If ever a life called for a brief reversion to Freudian psychobiography, it is that of the escape artist Harry Houdini. Born Erik Weisz in Budapest in 1874, he was “a mama’s boy all his life,” Joe ...

EXCLUSIVE: Harry Houdini was well known for his disappearing acts, but now the master escape artist and illusionist is set to make a big screen appearance for Walt Disney Studios. Scott Sanders and ...

This piece is excerpted from National Geographic's Book of Magic and the Occult: A Visual History. He’s the most famous magician to ever live, but few realize that Harry Houdini (1874–1926) began life ...