The death of Harry Houdini

Harry Houdini died in Detroit on 31 October 1926, Halloween. His wife Bess later held yearly Halloween séances hoping for a coded message from him.

Harry Houdini, the escape artist, died on 31 October 1926 at Grace Hospital in Detroit. Historic Detroit gives the cause as sepsis from acute appendicitis. History Hit says he collapsed on stage after performing his last show, and four days later a funeral procession through New York City drew over 2,000 mourners.

The paranormal story comes from an agreement between Houdini and his wife Bess. According to Wikipedia, they settled on a secret code, "Rosabelle believe", that he would send if he could communicate after death. "Rosabelle" was a favourite song of theirs. For ten years after his death, Bess held a séance every Halloween. In 1929 she said she had received the code through Arthur Ford, and she later said that incident had been faked.

On Halloween 1936, Bess and her partner Edward Saint staged the "Final Houdini Séance", up on the Knickerbocker Hotel roof in Hollywood. Wikipedia describes it as a failed séance. At its close she put out a candle that had reportedly burned for a decade.