THROWBACK THURSDAY – When the world’s most famous psychic met its most famous magician

Every October, Throwback Thursday brings you uniquely spine-tingling or spooky
stories with hints of paranormal and intrigue. Last year, we told viewers the story of
Edgar Cayce, the sleeping prophet and most famous psychic in American history. A
Kentucky native, he spent several years living in downtown Bowling Green on the
square, running a photo studio.
Edgar Cayce was known to perform more than 14 thousand psychic readings during
his lifetime. In this particular instance, we focus on time he spent with Harry
Houdini in 1921, visiting with the most famous magician of all time.
Houdini was a magic expert, having been trained in escape artistry and made
famous for his illusions and outrageous daredevil stunts. But he was also known for
exposing fake spiritualists and fraudulent performers. Houdini’s training in magic
gave him the means to expose many alleged psychics and mediums who had fooled
scientists and the academics of his time.
According to Sidney Kirkpatrick, documentarian and historic author, Harry Houdini
invited Edgar Cayce to attend the famous heavyweight boxing match between Jack
Dempsey and Georges Carpentier as his guest. After this meeting, Houdini never
commented on the validity of Cayce’s abilities, not shaming or outing him as a fake.
Granted, Houdini never publicly acknowledged Cayce as the real thing either. Many
wondered if the lack of fraudulent claims meant that Cayce’s abilities were real, or if
the lack of positive claims meant the same. It was highly unusual for Houdini to not
share an opinion publicly or privately one way or the other.
In his book, An American Prophet, Sidney Kirkpatrick takes a deeper dive into the
famous meeting between Houdini and Cayce. What do you believe?