Now a ruler was found in the box and Houdini said she used it to open the box. And Marjorie said he put it in there to frame her.

Walter, quote, Houdini, you think you're smart, don't you? How much are they paying you to stop this phenomena? Oh, this is amazing. Walter's going directly at Houdini. And Houdini said it was costing him about $2,500 a week to be here off the tour. And Walter said, quote, where do you turn on a $2,500 or contract in August?

You piece of shit, Walter, you take that back. Houdini's going to beat the shit out of Marjorie Walter. And Houdini's... I mean, by the way, if you're just a head poking out of a box, not a good time to be like, all right, Houdini, what's up? It's like, knock your little house over like a porta potty. Yeah, it's like a turtle on its back. Actually, I've got an idea.

Walter said, where did you turn on a $2,500 contract in August? And Houdini said, Buffalo. And Walter responded, where were those contracts? You didn't have a job for this week. And finally, one of the committee members said this had nothing to do with psychic research. Stop arguing with the ghost about your gigs. Oh, my.

Walter got petty real. What's the house got brought in? Walter became real petty. Yeah, Walter's real angry. Really not being cool anymore. Oh, you're not on the road now? Used to be doing theaters. All right.

Then someone realized that the box had been tampered with by jamming an eraser between the boards. And they called the sounds over. So someone saw that there was a little eraser somewhere, which I think is how they were opening it. Crandon insisted they put into the record that no medium had ever been put in a box. I mean, at this point, it feels like we've lost the plot a little bit.

A little bit. Everyone's losing it. I would like the record to show that no medium's ever been forced to a box before. How can they work like that? Like the dead are going to come in and talk through them when they're in a box? I mean, the ghosts are livid. Bird was then accused of betraying the committee, including with Marjorie. Can I just fuck the house?

Please, just let me have one of the armholes. Is this how glory holes came to be? Is that what the story really is? Bird resigns right there. He's off the committee. And then they start another seance. They got a double header? Yeah. And Marjorie gets in the box and Houdini controls her left hand.

And this time, Walter just starts yelling at Houdini. So is Walter drunk or something? It seems like Walter's become a real prick. Quote, I suppose it was an accident. Those things were left in the cabinet. What did you do for that, Houdini? You goddamn son of a bitch. Is there a fucking stenographer there?

So someone is like, boy, I picked a good night to have this gig. This is absolutely bonkers. So now Walter said, Walter just called Houdini a son of a bitch. There's a ruler in this cabinet, you unspeakable cad. The idea of putting up a plant like that on a girl, you won't live forever, Houdini. You've got to die. I put a curse on you now that will follow you every day

for the rest of your short life. Now you get the hell out of here. Don't ever come back or I won't. Wow. Walter bringing the heat. But the seance went on for another two and a half hours. That's pretty... Houdini was like, uh-huh, all right. Why don't you just ring the fucking bell in the box, asshole? That's exactly right.

Yeah, yeah, ring the bell. Yes, he was talking, he was saying ring the bell. And he couldn't ring the bell. So two and a half hours of Walter trying to ring the bell. Look, Houdini, you prick. You got nothing. Good job. You got out of a turtle gut.

You loser. Ring the bell. Wow. After two and a half hours, Walter said, I admit it, I lost my temper. Goodbye. He was gone. I could not handle what's happening right now. Someone on Crandon's team changed the official record to make it seem Houdini had been

caught planting the ruler in the box. Oh, wow. This version was then published in spiritualist papers worldwide. So it's just classic. They're just lying and misinformation to take out the enemy. Crandon wrote a book and said that Houdini was weeping because Walter called him a son of a bitch because he was actually a bastard.

What a crazy distinction for Houdini to have, right? I'm not a son of a bitch. I'm a bastard. There you go. Now, the day after this really long, crazy silence. I don't know if it was crazy. Marjorie Houdini and two others went and had lunch at a restaurant. This is a pretty good paella.

