Houdini Vs Hodgson: The Challenge That Nearly Brought Down Harry Houdini
Of all the towns Harry Houdini visited on tour, the town of Blackburn would be forever etched into his memory. In 1902, William Hope Hodgson laid down a challenge that nearly ended in disaster.
Houdini loved a challenge. In fact, he had made an entire career from them. In the early days of his performances, the premise of his challenges was quite simple one for “The Handcuff King”.
Wherever he went, he urged the local community to find a set of locks that they believed he could never escape from. Every time, he would escape as he continued to capture the public’s imagination. The audience loved it.
It would become the gimmick he would be famed for as he traveled from theatre to theatre. He knew that the auditorium would be full of spectators and even those who took on his challenge in the hope that perhaps, they would see him fail. And yet, he would succeed, defying the impossible. These challenges would put Houdini on the magical map.
However, in the northern English town of Blackburn, “The Handcuff King” nearly met his match. It would become a venue that Houdini would go on to loathe more than any other he performed at across the world. It was the night that almost halted his career after its promising start. Whilst he would go on to become the most famous magician in the world, Blackburn’s challenge could have prevented the world from knowing the name of Houdini.
William Hope Hodgson took up bodybuilding since his days as a cabin boy following years of mistreatment by other crew members. Moving to Blackburn to join his family he would set up a school for bodybuilding and weight lifting.
Houdini would perform at the Blackburn Palace in October 1902 and like many of his performances, he would lay down his challenge to those in the local area. Should he fail to get out of the locks provided, he would pay the successful opponent the princely sum of £25. Upon seeing this challenge, Hodgson's interest grew.
He knew the physicality that it would require to escape from the locks and chains he could provide. Yet despite Houdini performing at The Palace all week, Hodgson waited until Friday to make his move. He knew that the galleries would be full that particular evening with the audience wanting to see something special. An eager Hodgson wrote:
Mr Harry Houdini.
Sir –
Being interested in your apparently anatomically impossible handcuff test, I have decided to take up your challenge to-night (Friday) on the following conditions:
1st I bring and use my own irons (so look out).
2nd I iron you myself.
3rd If you are unable to free yourself, the £25 to be given to the Blackburn Infirmary.
Should you succeed, I shall be the first to offer to offer congratulations. If not, then the Infirmary will benefit.
W. HOPE. HODGSON
P.S. Naturally, if your challenge is bonafide, I shall expect the money to be deposited.
With the challenge laid down by William Hodgson, all he had to do was to sit back and wait for Houdini's response. It wouldn't take long for Houdini to do exactly that.
I, Harry Houdini, accept the above challenge, and will deposit the £25 at the “Telegraph” office. Match to take place tonight (Friday).
H. HOUDINI
The two men would meet on stage in front of the packed Palace audience. Neither man would have known that this moment would go down in local history. Straight away, Houdini noticed something particularly odd with the locks that Hodgson had provided. He raised his objections aloud and suggested that the locks had been tampered with and were therefore in violation of the agreed challenge.
Hodgson responded saying he was allowed to bring any locks and chains that he wanted. The audience waited with bated breath as to whether or not the challenge would even go ahead. Eventually, Houdini agreed and Hodgson began to fasten up his challenger.
The Blackburn Standard gives us the full details of Houdini's ordeal at the hands of Hodgson:
"He handcuffed his wrists which he bound across his chest: and then by the aid of an assistant, forced his elbows backwards to his side and pinioned them, after which he coupled them up in a very tight manner to leg irons, and Houdini looked for all the world like a like a trussed fowl."
Hodgson received some assistance causing the crowd to jeer, after all, this was against the rules set by Houdini. Yet the "Handcuff King" allowed the challenge to continue. He was winning his audience's sympathies and that would help him as the challenge continued.
Houdini was then placed into an empty cabinet. The audience fell silent with anticipation. Then he began his attempt to escape. The crowded auditorium erupted as the sound of metal on wood filled the theatre. After fifteen minutes of struggling the upright cabinet suddenly fell to the side. The mutters of the audience turned to confusion and even concern.
The struggle continued. On the hour mark, Houdini asked if he could be released for a few moments as he was losing the feeling in his hands. The locks were so tight that some even said that his hands were turning blue.
For Hodgson, it appeared that he had defeated the great "Handcuff King.
"Just give up and admit defeat", he said. But giving up was not in Houdini's vocabulary. Dr, Bradley was watching the whole episode unfold before his very eyes saying that: "It was cruel for the performance to continue".
But continue it did.
Hodgson refused Houdini's request. His struggle recommenced. Shouting from the cabinet, Houdini proudly announced that his legs were now free and that he was going for a short break. The news received a mixed reception from the Blackburn crowd. Some cheered whilst others were beginning to become hostile towards him. Sensing the hostility Houdini spoke to the audience:
“You must remember, ladies and gentlemen, I did not state the time it would take me to take them off. These handcuffs have been plugged.”
Having rested Houdini resumed. The crowd however where becoming restless. Then Theodore Hardeen, Houdini's brother approached the cabinet to offer him a drink. The pair had previously performed together as "The Houdini Brothers" in the U.S. It may have looked at first glance as a simple drink but perhaps this was where the real slight of hand happened. Of course, we will never know for certain and the audience were unaware of anything.
With the crowd becoming even more hostile, Hodgson was urged by the police to leave the theatre. Then moments later, Houdini was free from his chains and locks after his epic struggle. It was now well after midnight. The crowd roared in appreciation for what they had witnessed.
Houdini was raw, bruised, and exhausted following this challenge. Hodgson had become the man who took Houdini to the brink. Standing victorious, Houdini spoke to the crowd one final time:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I have been in the handcuff business for fourteen years but never have I been so brutally and cruelly ill-treated.
It would be the closest Houdini ever came to defeat. It would become the most pivotal moment of his career. Blackburn itself would become a place Houdini loathed the most later saying that: "Of all the hoodlum towns I ever worked, the gallery is certainly the worst". It would be a constant reminder to him how close he came to failure.
William Hope Hodgson may have lost the battle against Houdini but that did not prevent him from becoming a success in his own right. He would move away from the controversy of plugging locks against Houdini to become one of Britain's most famous horror and supernatural authors. The House on the Borderland would become an instant classic among readers and critics. Yet, his life would be cut short at the fourth Battle of Ypres where he was killed by an artillery shell in 1918. He was 40 years old.
Houdini would go on to be the world's most famous magician. His escapology acts would see him perform in front of millions and gather worldwide fame. Yet, it all could have ended earlier with a trip to Blackburn and a challenge by William Hodgson.
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What a great bit of history!