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Escape rooms and Houdini. How do these two worlds connect? The answer is quite easy! If we think of the word “escapology,” one name cannot but come to mind: Harry Houdini. And since the world of room escape games is based precisely on the art of knowing how to escape, then a tribute to the greatest escapologist in history is in order.
If you are curious about immersing yourself in the magical world of the greatest illusionist mankind has ever known, keep reading this article; we will talk about his most famous acts and, at the end, we will also tell you about MysterU.
If you don’t know what MysterU is, then you need to take a look at this article, where we explain what it is! Now back to the article.
Born Erik Weisz, of Hungarian descent and afterwards immigrating to the United States, Houdini began his career as an illusionist and card magician when he was only 17 years old; but it was with his first escapology acts that he became truly famous. His acts in which he managed to free himself from shackles and chains enchanted audiences across the United States during a tour he performed in the first two decades of the 1900s.
Always against those who claimed to have supernatural gifts, Houdini began a real battle to unmask all those who claimed to be mediums and swindled people. His art was pure and simple illusionism; he never tried to convince anyone in his audience that he possessed paranormal powers, and this helped make him the legend he is.
Houdini was not a magician, but a man who studied his acts for years and worked hard to overcome his own limitations each time. But let’s see what his most famous acts are.
In this act, Houdini was submerged in an iron drum just over three feet high, his hands cuffed and his neck secured by a collar to the drum cap. The barrel was also closed by six padlocks. A screen and a locker were placed in front of the bin, and after three minutes, the illusionist emerged from that very locker.
This is the act that established him as a sacred monster of escapology. The Chinese torture chest performance was first performed by Houdini while in London during a European tour. Houdini entered the stage with an upright mahogany chest, but at the front, it featured a pane of glass that showed the water-filled interior and could be shattered in case of difficulty.
The escapologist would be lowered upside down, with his legs immobilized in a wooden log that went to seal the box. A screen was then set up, and two assistants on either side of the crate were ready with axes to break the glass in case of illness, but after a little more than two minutes, Houdini emerged before a worried audience with the crate still sealed behind him.
These are the basic elements of escapology, of course, but Houdini makes these tricks into something mind-boggling. In the books he published, he revealed how he was able to free himself from chains or shackles: he often used shoelaces, or sticks that he hid; some of these contraptions opened by applying the right pressure in the right place; but most amazing was his ability to disarticulate his shoulders in order to free himself.
Houdini’s legacy is legend now; his illusionism continues to bewitch and fascinate. That is why there is no shortage of themes in the universe of room escape games that echo his art, escapology.
In Italy there is currently only one escape room dedicated to the escapologist: Harry Houdini’s study, located in Rome. This Houdini escape room is set in the studio of the well-known illusionist, inside which is hidden a very important document, a will that was hidden by Arthur Conan Doyle, Houdini’s friend, and containing the name of the escapologist’s heir. The purpose then is to find the will.
If you are curious and fond of mystery games, we remind you that you can try our MysterU cases. With three cases to solve, three missions to accomplish, these are playable entirely from the computer, alone or with friends. You will have to search the entire web for clues, compare evidence, look at photos and videos to solve the cases. If you want to learn more, click here or visit our website.
