Pre-Lab Thoughts ~ Houdini
I have read through all 3 provided sources pertaining to the Houdini Case Study. Evidence is shown in my raw notes blog post here: https://naomihyng.tumblr.com/post/185557289100/houdini-raw-notes
Thoughts
Spiritualism was and still is a controversial topic that divides many people. To me, Dr Le Crandon and his wife Mina or “Margery” have exploited this ambiguous topic to gain publicity and revenue
There are too many undefined variables (such as use of lighting in Margery’s suances) to clearly prove to readers such as myself that Margery’s work was not a fraud
Some of the articles, such as Case Study 1 and Case Study 2, seem to put Houdini in a very bad light - as the articles highlight many of Houdini’s dishonesty and paints Margery as a very forgiving and reserved person. This makes it difficult for readers to decide for themselves who was right
Houdini’s motivation as a magician and as a panelist also seem to be driven by his own past trauma. As a member of the committee, his attitude already skews his opinions of those involved in spiritualism
Case Study 3 further hints that Dr Crandon and Margery use hospitality and seduction as a tactic to engage with the committee members. It seems from the beginning, both parties were never impartial to each other and thus the competition was never fair from the beginning.
