"He's friendly, very intelligent, but obsessed with spiritualism. Not being initiated into the world of mystery, never having learned the artifices of conjuring, it's the simplest thing in the world to gain his trust and deceive him."
It was in these terms that the magician Harry Houdini spoke of Arthur Conan Doyle, the famous father of Sherlock Holmes!
"Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini in the US", 1923.
Source: Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia
It's hard to imagine, considering how much we admire the character he created: his keen sense of observation of crime scenes, non-verbal communication, his scientific, medical, physics, and chemistry knowledge, his logical mind and implacable deduction, his ability to detect all forms of lies and hoaxes!
However, it was at the age of 28 that the author became enamored with occult sciences. He had already written the first adventure of the private detective, but it had not yet been published (it would be in 1887). In the meantime, he practiced as a doctor, and it was in his office that he met a certain General Drayson, a renowned astronomer and spiritualism enthusiast (with the aim of reconnecting with his brother who had died too soon).
Years passed, and in 1891, Conan Doyle gave up medicine to devote himself to writing and become the immense author we know. From then on, all his time was monopolized by Sherlock Holmes' adventures. A very difficult period was about to open up for him.
In 1893, his wife contracted tuberculosis and died in 1902, after long suffering, interminable treatments whose promises of healing were betrayed.
It was in 1916, in the midst of World War I, that Conan Doyle turned again to the occult sciences, probably in search of meaning and consolation, refusing, however, to affiliate himself with any faith. The disappearance of many of his friends and family members in the trenches, or after contracting the "Spanish flu," plunged him into a deep depression, refusing the idea that these people he had loved so much could disappear into nothingness.
From then on, he devoured all spiritualist literature, attended more or less spectacular seances, with the idea of convincing himself of the immortality of the soul. He even went so far as to proclaim himself an expert in spiritualism, he who had no particular knowledge in the field. He gave lectures throughout England, France, Australia, and the United States. He covered all topics: spirit photographs, table-turning, and automatic writing.
Leaving his detective aside, he embarked on writing spiritualist treatises, which did not arouse the enthusiasm of his publishers, who had only one idea in mind: to publish a new Sherlock Holmes investigation!
It was while touring the United States that he met Harry Houdini. It was 1922, and Houdini had invited him to attend a spiritualist seance: he showed him two slates. Five corks were presented to Conan Doyle, who chose one. The designated cork was cut in half to prove its innocence. Another cork was dipped in a flask of white ink and slipped between the two slates, tied together and suspended by a thread from the ceiling.
Houdini then asked Conan Doyle to move away, to go outside the apartment and write a few words on a piece of paper, out of sight. Upon his return, Conan Doyle unfolded the paper and revealed what he had written: a verse from the Bible ("Mene, mene tekel upharsin," which translates to: "counted, counted, weighed, and divided"). As one might have guessed, when the slates were taken down from the ceiling, the same message was revealed in white ink!
"A spiritual seance", c. 1910.
Source: Who Do You Think You Are?
For Conan Doyle, there was no doubt: Houdini was using psychic powers, mediumistic gifts! Until Houdini's death in 1926, Conan Doyle remained convinced that the magician was actually the most powerful medium, even though Harry Houdini strove to demonstrate the opposite to him.
Thus, Conan Doyle thought he had discovered the secret of escapology that made Houdini so famous: dematerialization!
Houdini tried in vain to dispute this explanation: Conan Doyle would not budge, Houdini was capable of dematerializing and rematerializing moments later, free from all his chains!
As if, for him, believing in what defies understanding was preferable to the violence of reality.
On July 7, 1930, Arthur Conan Doyle died at his home from a heart attack. A few days later, on July 13, the Spiritualist Association rented the Royal Albert Hall in London to organize a seance and try to contact him.
And you, do you know why you practice the magical arts?
What does it represent for you? A remedy, a refuge, an escape, a way to connect with others, to communicate, to entertain, or a simple hobby?
I have no doubt that your answer to this question will greatly enrich your performances, by imbuing them with an additional and precious dimension.
In any case, what emerges from this episode, as Stig Dagerman wrote: "Our need for consolation is impossible to satisfy."
