Houdini estate events1/3/2024 She targeted local mediums including Jane B. įollowing the same pattern as during the tour, Mackenberg visited local Washington mediums in the days prior to the hearings. 8989) came before a House committee beginning February 26, 1926. In the first session of the 69th Congress, an anti-fortunetelling law for Washington, D.C., was put forward on the urging of Houdini. According to William Lindsay Gresham, Julien Proskauer credited Mackenberg for "much of his material" in his book The Dead Do Not Talk. For example, the various mediums had claimed to communicate with over three dozen non-existent deceased husbands, despite Mackenberg being single. She claimed to have investigated over 1,000 mediums and never found one who was not a fraud. Mackenberg was among those chosen, and in 1945 she reported "the message has not come through." Expert on psychic fraud Mackenberg in séance disguisesīecause of her investigative work, Mackenberg became an expert on the practices of fraudulent psychics. Prior to his death, Houdini set up secret codes with more than twenty friends to attempt to communicate with them from beyond the grave. The other investigators sometimes called her "The Rev" because of the multiple bogus spiritualist diplomas and titles she had acquired during her investigations. Mackenberg earned the respect of Houdini and his team, and was considered his chief investigator. It was said he carried a Derringer and he advised Mackenberg to carry a gun as well, but she refused. Naturally Houdini and his investigators became the target of great anger from the spiritualists. When Houdini later performed in each city, he would debunk local mediums from the stage, presenting the gathered evidence. Her very detailed written reports for Houdini have been studied and exhibited in museums. Mackenberg did investigations for Houdini and sometimes appeared on stage with him in many cities on those tours including Indianapolis, Worcester, Mass. Mackenberg would sometimes even wear a hearing aid she didn't need. They would also wear various disguises to avoid being found out. They would use multiple false names, sometimes containing puns like "Frances Raud" (for FRAUD) and "Alicia Bunck" (for All Is A Bunk). While Houdini was on tour in 19, Mackenberg and the other investigators would precede him by up to 10 days into each city, and perform undercover investigations of the local spiritualists or psychic mediums. Houdini also sometimes employed men including Clifford M. The team included several other women besides Mackenberg, including Houdini's niece Julia Sawyer and a showgirl named Alberta Chapman. In 1925, Houdini hired her for his undercover investigator team. Houdini was impressed with the young woman, and educated her on the tricks that mediums use to manipulate their victims. She sought out Houdini's help in the case, as he was very publicly engaged in a campaign against false mediums. In the early 1920s, Mackenberg was working on a case involving investment losses that had been advised by a psychic medium. She later reported that, in her early life, she had believed that psychics and fortunetellers really were able to communicate with spirits and foretell the future. In her early years she worked as a stenographer in a law office and as an investigator in New York City. Mackenberg was born July 10, 1892, and lived in Brooklyn, New York City. She testified in court cases and before Congress and was interviewed in national magazines and on television. After Houdini's death she continued to investigate spiritualist fraud for over 20 years and was known as an expert on the subject. She was chief of a team of undercover investigators who investigated mediums for Houdini in the 1920s. Rose Mackenberg (J– April 10, 1968) was an American investigator specializing in fraudulent psychic mediums, known for her association with Harry Houdini. Debunking psychic fraud for Harry Houdini
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