Mina Crandon

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Margery , real name Mina Crandon (* 1888 in Ontario as Mina Stinson, † 1941 in Boston ) was considered a Canadian-American necromancer .

Boston medium

Crandon's second marriage to the respected Boston surgeon Dr. LeRoy Goddard Crandon, who adhered to the booming spiritism in the 1920s . During a visit from a necromancer, she prophesied to the Crandons that Mina also had the gift of attracting spirits from the dead. At dark sessions the ghost of Mina's late brother Walter supposedly managed to make a small table dance. Mina was introduced to Prof. Richet, who had already discovered the medium Eva C. , which was supposed to be able to produce substances from the spirit world, so-called ectoplasm . Mina, who now called herself Margery while she was working as a medium , wanted Walter's spirit to have incarnated within herself and is said to have made his voice speak even when her mouth was closed for control purposes. Margery's skills particularly impressed Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the most prominent representative of the spiritism movement of the time .

Investigation of the Scientific American

The science magazine Scientific American offered a cash prize of US $ 2,500 for anyone who, under test conditions, could convince a committee of scientists and journalists of the genuineness of their supernatural abilities. A member of the committee was also the most famous magician and critic of spiritualism at the time, Harry Houdini , whose friendship with Doyle had turned into the opposite because of his critical attitude. The wealthy Crandons were not interested in the cash prize, but received the Boston committee in 1924. The Margery adoring journalist J. Malcolm Bird had not informed Houdini, who was perceived as too critical, of the numerous séances at which Margery allegedly realized touches from the spirit realm and ectoplasm and made objects float . Bird then wrote an article stating that the committee would award the award to Margery. When Houdini found out about this, he arbitrarily stopped the printing presses and insisted on attending a dark session with Margery.

Controversy with Houdini

Houdini enforced that Bird was no longer allowed to be present because he suspected that he was in love with the 36-year-old and therefore biased. While most of the members were convinced of the ghost phenomena offered in the dark session, such as a floating table and a megaphone floating according to instructions, Houdini secretly complained about numerous possibilities of deception. He surprised Margery at the next meeting with a specially built box from which only her head could protrude, which should prevent manipulation in the dark. Margery accepted the challenge under protest, but announced in a trance in Walter's deep voice that Houdini had set a trap for her because the box contained a folding folding rule with which she was to be compromised. With this she could have moved objects on a distant table in a dark session. In fact, a folding rule was found in the box that she could have used to move objects through the head opening during the dark session.

The issue now was whether Houdini had hidden the ruler in order to discredit Margery, or whether Margery had perpetrated an intrigue to silence Houdini. (An alleged confession from Houdini's co-workers has since turned out to be a rumor.) Margery managed no phenomenon in the box except Walter's voice, which cursed Houdini. With the exception of two members, the committee found that they had probably been caught by an impostor, so the prize was not awarded. Those involved were surprised by their own naivety, which was fueled not least by the charm of the young Margery, the generous assessment rewarded with flirting and was only dressed in a kimono for control purposes . However, Doyle, like Bird, retained his belief in Margery's powers.

The Margery affair was critical to public opinion on spiritism, which included many prominent politicians. Margery was nevertheless able to assert herself among the spiritualists. Years later, Margery attracted attention with a fingerprint in wax supposedly from "Walter", which in fact belonged to her very lively dentist. Historians suspect that the motive for Margery's "evocations of spirits" was that the young woman, who came from a humble background, wanted to please her husband, who, as a spiritualist enthusiast, had wanted his wife as a medium.

The theme is taken up in the feature film Deadly Magic (2007), in which Catherine Zeta-Jones plays a deceitful necromancer who has an affair with Houdini. Interestingly enough, Houdini's widow Bess had an affair with the necromancer Arthur Ford, whose “authenticity” Bess had at times confirmed, not entirely unselfishly.

literature

  • Ruth Brandon: The Life and Many Deaths of Harry Houdini . Pan Books, London 2001, ISBN 0-330-48780-9 .
  • Williams Kalush, Larry Sloman: The Secret Life of Houdini. The making of America's first superhero . Atria Books, New York 2006, ISBN 0-7432-7207-2 .
  • Kenneth Silverman : HOUDINI !!! The career of Ehrich Weiss . Harper Collins, New York 1996, ISBN 0-06-016978-8 .
  • Kenneth Silverman: Notes to Houdini !!! . 1996.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Crandon, Mina
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Stinson, Mina (maiden name); Margery (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian-American necromancer
DATE OF BIRTH 1888
PLACE OF BIRTH Ontario
DATE OF DEATH 1941
Place of death Boston