Looking for a little skeptical spookiness to add to your Halloween this year? The James Randi Educational Foundation will be holding a seance to contact the spirit of Harry Houdini live on the internet!
Houdini was a hero to James Randi, and he famously said that if there were an afterlife, he would do whatever he could after he died to contact his wife. She held a seance, and… nothing happened. However, when you have people like Randi and magician Andrew Mayne involved, why, anything can happen!
OK, maybe not anything. Like, say, actually contacting a dead spirit. But I bet this will be a very fun event, and I encourage all skeptics and believers — especially believers — young and old to drop in. For more info, stay tuned to Randi.org and WeirdThings.com.
October 27th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
It is no good. The Randi-Radiation that Randi emits consistently thwarts any paranormal activity. This phenomenon has been known by psychics for years and causes paranormal things to stop functioning when a sufficiently skeptical person is nearby.
October 27th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
#1: “It is no good. The Randi-Radiation that Randi emits consistently thwarts any paranormal activity. This phenomenon has been known by psychics for years and causes paranormal things to stop functioning when a sufficiently skeptical person is nearby.”
Does this mean that if Randi was near a Catholic Mass at communion time that the wafer would fail to become the body of Jesus and prevent the faithful from playing swallow the leader?
October 27th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Of course, if Randi actually does contact Houdini, would he be eligible to collect on his own JREF challenge? Seems only fair.
October 27th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
>OK, maybe not anything. Like, say, actually contacting a dead spirit.
>
It would be quite a feat to contact a dead spirit. I thought the idea was that his spirit would live on!
October 27th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
I hope the seance will be posted to YouTube for people to view at their leisure.
I’ve met many people who have this ridiculous notion that Houdini was a mystic and I’ve often wondered how people can have such a cock-eyed impression of a man who had great fun exposing the frauds and making money while at it. I’d definitely part with some money to see a stage show in which the performers discussed the woo-woo from Houdini’s era, demonstrated the tricks which Houdini exposed (and the often hilarious means in which it was done) and went on to do the same to contemporary woo-woo.
October 28th, 2009 at 7:04 am
As a Catholic I beleve in an afterlife but I think the departed don’t want to talk to us there happer were they are . I think seances don’t work and in many cases are a con job James Randi should know that
October 28th, 2009 at 9:07 am
I used to live near Appleton, WI, where Houdini lived as a child for a short time. Are they still holding a seance every year trying to contact him?
http://www.foxvalleyhistory.org/houdini/facts.asp
October 28th, 2009 at 10:52 am
The ad says the event is at 9PM EST, but I presume they mean EDT, right?