Right? This is good, right, Houdini? It was very good. But it was just me or was Walter in one of his moods last night. He was very rude. I mean, I don't know, though. I wasn't there. You were there. He was talking through you.

Yeah, but I wasn't present. Right. Because I was not part of it. But I hear he was just the worst. I hate that he does that through me because I like you. You're awesome. I think you're really awesome, Houdini. It's just that jerk-off ghost.

That's your brother. Right, I forgot that. I forgot that Walter was my brother. But yeah, it is. It's my big brother. Yeah. Yeah, noodle fingers. Noodle fingers.

Yeah. You know, there's a lot going on lately, so it's sort of hard for everyone that was in a box. It's like, how can I keep track of everything? Yeah, yeah. But it was my big brother. Yeah, he was such a jerk. I'm even mad at him.

All right, well, we should probably pay and get out of here. Yeah. Yeah. So Marjorie told Houdini at this lunch, quote, if you misrepresent me from the stage at Keith's Theater, some of my friends will come up and give you a good beating. Whoa. So he has a show coming up in Boston.

This is Chappelle-ish. Yeah. And after she said that, he said, well, I'm going to misrepresent you. Or I'm going to represent you. Yeah, he's just saying, I'm going to be straight. Right. And then she said, well, my son would read that his mom was a fraud,

and Houdini said, quote, well, then don't be a fraud. And then he was like, you just got Houdini. She's like, yeah. There were, yeah, that's what Houdini did. There were more seances over the next days, and Walter threatened Houdini. Walter seems to have lost focus a little bit. Yeah, Walter's losing his shit.

Shit, Crandon offered Houdini $10,000 if he would believe. I would love to buy your belief. Is that possible? It's called lobbying. Would you care to be a part of that? I know what you think, but why don't we change what you think with money? Pretty good. Pretty good.

He did say we give it to charity. For charity. You could give it to your favorite charity, whatever you want. After this all, Crandon goes into attack mode, writing spiritualists everywhere saying, Walter had exposed Houdini. They all thought, and that's all spiritualists think that Houdini planted the ruler and the eraser in the box. It's just amazing to have the, I mean, it's not because we still

basically do similar shit, but it's amazing to just, for people to be like, I don't know who I believe, Houdini or this ghost brother? That's hard to tell. I mean, part of me thinks Houdini is a living man who's never really lied on record should be heard out. But then also you got ghost brother who I don't know why he would make it up. Two guys battling it out in the court of truth. Houdini insisted Scientific American publish a Marjory expose, but they didn't.

So months later, Houdini published his own pamphlet titled, Houdini exposes the tricks used by the Boston medium Marjory to win the prize offered by Scientific American. And he called her a fraud. On October, October 1924, Houdini went after Doyle, calling him a menace to sanity and health. And he was now going around the country lecturing about the fraud of mediums. So now he's doing fucking big circus theaters.

And it's all about mediums and attacking mediums. In LA, he collaborated with a reporter investigating a spiritualist group. And right after he left town, the group was raided by cops. So he's, he's got all now he's starting to just hire private investigators. And he's getting in touch with reporters. And he's, he's going to fucking war with spiritualists. In Chicago, 1500, Spirulus spirit spiritualists had a protest against Houdini.

Let us believe bullshit. Come on. When we like the bullshit, stop it. She was in a house. You put the ruler in there, Houdini. He just hates ghosts. He was called an itinerant paid magician. And other people, other people said he was, he belonged in an insane asylum, which maybe.

Well, yeah, put him in whatever you want. He's not going to stay in it. I mean, this is a very crazy. We haven't even been able to talk about Houdini's job, which was not normal. Newspapers covered Marjorie's beating threats. And, uh, Walters. Marjorie had threatened to have him beat up. Oh, right. Okay.

Sorry. Yeah, right. Um, they both did because they're the same person. Uh, let me come to my own conclusions, jerk. I don't need to be persuaded. They also covered the, the curse put on Houdini. Houdini offered 10,000 to Marjorie if he couldn't replicate her tricks. Well, she's like, you're going to let him finger you?

