16. Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini
Englishman Arthur Conan Doyle created one of the great odd couple arrangements, albeit a fictional one, in his writings of the domestic arrangements between his characters Dr. John Watson and Sherlock Holmes. Watson was continuously bemused by his roommate’s chemical experiments, his fondness for strong shag tobacco and the unorthodox manner in which he stored it, and his predilection for the use of cocaine, as well as his unusual hours, playing of the violin, and other eccentricities. In real life, Doyle was a spiritualist, a believer in the afterlife and communications with the spirit world through mediums. His friend Harry Houdini was also interested in the afterlife, though from the aspect of debunking fraudulent spiritualists.
A Seance
Doyle became a believer in post-life communication following the death of his son; Houdini after the death of his mother. While Doyle openly encouraged those who claimed the ability of communicating with the dead Houdini created a second career exposing fraudsters and the methods they used. Being on opposite sides of the issue destroyed the friendship which had developed between the two men. Their dispute intensified to the breaking point when Doyle’s wife, Jean, pronounced herself a medium, and conducted a séance in which Houdini’s mother “communicated” with the attendees via automatic writing. Houdini debunked the session, pointing out the grammatically sound communication was unlikely from his mother, who had known little English while alive.
