The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-01-09
Envelope in Vault to Test
Validity of Word
From Beyond
MEDIUM REPEATS CODE
Reveals Secret Arranged
by Magician With Mate
Before Death.
By United Press

tr1ce Houd1nl prepared today TO
take the final steps to prove to a
skeptical world the authenticity of
the message which she says came to
her Tuesday from her husband,
Harry Houdini, in the spirit world.
From safety deposit box in the
Fifth Avenue branch Of the Manu-
facturerS Trust Company, Mrs.
Houdini expects, as soon as she has
recovered from Sprained back
suffer ed in a fall New Years day, to
take the sealed envelope containing
the message placed there by Hou-
DIM in a pact with her, before he
died, to test the validity of COM
munication from beyond the grave.
Mrs. Houdini declares that the
message will be found to be identical
with that received through Arthur
Ford, minister of the First Spirit
ualistic church, Carnegie Hall, in a
trance at her home Tuesday after
noon.
Foe of Spiritualism
my friends will call me mad, I
know" Mrs. Houdini declared. 81
have received advice and warnings
from many who are near to me not
20 go on with this. But it is what
Harry asked me to do. He ordered
me to do it. 1t was the arrange
ment we had before he passed on.
can do nothing else"
The widow of the late master
magician was reared in the Roman
Catholic faith, she explained, and
was even more opposed mentally
to the idea of spirit communication
than her husband, who was known
as the bitterest foe of spiritualism
in the world before his death. He
had exposed numerous fake me-
diums and so-called psychic phe-
nomena.
In the latter part of the purported
communication Tuesday after the
code had been explained as the
single word believe" the purported
words of Houdini continued to
come through Ford and a control"
called Fletcher" as follows:
Mother Has Helped"
81 shall now stay close to this
instrument (mediun) and will have
many talks with you, Bess, CHS pet
name for his wife), shall try to
undo so much that was done by me"
Houdini was represented as saying
that mother has been With me and
has helped me to get this through"
Houdini, attempting to test to the
uttermost the mysteries of spirit
ualisn, in which he profesSediy had
no faith, had arranged with his
mother to send, if possible, a mes
sage to him from beyond the grave
if she should proceed him. The
mother died and for thirteen years
Houdini waited in vain for contact
with the spirit world through his
mother.
On Feb. 8, 1928, Ford sent to Mrs.
Houdini a message from her moth
er-in-law which she accepted as the
message prearranged between Hou-
DIM and his mother. 1t was the
single word: Forgive"
Repeats Complicated Code
But the message prearranged be-
tween Houdini and his wife was
much more complicated. 1t was IN
The code they had used in mind
reading acts on the stage.
The code words: "Rosabelle, an
swer, tell, pray, answer, look, tel
answer, answer, tell'' we're reported
by Ford as having come to him
through his control" Fletcher"
last Saturday night.
The result of this trance, as re-
corded by Francis R. Fast, broker
and importer of $50 Broadway, and
dispatched to Mrs. Houdini on Sun
day was in these words:
Jan. 5. 10:45 p. m. Now he wants
to dictate the exact message you are
to take to his wife. This is to be
written down in long hand-no
notes.
1.-The time: 9:2S. Medium in deep
trance. Controlled by Fletcher,
Pulse 49,
Present: Francis r. Fast, John
w. Stafford, Mrs. Helen E. Morris,
Mrs Dorothy Stafford.
Fletcher speaking: A man who
says he is Harry Houdini, but whose
real name is Enrich Weiss, is here
and wishes to send to his wife,
Beatrice Houdini, the ten-word code
which he agreed to send if it were
possible for him to communicate.
"He says you are to take this
message to her and upon acceptance |
of the message she wishes to follow
out the plan they agreed upon be-
fore his passing. This is the code: |
Rosabelle, answer, tell, pray, answer, |
look, tell, answer, answer, tell.
The code key was explained In the
trance Tuesday after Mrs. Houdini
had announced that the words we're
those Houdini had promised to
send back.
Mrs. Houdini revealed the key was
that used in her mind-reading act
with her husband for years. 1t con-
sisted of ten words: Pray, answer,
say, now, tell, please, speak, quickly,
look, quick" The first word in the
key represented the first letter in
the alphabet, A. the second B, the
third c, and so on. After the senth
letter of the alphabet words were
doubled as are numerals. for in
stance the eleventh letter, K, was
pray pray" the twelfth, L, was
pray answer and the twenty second.
v, was answer answer"