Except for that part, aside from that part. That's a big part of the show, Houdini. Fine. Yes. And the finger part. All right. Give me your hand. It's that was like a bird.

Thank you, Houdini. Oh, yes. Will you wear this picture of her mother? Oh, that's nice. And to speak to you about mediums in Boston, Houdini showed a photo of Walter after he had been crushed to death between train engines. What? Wait, what?

Sorry. I got a picture. He got the death picture of Walter. Did you say that's how he died? No, I left it for now. No wonder he's such a prick. What happened to him? He was crushed.

Crushed between train engines. What was he doing? As happens. I assume it was two trains. I'm going to go stand between them. Yeah. It was something like that. It was probably between two trains and then as will happen.

Yeah, of course. You can only last so long. Even Houdini would be like, I'm not going to get in there. Yeah, that's a bad one. That's not. Try the turtle. Put me back in a turtle, yeah. Give me the turtle.

Maybe in a turtle, I would survive it. And Walter passed away from that. Yes. Yes, he did. Did Crandon look at him and he was like, the belly button is the. You know what? I think it's over. I'll be honest.

I really. As a matter of fact, all that's left is a belly button. Yeah. Oh, wait. Nope. Not even that. Oh, he's really smushed. Look at how smushed up he is.

Oh, old soupy Walter. And then someone was like, I got a picture. Yeah. And then people were like, don't let that happen. And Houdini was like, does anyone have a picture of Mushi Walter? I mean, someone sent, it must have been, I assume, a photographer, like, because they were back then. What's his name?

Weki or I think his name. Weki Leeks. Wee Chi, Wee Chi. I think it was Wee Chi. Wee Chi. It's a famous photographer who would go around and snap pictures of like crime, but he was always at the right fucking place at the right time. Well, I want to hear about it.

Well, you got any info on this kind of little iPad? There's great books that show his photographs. The books are the things that are not articles on the internet. Stop talking. OK. So back then, they took pictures of all that fucking shit, because what else are you doing? Everyone's just at home staring at walls.

Right. Someone's like, you want to see a guy smushed between two trains? He's like, I was actually just looking at this wallpaper. Oh, I'd absolutely love to do that. Whoa. Plus, a guy smushed between two trains was like every Friday, like it happened all the time. Oh.

OK. Just before they knew how to stop trains. Yeah. I got this. All the attacks on Marjorie only make Marjorie more famous. She's now just a fucking spiritualist superstar. I always think like we elevate dog shit humans now on a level where it kind of wouldn't, it hasn't always been like that, like it seems like,

you know, like when you think about certain people now who are famous, it's like they're famous because, you know what I mean? Like because they just like got famous by being like the catch me outside girl, like as a millionaire, you know what I mean? Like so it's like, I'm just always like, oh yeah, you just got to get your name out there and you're famous. And then it's like stuff like this. You're like, yeah, no, this is just the way that the machine just kind of generates

and enjoys and lives off of the bullshit. It's just like the bottom feeding machine elevating the garbage to the top just because we want to fucking believe in dog shit. We enjoy it as much as people are like, this will be good and healthy and intelligent. It's like, no, I'd rather believe that this lady who I might be able to bank and see ghosts. Is that okay with you? Can I do that instead?

And we're like, well, that's probably not good for like the public culture. It's like, well, yeah, but I mean, we're idiots. Can't we just please, please? And then society's like, here you go. Here's the garbage to eat. And we're like, oh, that's so much fucking better. Oh, McDonald's for my soul. So all this, so Marjorie has just become like a spiritual superstar, right?

A medium investigator named Eric Dingwall, he goes to see Marjorie and he later said, oh, she let her said the first thing that he told her to do was to take her clothes off. What the fuck is going on? I mean, it's just like, there's, I mean, why wouldn't you just be like, look, Houdini's for sure right? Everyone's like, may I see you naked and then figure it out? I think I believe Walter's real. That actually wasn't weird since she often was nude or wore a kimono with nothing underneath.

