Margery Crandon: The Medium Who Baffled Houdini

by Elaine Kuzmeskus

Margery Crandon was the most controversial medium of the twentieth century. In 1924, the Boston Herald proclaimed "Houdini the Magician Stumped." Who was this medium who baffled Houdini? None other than Margery Crandon, the wife of a prominent Boston surgeon. "Margery the Medium" made headlines throughout the 1920s. She captivated not only Harvard professors, but also the editors of Scientific American with her amazing physical psychic feats. Walter, Margery's spirit guide, produced physical phenomena . His voice was clearly heard directing activities in the séance room. He stopped the Crandons' clock, produced flowers, jewelry, and even his thumbprint in the laboratory.

In her new book, Elaine Kuzmeskus examines the physical phenomena in detail. She explores the lives of Dr. and Mrs. Crandon, as well as the medium’s development. Margery Crandon who took no payment for her seances viewed her mediumship as a lark. It all began in In May of 1923 when Roy Crandon invited two couples to join them in a table-tilting séance. During the evening, he discovered that his wife had a genuine gift for communicating with the spirits. Within months, Margery produced psychic music, direct voice, trumpet séance, and even apports. The magazine Scientific American appointed a committee of five prominent to examine the claims for the medium. While the secretary of the committee, J. Malcolm Bird published a favorable series of articles in the periodical in 1924, the majority of the committee remained unconvinced of the physical phenomena. In order to gain a better understanding of the investigators, the author also delves into the into their biographies. Why did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle champion Margery’s mediumship, while Harry Houdini denounce her as a fraud? Was Margery Crandon too good to be true or was she the last of the great physical mediums?

220 pages, 18 photographs