Houdini Goes to Congress

The story as it is told

On February 26, 1926, a House subcommittee room in Washington filled up before the hearing began. Representative Sol Bloom of New York had a bill, H.R. 8989, to outlaw fortune telling for pay in the District of Columbia, and he had brought his star witness. The Evening Star reported the room "packed with fortune tellers, spiritualists and mediums of every description," and some who couldn't get in protested loudly.

"My name is Harry Houdini," the witness began, and he described himself as "an author; I am a psychic investigator for the scientific magazines of the world: and then I am a mysterious entertainer." He insisted, "This is positively no attack upon a religion." He had examined 300 mediums, he said, and "In 35 years I have never seen one genuine medium."

He offered $10,000 to any clairvoyant who could pass one test. Representative Frank Reid replied, "Let us get the $10,000." Houdini answered, "Unfortunately I didn't bring it with me. But I can telegraph for the money, if you wish."

Then came the stunt. Houdini held up a telegram and told the mediums in the audience to read it. The transcript records "[No response.]" Reid volunteered a guess: "Please send more money." Houdini told him, "You are not a clairvoyant," and Reid said, "Oh, yes: I am." The transcript marks "[Laughter.]"

What we can confirm

Most people have never heard that Houdini testified to Congress. Where it is mentioned, it is usually a one-liner that he "took on the fortune tellers in Washington" and won, which overstates what the hearing did.

Asked about his religion, Houdini said, "I am the son of a rabbi." Asked where he was born, he said Wisconsin, in 1874. He was born in Budapest (see "Born in Appleton, Wisconsin": Houdini's birthplace and his stage name).

The hearings ran again on May 18, 20 and 21. On May 20 Houdini called his wife as a witness to his character. "I will have been married, on June 22, 32 years to this girl," he said, and asked her, "Am I a good boy?" She answered, "Yes." The record notes applause.

The bill did not become law. That last point comes from secondary accounts and is not confirmed in the record opened here.

The facts

• Hearing title, bill H.R. 8989 (Bloom), dates Feb 26, May 18, 20 and 21, 1926; GPO 1926. "Fortune Telling: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Judiciary of the Committee on the District of Columbia, House of Representatives, 69th Congress, 1st session." Scanned copy: commonplacefacts.com Google Books record: google.com
• Quotes above ("My name is Harry Houdini"; "psychic investigator"; "positively no attack upon a religion"; "examined 300 mediums"; "In 35 years I have never seen one genuine medium"; $10,000 exchange; telegram and "[No response.]"; Reid "Please send more money"; "son of a rabbi"; born "in Wisconsin"; May 20 "Am I a good boy?"). same transcript
• Room "packed with fortune tellers, spiritualists and mediums"; telegram rolled into a ball and thrown on the table. Evening Star, Feb 26, 1926, p. 1, loc.gov

Related: What enters the public domain in 2027

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