Quote, it was reported that she would sometimes sprinkle luminous powder on her breasts, creating a nice effect when the kimono slipped off her shoulders. Again, it is just the simple male mind is manipulated on a level that it's like, it's like, look, you represent science. We are trying to get to the bottom of it, ghosts are real or not. It's like, she put glitter on her boobies. So she definitely talks to ghosts because when the kimono dropped off, she had glitter on her boobies. So, yep, case closed and she let me touch it.

Ghosts are real for sure. Now, during seances with Dingwall, Marjorie produced ectoplasm. It seemed to be coming out of her vagina. And when it did, Walter laughed. That's her brother. He's like, that's hilarious. Look at all that crotch goo. So Crandon held a red light to her vagina and Dingwall got a good look and saw what

quote looked like a flaccid hand protruding from her vagina. Dave, I can't believe it. We got to end the show. What are you doing? What the fuck are you doing? What the fuck? What the fuck? So that's right.

The hand is now being held by Dingwall, the hand coming out of her vagina. That's right, I'm going to say it again. The hand coming out of her vagina is being held by Dingwall. If someone's just listening to this episode, by now, they must have stopped and been like, I need to get the pictures to see. I mean, we are talking full and everyone's like, oh, nice. There's a hand coming out of the vagina. Oh, let me share.

Good to meet you, finally, Walter. Oh, the pleasure's all mine, friend. Oh, we're doing high fives. Oh. Oh, and here I'll have breakfast in bed and you and Walter can just do secret handshakes. Well, what a time. Can the hand wave? I'm taking a photo.

Oh, my God. This is what used to happen. I mean, I keep thinking we live in the craziest time, but I don't know anymore, Dave. I think you might have swayed me tonight. This really might be. And Dingwall's just like, I'll hold it. It just shows you how, like, if you're around people normalizing something, like, Dingwall, would you like to hold the hand?

Oh, for sure. That's great. Very good. I'm a believer, like I said. I've never, I don't know what Houdini's problem is. So he built a house. Well, hello, I will shake that. And it's strange, wouldn't you imagine that Walter would appear in other forms,

but instead he just decided to put a hand coming out of your genitals? This is essentially a brother in hand form coming out of your vagina. That's right. This is my brother who was smushed between two trains. His hand is now coming out of my vagina and you're shaking it. Now, let's talk about this science prize. This is all just making her more famous. These pictures are coming out like...

I mean, at this point, like if she was on Instagram, she'd be certified. She'd get the blue check. Houdini was worried about the threats he was getting. That better not be the hand. Spirit just weren't known to harm people they were enemies with. Joe Ring carried a gun after seeing the gun. He was known to harm people they were enemies with. Joe Ring carried a gun after several attempts to kill him. Some mediums had muscle beat up anyone who got in the way of their making cash, right?

Right. In March, the committee finally voted and rejected Marjorie's claim to the prize. Wow. On what grounds? On what... science is dead. But Houdini was the only one to call her a fraud. The other guys were just like, she's not... How do you find a middle ground? How do you find a middle ground if you're like, I saw...

Dingwall hold a vagina hand of her brother. She produced it either... much like the hand, either you're in or you're out. Because the committee is just saying we couldn't find scientific proof while he's saying this is outright fraud. So it's pretty different. I understand the distinction between Houdini and the committee, but the committee being like, well, we're just... we believe it, but oh, science. It just... it really needs these facts, sadly. It's just quite a pickle.

One of the committees saw ectoplasm come from her vagina and said it looked like the tissue of an animal, not a limp ham. Houdini had been gathering information on spiritualists for years and had massive files on a bunch of them. He hired investigators. He sent spies into seances. He toured the U.S. denouncing them. His crusade is being covered in papers and the spiritualists attack back.

