Harry Houdini: He Escaped From Chains and Jails… Then Promised a Secret Message
A Halloween special, 100 years after his death: the great escape artist Harry Houdini escaped from handcuffs, jails and a tank of water, showed that fake mediums were frauds, and left his wife a secret code. Did a message ever come back? Learn five B2 words and the causative have with the true story of Harry Houdini.
Transcript
Tap a time to jump to that moment. Highlighted words have a meaning: tap them. Words in bold show today's grammar.
He escaped from , chains and jails.
Then, on Halloween, he died, and he left his wife a secret code.
If anyone could come back from the dead, surely it was Houdini.
So, did he?
This is the story of Harry Houdini.
Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.
. are two metal rings joined together.
The police use them to lock a person's wrists.
It's a plural word.
At Scotland Yard, he escaped from police .
. A is a dangerous or exciting act, done to get people's attention.
His drew huge crowds.
. A is a person who says they can talk to the spirits of the dead.
He went to many .
. A is a person who tricks people to get money or fame.
He showed that many were .
. means real, not fake.
The message was not .
Now, one pattern: have, plus a person or thing, plus a past participle.
We use it when we arrange for someone else to do something to us.
The guards locked him in a jail cell.
He had himself locked in a jail cell.
Ready? Let's begin.
Harry Houdini was born Erik Weisz in Budapest in 1874.
When he was four, his family moved to America.
They were very poor.
The boy sold newspapers and shined shoes to help his family.
He loved his mother more than anyone.
As a teenager, he read the life story of a great French magician, Robert-Houdin, and took the name Houdini.
For years, he and his young wife, Bess, performed in small museums and circuses.
He even tried to sell his act, but nobody wanted it.
Then, in 1899, a theatre manager saw him escape from .
He told Houdini to focus on escapes and booked him into big theatres.
Houdini later wrote that this moment changed his whole life.
In 1900, he sailed to England.
At Scotland Yard, he escaped from police .
Soon, people called him the Handcuff King.
Back in America, he had himself locked in a jail cell in Washington.
And he got out.
His drew huge crowds.
In Boston, in 1908, he had himself handcuffed and jumped from a bridge into the river.
About 20,000 people watched.
Later, he had himself hung upside down in a , high above the street.
In 1912, he showed his most famous escape.
He had his feet locked at the top of a glass tank of water, and he hung upside down inside.
A curtain closed.
Seconds passed. Then minutes.
Then the curtain opened.
He was free.
In 1918, he even made an elephant disappear on a New York stage.
How? Nobody knows for sure.
But years earlier, in 1913, his mother had died.
Houdini was heartbroken.
He wanted to talk to her just one more time.
So he went to many .
Could anyone really speak to the dead?
In 1922, his friend Arthur Conan Doyle, the writer of Sherlock Holmes, invited him to a .
Doyle's wife wrote a long message from Houdini's mother.
But it was in English, and Houdini said his mother could not speak English.
The message was not .
Houdini was angry.
He wanted the world to know the truth.
He and his team visited in disguise.
He showed that many were .
The used simple tricks, and he could repeat those tricks on stage.
In 1926, he spoke to the United States Congress.
He held up an envelope with 10,000 dollars.
It was for any who could show one real sign from the spirits.
Nobody won it.
Houdini and Bess had made a promise.
Whoever died first would try to send a message to the other.
They chose a secret code.
The first word was "Rosabelle", the song Bess sang when they met.
In October 1926, he became very ill with appendicitis.
He ignored the pain and kept performing.
By the time he went to hospital, it was too late.
Harry Houdini died on 31 October 1926.
It was Halloween.
Every Halloween for ten years, Bess held a and waited for the secret code.
No real message ever came.
On Halloween 1936, the tenth and final took place on a hotel roof in Hollywood.
About 300 guests sat in the dim light.
People listened live on the radio.
Everyone waited. Then Bess spoke: "Houdini did not come through."
She said she did not believe that ghosts or spirits existed.
Then she turned out the light.
In a way, Houdini had won his last challenge.
Today, one hundred years later, Houdini are still held every Halloween.
Let's review. At Scotland Yard, he escaped from police .
His drew huge crowds.
He went to many .
He showed that many were .
The message was not .
And remember: he had himself locked in a jail cell.
Harry Houdini's story teaches us: magic can amaze us, but the truth matters more.
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Step 3
Words from the story
Say the word, guess its meaning, then flip the card. Keep the ones you know, and practise the rest again.
Great work, you know every word in this story. Now try the quiz below.
handcuffs noun (plural)
two metal rings joined together, used by the police to lock a person's wrists
“At Scotland Yard, he escaped from police handcuffs.”
stunt noun
a dangerous or exciting act, done to get people's attention
“His stunts drew huge crowds.”
medium noun
a person who says they can talk to the spirits of the dead
“He went to many mediums.”
fraud noun
a person who tricks people to get money or fame
“He showed that many mediums were frauds.”
genuine adjective
real, not fake
“The message was not genuine.”
séance noun
a meeting where people try to talk to the spirits of the dead
“Every Halloween, Bess held a séance.”
straitjacket noun
a strong jacket with long sleeves that tie at the back, so you cannot move your arms
“He hung upside down in a straitjacket.”
escape artist noun
a performer who escapes from locks, chains and boxes
“Houdini was the world's most famous escape artist.”
Grammar in the story
have + object + past participle (causative have)
We use it for: to say that we arrange for someone else to do something to us or to our things
- He had himself locked in a jail cell.
- He had his feet locked at the top of the tank.
- I had my hair cut yesterday.
From the story
- He had himself locked in a jail cell.
- He had himself handcuffed and jumped from a bridge.
Find it in the story 6 times
Your turn
Back in 1906, he had himself in a jail cell.
Last week, I had my car at the garage.
Yesterday, she her photo taken for her passport.
Step 4
Story Challenge
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Take it further
Before you watch: Do you believe anyone can talk to the dead? Why do you think so many people wanted to believe it 100 years ago?
After you watch: Write three sentences with have + object + past participle about things other people did for you. For example: I had my hair cut last week. We had our house painted. She had her photo taken.
Think about it: Houdini was a magician, but he told people his tricks were not real magic. Why do you think honesty was so important to him?
