Houdini, who had not even been present at the investigation, much less stumped, was not pleased. He told Scientific American that he would forfeit $1,000 of his own money if he failed to expose Margery as a fraud. Traveling to Boston, he reviewed the findings of his peers. To his way of thinking, the investigation had been mishandled from the start. Most of the committee members had availed themselves of the Crandons’ generous hospitality during the proceedings–staying in their home, eating their food, and enjoying their company. This, Houdini believed, had badly compromised their objectivity. Later it was revealed that accepting room and board had been the least of the transgressions. One investigator had actually borrowed money from Dr. Crandon, while another hoped to win his backing for a research foundation. Worse yet, the distinguished panel was not unaware of Mrs. Crandon’s attractions. At least one committee member drew comfort in his old age from the recollection of amorous encounters with the celebrated medium.

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After the July 23 séance, Houdini left the Crandon home much impressed by the famous Margery–though not by any supernatural powers, he hastened to assure his colleagues. At his hotel later that evening, the magician explained how and why his conclusions differed from theirs. One feat that had baffled the other sitters was the ringing of a “spirit bell box,” a small wooden clapper-box that sounded an electric bell when pressed from the top. Although Margery’s hands were held by the sitters on either side of her and her feet were in contact with theirs, the bell box rang repeatedly throughout the séance–a phenomenon she attributed to Walter.

Usually the bell box sat on the floor between Margery’s legs, but Houdini had insisted that it be placed on the floor at his own feet. Despite this precaution, the bell rang as merrily as ever. Houdini had a ready answer: “I had rolled my right trouser leg up above my knee,” he later wrote. “All that day I had worn a silk rubber bandage around that leg just below the knee. By night the part of the leg below the bandage had become swollen and painfully tender, thus giving me a much keener sense of feeling and making it easier to notice the slightest sliding of Mrs. Crandon’s ankle or flexing of her muscles….I could distinctly feel her ankle slowly and spasmodically sliding as it pressed against mine while she gained space to raise her foot off the floor and touch the top of the box.” In short, Margery’s agile foot, not a spirit visitor, had been responsible for the ringing bell.

Another of the evening’s mysteries had involved a megaphone that–according to the disembodied voice of Walter–had been levitated in the darkness above the sitters’ heads. “Have Houdini tell me where to throw it,” the voice had commanded.

“Toward me,” answered Houdini, whereupon the megaphone instantly crashed to the ground in front of him. Here, too, Houdini had an explanation. Earlier in the proceedings, he said, when one of Margery’s hands momentarily came free, she had snatched up the megaphone and placed it on her head, like a dunce cap. In the total darkness of the séance room, no one would have seen her do this. Later, with both of her hands again under control, the medium had made the megaphone sail through the air simply by snapping her head forward. “This,” Houdini acknowledged, “is the ’slickest’ ruse I have ever seen….”

To assure proper control at future séances, Houdini designed a special “fraud-preventer” cabinet, a slant-topped crate with openings for the medium’s head and arms. Once inside, Margery’s movements–and the opportunities for deception–would be severely limited. Reluctantly, Margery agreed to conduct a séance from within the cabinet, but not before Dr. Crandon and Houdini exchanged such harsh words that Walter himself felt compelled to call for a truce.

The first séance with the cabinet was not a success. Acting on a tip from Walter, Dr. Crandon discovered a small pencil eraser wedged into the bell box to prevent it from ringing. Outraged, the physician accused Houdini of attempting to sabotage the proceedings–a charge the magician repeatedly denied.

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