They call him a charlatan. They say he's the antichrist. For a while, he thought Bird had worked with the Crandons, and now he announced it on a radio show. And he said, quote, I publicly denounce Malcolm Bird as being an accomplice of Marjorie and Bird resigned from the magazine. Good. Get him out of there.

Houdini had people going to Marjorie's sounds and reporting her tricks to him. The newest tricks. Whatever new tricks she had, he would have somebody. Right. Crandon sent lectures out to attack Houdini. Houdini learned of the men Marjorie was sleeping with, including Carrington and a bunch of Harvard research investigators. Sure.

Ah, the Harvard boys. You got to get down there to see Marjorie. More like Hodford. Holy fuck, it's like you're fucking a vagina with a hand in it. Hmm. Have you ever gotten a handjob in a vagina? Buddy brother, let me tell you. I'm sorry if you brought your child tonight. If you brought your child and it's still here, I mean, you came to party.

Houdini somehow even had photos of her having sex with some of these people. But Walter. Yeah, how? I mean, you don't keep asking. It's not going to help. I assume they're just fucking in these seances like. But this, I mean, how good were cameras back then? It wasn't like now or you could be like, hmm. It was like someone was like.

Yeah. I think Walter gave a strobe effect. That's classic him. A reporter friend of Houdini's learned an investigator had seen Marjorie take three objects from her groin area. One looked like a glove, one like a baby's hand, and one couldn't be made out. I love that third one. He's like, I don't know.

It's unworldly. It might have been a rabbit in a blender. Not in our world. And then Houdini found out the Crandids had adopted an English boy. Doyle. But there was no boy around. They said they had sought one quote free from tuberculosis, syphilis, alcohol, or insanity in the parents. But now the boy was just.

We want to give him insanity. We want to make, we want to put that in ourselves. We want it to be nature versus nurture. But now the boy was gone and then the Crandins had to come out and say the boy had been sent back to England because he wasn't a fit. He didn't fit in with our really cool family. He was a real little asshole, this kid, this baby. You know how when you get a baby and you can just tell it's not right?

It was crying. It was just a negative influence. I mean, not even a baby though. It's a boy. A boy. They took a boy and they sent a boy back. You were your new family. Ah, we're not your family.

Mother, but I loved it. So he says we sent him back and then Houdini had a close friend who was an MP in England and that guy starts sending letters demanding to know where the boy is. We don't know where the boy was, but even then they're blowing it up more to look like the boy's missing. Houdini then testified to Congress. My God, Congress. Congress.

Houdini testified in front of Congress to support a bill outlawing fortune telling, but he's really slowly losing it. By the way, Congress is always just so, it's just so fucking dumb. Like we're bringing Houdini in to testify anti for it. You know there were some senators like, now Mr. Houdini, I understand you're anti fortune telling. But why do those crystal balls have a bunch of smog inside of them if there's no future inside of them?

You want to answer me? Riddle me that motherfucker. He thinks spiritualists are going to kill him and he admits the curse worries him. They're also filing tons of lawsuits against him. So, when he comes back to Boston in September for a show, he's being sued for millions of dollars by spiritualists all over the place. He sold most of what he owned to his wife for one dollar just in case anybody would want. Is that his, oh okay, okay, interesting.

That's a long process. Two dollars, baby. On that tour when he left his house, he cried and said that's the last time he would ever see it. So Houdini had this thing which Gareth brought up earlier where he said you could take a punch, he could take a punch from anyone. Sorry, I always pictured that as like, I mean I didn't know how old he was when he died.

How old is he right here? He's like in his late fifties, early fifties. Yeah, I mean, you know, you pass a like, a point where he's like in that time it's like he's late fifties. Yeah, well let's listen to this because that might put a little light on it. So in Montreal, he's in the green room after doing a show and a theology student asked if he could punch Houdini. But Houdini's lying down and not ready,

and the student punched him as hard as he could four or five times. What, so the guy just beat him? Yes, he's clearly injured. The next stop of the tour is in Detroit and he is in the hotel lobby and he's just sitting in a chair reading a paper and a huge guy comes up and punches him in the stomach through the paper. Wow, the hand wasn't in a vagina. A doctor examines him before the show

and tells him he have to go to the hospital, but he's like, I'm going to do the fucking show. He then... Way different than you. Yeah. You had diarrhea in San Francisco and canceled. I cancel any show based on diarrhea. It's on the back of the ticket. This show might be canceled because of diarrhea. Actually Dave's diarrhea, if I'm being...

