Margery [Mina] Crandon

Otherwise known as "Margery", the young wife of a wealthy physician, Dr LeRoy G. Crandon, of Boston, first came to public notice in 1923 when her husband wrote to the Scientific American claiming that she possessed remarkable psychic powers. These he claimed had been demonstrated in France before psychic investigators Professors Charles Richet (former president of the Society for Psychical Research), Gustav Geley, and the famous author and spiritualist Conan Doyle in London. Mina would now be happy to demonstrate her powers for the Scientific American committee.

A preliminary demonstration was duly arranged before Malcolm Bird at the Crandon’s home, at which Mina was able to do bugle-calls and rattles without access to either a bugle or a chain, cause flashes of light to travel across the dark seance room, stop a clock merely by looking at it, and produce a live pigeon and a two-dollar bill. While this was impressive what followed convinced Bird to recommend that the full committee carry out further investigations — Mina went into a trance and spoke with the deep gruff voice of her brother Walter who had been killed in a railroad accident years before.

The outcome of the subsequent investigations convinced the committee that at last there was a potential taker for their prize of $2,500 on offer for anybody who could demonstrate psychic abilities under controlled conditions. Houdini, the famous magician and escapologist, and a member of the committee, was on tour when these tests were carried out and was furious at not being informed, insisting that any future tests be carried out by the full committee.

On July 23, 1924, a seance was conducted during which Margery’s hands and feet were held to prevent cheating, and yet despite this precaution, a bell in a box on the floor between her feet rang which was attributed to her dead
brother Walter. This was followed by the cabinet which stood behind Margery toppling over and a megaphone falling at Houdini’s feet. Although Houdini was convinced that Margery had cheated and later demonstrated how she could have performed the feats, the committee was not fully convinced and decided not to expose her. The general public however was left in no doubt by such newspaper headlines as PSYCHIC POWERS OF MARGERY ESTABLISHED BEYOND QUESTION; HOUDINI THE MAGICIAN STUMPED; and BOSTON MEDIUM BAFFLES EXPERTS.

From then on an irate Houdini and the Crandons were at war, Houdini determined to expose her as a fraud. His opportunity came on August 25, 1924, when he arrived in Boston with a specially constructed box in which Margery would be locked, her hands and head to protrude through holes in the side and top to ensure that she could not touch anything. No conclusion was reached when the bell rang seemingly of its own accord as a folding ruler had been found secreted in the box. Houdini accused Margery of concealing it and she retaliated by saying that Houdini’s assistant was the culprit. The Crandon’s accusation subsequently turned out to be correct when Houdini’s assistant admitted years later that it had been his work intending to discredit the medium once and for all.

Mrs Crandon had aroused great interest in England and she was invited by Conan Doyle to give some seances in London. Because of adverse weather the seances did not take place but instead the SPR sent its research officer, E.J. Dingwall, over to Boston to make investigations on their behalf.

Margery now concentrated on a new phenomenon, the emanation of ectoplasm or pseudopods. These were visible human like arms and hands connected to the medium by an umbilical cord or extruding from bodily orifices.

The committee was split in its decision to award the prize and this was influenced to a certain extent by what was now believed to be a personal battle between Houdini and Margery. The mystery remained — was Margery playing a game or was she genuinely capable of psychic phenomena? Houdini and some members of the committee were convinced that she was a fraud but Malcolm Bird and Conan Doyle continued to endorse Margery as genuine.

Comment:

Conan Doyle was a spiritualist who would be inclined to endorse anything likely to confirm his beliefs, one of which was in the existence of fairies.

“Margery” was thoroughly exposed as a cheat In Harry Houdini’s 1924 book listed below.