Final Seance: The Strange Friendship Between Houdini and Conan Doyle

This is the story of the unusual friendship between the renowned illusionist and escape artist Harry Houdini and the celebrated mystery writer and creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Both men were fascinated by the occult practice of Spiritualism, Houdini as an ardent skeptic and Conan Doyle as a true believer who was convinced that the dead could and did communicate with the living. While there are many biographies of both men, this is the first book to detail the years of their friendship and their battles over the veracity of Spiritualism.
During their five-year friendship, Houdini and Conan Doyle exchanged views about Spiritualism; conducted investigations of notable mediums of their day, such as Mina "Margery" Crandon; and even enjoyed vacationing together at Atlantic City.
Based on original correspondence, photographs, and his own research, Polidoro reconstructs the relationship between the believer and the skeptic, which weathered mediums, seances, public debunkings, and hurt feelings. He also discusses in detail the final seance that ended the friendship between the two strong-willed men.

Massimo Polidoro is executive director of the Italian Committee for the Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, editor of Scienza & Paranormale (Science and the Paranormal), and author of twelve books on the paranormal.