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Will Houdini Escape From Queens?

Houdini's Grave

Harry Houdini's grave in Glendale. Photo: Getty Images


The descendants of escape artist Harry Houdini want to exhume his body to determine if he was poisoned. Houdini died on October 31, 1926, of a supposed burst appendix (the result of a punch in the stomach), but the performer's great-nephew believes it was murder. An autopsy could determine if Houdini was poisoned by his rivals for debunking the Spiritualists, a group that claimed to communicate with the dead. Houdini's grave, above, is in Machpelah Cemetery in Glendale.

NYC Exhumation Could Determine If Houdini Was Poisoned [AP via Newsday]