Look, thank you for the concern. I was laying on the floor of a bathroom hotel vomiting and dying. You ate garbage potatoes. Garbage potatoes. Don't eat. That's the story. We don't have enough time. Garbage potatoes. We've talked forever. It's true.

So he walks off stage when the show is over and collapses. He won't go to the hospital. They take him back to the hotel. He finally, after being in pain for so many hours, he goes to the hospital and they discover he has a ruptured appendix from being punched and that the poison had spread everywhere. They better not need belly button surgery or something. He died on Halloween 1926.

So Leroy Crandon died in 1939. Marjorie kept having supporters and continued to give sances until her death on November 1st, 1941 at the age of 53. So there is some people think that the spiritualists did kill him. The guy was connected to them and they were like, oh, this is how we can do it. We can just fucking punch him. I mean, that does sound kind of weird when you...

Out of context. That's a little bizarre when I put it that way. There's a book by William Colossian, Larry Sloman, The Secret Life of Edini, The Making of America's First Superhero, that covers that sort of... They make a nice case where you're like, oh, yeah, it's not. It's a pretty big coincidence that the guys are sort of fucking punching him without being ready. I mean, I'm in on his side and all of this,

but you did give yourself a pretty terrible situation if you're like, I could take any punch forever. Yeah, I mean, you're going to have dickheads do that, right? I mean, that's the problem with saying punch me. Yeah. Another book, another source was The Witch of Lime Street, Sam's Seduction in Houdini and the Spirit World by David Jahr. So, those are the two main books.

Someone's alarm's going off, which is amazing. Someone's like, I got to get the fuck out of here. I really, I was here as long as I could handle it. But now I've really got to get going. Sorry. Holy fuck. A lot of stuff happened here, didn't it? What just happened?

You're not allowed to tell anybody about this. What were you thinking backstage? Were you like, I'm about to blow this guy's mind as he's just sitting there eating fries, being like, and then I was talking to my dad? No, I knew I was going to just completely fuck your head up tonight. This is, I, this is the first time I've ever seen a guy like that. I've seen him, I've seen him, I've seen him, I've seen him, I've seen him, I've seen him, I've seen him, I've seen him, I've seen him, I've seen him, I've seen him, I've seen him,

tonight, this is, this, this, I cannot find. And this is coming from me, who's been in this chair for a while. Since you decided to get out of the closet and bring in someone else to do the show with. Well, it's because my dad... Holy shit, this is why you needed someone else to do the show with you. You wouldn't be blowing your own mind in a closet just shouting alone. I might be.

No, you'd be like, I mean, if you could see the hand right now. Anyway, it's pretty crazy. I, I, I cannot, I am, holy shit. Yeah. Wowie. Wowie's Howie. That'll be what this one's called. Wowie. Wowie. What the fuck do you call this one? Oh, fuck. Oh, my God. Don't bite the hand that feeds you. Why? It's a little message I'd like to throw out there just for you guys. Please keep wearing masks. You just take care of yourself, right? It's not a big thing. It's not a big thing to do because you don't want to be like, oh, I can't. There are people sending me messages and they're like, I can't read anymore. I haven't been able to read

for a year. Like that shit happens. All people send me shit all the fucking time. You don't want this vaccinated or not. You don't want it. So just please wear masks. I want all you guys to be safe. Okay. Thank you guys so much for coming out. We appreciate it. Honestly, what the fuck just happened? No, fuck it. Thank you guys. Let's go, Bucks.