If you watched the latest episode of Ghost Adventures: The Houdini Seance, you saw I brought a Houdini spirit trumpet to the investigation at the Winchester Mystery House. I did not do a very good job explaining it on the show, so I wanted to do so now, because this is an incredible artifact!
When the show invited me to come to San Jose for an interview, I reached out to Diego and asked if I could bring the trumpet. For this type of show, I knew I needed a good visual. I was thrilled when Diego said yes and grateful that he entrusted me with it. I also brought a signed Magician Among the Spirits and a program from Houdini’s spiritualism lecture. But, as expected, the trumpet is what they really flipped for, especially Zak Bagans. For that one night, it was the star of the show!
I should clarify that this isn’t the only Houdini spirit trumpet out there. Roger Dreyer’s Houdini Revealed museum has a trumpet that best matches some Houdini photos. Fred Pittella has a Houdini trumpet the size of a person. Brandon Hodge has what he believes to be the Benninghofen trumpet. But Diego’s trumpet has excellent provenance and shows the ravages of use. And what I said during the show is true. It has never been shown before. So I’m happy to have brought it into the light (so to speak).
As for the episode itself, I thought it was bonkers and an absolute blast! Our great friend George Hardeen was magnificent. I loved that they visited Houdini locations in San Francisco to collect “energetic trigger objects.” And that photo from the seance and those voices they captured are pretty freaky! They know what they’re doing as paranormal investigators and as showmen. Where the line is, I’m not sure. But it’s great television.
However, I cringed when I heard myself say, “He was a believer in Spiritualism.” I think what I said was, “He was a believer in Spiritualism in his youth.” Because that is true. It’s also true that Houdini always believed in the possibility of spirit communication, although he was very skeptical of people who called themselves mediums and the Spiritualist movement. Sorry Harry.
One thing that didn’t make the cut is when we left the “Witches Hat” room, we became lost in the tangled maze of the house. Nothing to do with ghosts, but it was awesome. It was also near midnight, the very time Houdini himself visited the house.
I tried hard to get the Official Houdini Seance to bring their 2024 seance to Winchester Mystery House to mark the 100th anniversary of Houdini’s visit. That didn’t work out. So I’m happy to have had an amazing anniversary experience in the house, and I thank Zak Bagans and the Ghost Adventures team for providing that experience. And, of course, a huge thank you to Diego Domingo for allowing me to bring his incredible Houdini spirit trumpet along for the ride!
Want more? I’ve uploaded several high-resolution photos of Diego’s Houdini spirit trumpet to my Patreon. You can also see photos of the Winchester Mystery Houses’ own Houdini relics.
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