Houdini died on Halloween. He expired on October 31, 1926 at Grace Hospital in Detroit. The official cause of death was peritonitis, internal poisoning resulting from a ruptured appendix.

It seems quite appropriate that the world's most famous magician should pass away on the year's most "magical" day. Even more intriguing, Houdini was 52 years old when he died, the exact number of playing cards in a deck. Further, he was born 26 years before the start of the new century, and died 26 years into the next one- as if his "life's deck" had been deftly cut in half by Fate, the ultimate magician.

For ten years after Houdini's death, his wife Bess conducted a séance on October 31. These séances were always attended by the top names in magic, as well as personal friends of the great magician. Houdini had told Bess that if it were possible, he would send a message to her "from beyond", in secret code. Though Bess herself stopped participating in the séances after 1937, members of the magic fraternity have kept the tradition. Each Halloween, there are numerous Houdini séances held in various locations around the world.