I ran into Houdini in May of 2026, while participating in the inaugural Marshall Author Hop. I have to admit visiting the American Museum of Magic in town had been on my list of things to do since the world shut down in 2020, but I probably still would have gone even if I hadn’t already known about it.
The bookish event, Marshall Author Hop, was hosted by the Marshall District Library, and invited 20 authors into some of the local businesses in town to spend the afternoon visiting with readers and chatting about all things books. I had a lovely day sitting next to S.E. Mueller, and quickly found we had a ton in common! If you like your fantasy romance on the darker side, be sure to check her out! I also had an amazing time talking to all of the readers who stopped by to ask about my books. Thank you so much for your warm welcome!
The American Museum Of Magic Backstory & Exhibits
The American Museum of Magic was put on my radar back when I had a little more time on my hands in 2020, as we were all squirreled away in our homes. I was doing some research on magick, not to be confused with magic, and was where the rabbit hole ended up taking me. I’ve written a whole post on the differences between the two, magick and magic btw, if you want to check it out.
Anyway, I ended up coming across a webinar on YouTube, which then led me to some other sites, and then eventually to Houdini and the Detroit Salt Mines after which I wrote a post about the superstition of spilling salt, which you can link to here. My research finally focused on Colon, MI which is known as the “Magic Capital Of The World” and Marshall, MI which has the “American Museum Of Magic.” My first thought was that I have lived in MI practically my whole life and never knew this, and the second was… I need to go! That was when these places were put on my radar, and it took me 6 years to get to one of them.
The building is in Downtown, Marshall, MI in a 2-story brick row building. The entrance is pretty non-descript, and the space has high ceilings with posters as high as the eye can see. Magicians I’ve never heard of, from decades that probably got some folks through a terrible time in their lives, the Great Depression, World War 1, and World War II to name just a few. lined the walls of the lower level.
The do have some larger tricks on display with a bit of information about who used them but, of course, don’t share how they worked. I think what would help is perhaps some videos showing the trick being done in real time, since if you haven’t seen the trick done, it is hard to visualize how everything works. The room has a lot going on, and is one big open space, so is a bit overwhelming, but I had some time to kill and caught them on a day there was no one there.
What was super interesting to me, and made the trip very worth while, was the copy of the book I found in the pictured display. It was promptly added to my list of things to research for my current book and I took it as a sign the trip was meant to be! The book in the display was a copy of a rare 16th century edition of The Discoverie of Witchcraft written and published by Reginald Scot in London, England in 1584. The display mentioned that the book dated back to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and is the oldest book on magic tricks written in the English language. You can view a copy of the book here: START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 60766
What I found fascinating was that the author wrote the book to calm the hysteria surrounding the witch hunts, sort of showing folks what was behind the curtain so to speak. Forgive my Wizard Of Oz reference, and yes we will be visiting that museum as well in a future post. Anyway, Scot believed that by explaining how magic was performed he could save innocent people from execution when they were accused. Sadly, the book doesn’t seem to have succeeded in its original mission, even to this day, although I suppose many more could have died along the way had it not been published. My guess is, that like many things, the audience who read it wasn’t the audience that needed to hear the message.
The upper floor had magic that was a bit more modern, from the magicians that I knew and loved growing up as a kid. I liked learning about their origin story and what drove them to share their love of this unique form of entertainment. Gen X babies… do you remember Doug Henning? I had forgotten all about him until I saw this!
I also found Milky the Clown memorabilia which took me back to my childhood in a sweeping flash. Remember him from the milk carton, not so much the show.
They also have a camp for budding Magicians that happens each summer, and you can learn more by heading to their website. The workshop is for students aged 7 to 13 teaching beginner to intermediate magic levels. for more information you can contact them at info@americanmuseumofmagic.com. I know that this is something I would have loved as a kid, so if that is something that interests you, be sure to check it out!
Harry Houdini and Detroit, MI
Harry Houdini wasn’t from Detroit, MI, but I would argue that is where he is from now. You see, one hundred years ago this year, on October 31, 1926 (aged 52), he died at Grace Hospital from complications thought to have been brought on by appendicitis and some earlier blows to his stomach he wasn’t prepared for. To make matters worse (in my opinion), he was buried at Machpelah Cemetery, a Jewish cemetery located within the Cemetery Belt in Glendale, Queens, in New York City, and in 1943 his devoted wife Bess (aged 67) wasn’t interred there upon her death due to her Catholic upbringing and her family’s say in the matter. I think this was probably the most upsetting thing I learned about his death, that he is buried without his wife by his side, especially considering they never had children.
The Houdinis spent a lot of time debunking mediums and spiritualists, and at one point even offered $10,000 for “proof” of their claims that they could speak with the dead through the Scientific American Committee. Harry even wrote a book on the subject, A Magician Among the Spirits, which was published 2 years before his death. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66451
The American Museum of Magic has one of his magic tricks on display, the Milk Can Escape, where Houdini was handcuffed and sealed inside with water and made his escape behind a curtain. Houdini’s brother, Theodore Hardeen, continued to perform the milk can escape and its wooden chest variant into the 1940s. I was told by the tour guide there that his brother was instructed upon Houdini’s death to destroy all of the blueprints and designs for all of his magic tricks, so that no one would be able to duplicate them, which he did. The can on display at the American Museum Of Magic is Milk Can #4, and one of the only ways to learn Houdini’s secrets is to reverse engineer the tricks. And no, they won’t reveal the trick either… what fun would that be!
After other magicians proposed variations on the Milk Can Escape Houdini claimed that the act was protected by copyright and in 1906 brought a case against John Clempert, one of the most persistent imitators. The matter was settled out of court and Clempert agreed to publish an apology.” (Wikipedia.org) What I learned when I was strolling about was that when Houdini went to file actual copyrights for his tricks and realized that the Copyright office would need to know how the tricks worked, he decided no way. He was that secretive about everything he did, and who can blame him?
Harry Blackstone, Sr. and Colon, MI
It was Harry Blackstone, Sr. who made a lot of the posters possible in the Museum, and from what the museum guide told me, after Blackstone said “sure take what you want” to the curator, it was only a few days later that the building where he kept a lot of his memorabilia burned down. While there aren’t connections between Colon and Marshall, per se, I found this link pretty fascinating.
Blackstone and Houdini had a pretty healthy rivalry and mutual respect, something I don’t know much about but will be researching I’m sure. If anyone has any suggestions where to start via movies, documentaries, or books, leave them in the comments below!
What I did find out was that Blackstone liked to respite on an island near Colon, MI where he also had a brief time as a co-owner of the Blackstone Magic Company. He and his partner, Percy Abbot, lasted for about 18 months then dissolved the company. Five years later, Abbot started his own magic manufacturing business in Colon, MI, which is still doing business all these years later.
Colon, MI hosts a Houdini Séance each year on the anniversary of his death, as well as hosting a Magic “get together” where magicians from all over the world come to town. This shop is next on my list of places to visit, so I will let you know what I find! https://abbottmagic.com
I had a lot of fun exploring on my weekend in Marshall, MI, and there are so many cute shops and places to go that it will definitely be on my list of places to go back to! Everyone I met was welcoming and delightful, which was a big bonus! Gotta love that!
Where is somewhere “magical” you have been to lately? Be sure to share it in the comments!
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