Houdini’s Secret Code: Why the Great Escape Artist Never Failed to Come Back

Harry Houdini could escape from chains, locked trunks, and water tanks. He made the impossible look like part of the show.

But there was one promise he could not demonstrate in front of a crowd. Before he died, Houdini told his wife, Bess, that if there was any way to reach her from the other side, he would find it. He would send a secret message only they could understand.

Every Halloween, Bess waited for that message.

This Halloween marks 100 years since Houdini died on October 31, 1926. One hundred years. And his story still holds us, not only because he was a master of escape, but because he and Bess left behind a question so many of us carry: If someone I love could send me a sign, how would I know it was them?

The code only Bess and Harry knew

Houdini and Bess had a private code from their days working together onstage. Its opening word was “Rosabelle,” the name of a song Bess sang when they first met. It was also engraved inside her wedding ring.

The rest of the coded message spelled one more word: “Believe.”

Houdini and Bess agreed that whoever died first would try to contact the other. He promised to send the code and open a pair of locked silver handcuffs. If no convincing contact came after ten years, they would let the pact go.

For ten Halloweens after Houdini’s death, Bess held a séance and waited. The last took place on October 31, 1936, on the rooftop of Hollywood’s Knickerbocker Hotel. There was a photograph of Houdini, locked handcuffs, and a gathering of people hoping to witness the promised sign.

It never came in the way they expected. At the end, Bess said goodnight to Harry and brought the annual séances to a close. The Library of Congress account of the final séance preserves the details of that night.

When I think about Bess sitting there, I don’t see someone foolish for hoping. I see a woman who loved her husband and was holding on to a promise made between them. Who wouldn’t want one last message from the person they miss? Don’t be scared of that kind of hope. It is the most human thing in the world.

I don’t believe Houdini failed

After all my years doing this work, I don’t believe Houdini failed to come back. I believe everyone was waiting for the wrong thing.

Bess was waiting for a specific word, spoken in a specific code, under specific conditions. That was the promise they had made. But connection with someone in spirit doesn’t always arrive like a stage performance, with a cue everyone can hear and a result no one can miss.

“Our loved ones don’t perform on command. They use their own code.”

In thousands of readings, I have never once seen a spirit perform on command. They don’t use the code we planned. They use their own code. The song only you two shared. The nickname nobody else used. The number that keeps showing up on the clock at the exact moment you needed it.

People ask me all the time how they can tell whether a moment is a sign. Here is my answer: pay attention to what feels personally connected to the person you miss. Not every coincidence is a message, and you never need to force one. But a detail that belongs only to the two of you? That’s worth noticing.

Maybe it’s a song that always played in the car when your dad drove you to school. Maybe it’s the nickname your grandmother used that nobody else called you. Maybe it’s a number connected to a birthday, an anniversary, or a memory you still carry.

A sign doesn’t have to be dramatic to matter. Often, the most meaningful details are the ones that would look ordinary to anyone else.

Your loved one’s personal code

Think about the little things that made your relationship yours. Did you have a favorite song? A familiar phrase? A place you returned to together? A joke that never got old?

These details can become part of the language you share in memory and love. You might hear that song in a store when you’re thinking about them. You might see their birthday on a clock during a difficult moment. You might catch the scent of their coffee and feel, for just a second, like you’re back in their kitchen.

I’m not telling you to treat every song, number, or scent as proof. I’m saying you’re allowed to notice the moments that touch your heart. You can welcome the comfort without turning it into a test you have to pass.

What if the sign you’re hoping for is already familiar to you?

That’s the part of Houdini and Bess’s story that stays with me. “Rosabelle” mattered because it belonged to them. It held a memory, a song, a wedding ring, and a life they built together. It was never just a word.

Your own code may be different. It may be the recipe your mother always made, the phrase your brother repeated, or the tune your partner hummed while getting ready for the day. You know your history with your loved one better than anyone. Let that personal meaning matter.

Let love speak in its own way

If you’re grieving, you may long for one clear sign that ends every doubt. I understand that longing. But you don’t have to receive a perfect message to honor the connection you had.

You can remember someone without needing to prove anything. You can speak their name, listen to their favorite music, or tell a story about them. And if a small moment makes you feel close to them, you can hold that feeling gently.

The point isn’t to decode every detail or wait for an exact word. It’s to remember that love leaves its mark in the everyday things you shared. The familiar song. The old joke. The phrase that still sounds like them when you hear it in your mind.

Bess waited ten years for the message she and Harry had planned. I believe that love reaches beyond the plans we make. Sometimes what we’re waiting for is not a grand escape from the other side. It’s a quiet reminder that our bond remains part of us.

Join me and Angela for a special Halloween Eve event

This year, I’m sharing the evening with my mom, Angela Fraser, for a special dual mediumship event. Angela and I bring different gifts to a reading, and you’ll see us work side by side for two hours.

Join us from anywhere for an evening of mediumship, messages, and connection. The event is almost sold out, so if you’d like to be with us, reserve your seat for the Dual Mediumship Reading with Matt and Angela.

Here are the details:

• Date: Friday, October 30
• Time: 8:30 PM EST
• Where: Live online, join from anywhere
• What: Side-by-side readings for two hours

Reserve your seat before they’re gone

As Halloween approaches, remember that your loved one’s message may not arrive in the exact form you imagined. You don’t have to force it or fear missing it. Stay open to the personal memories and small details that bring their love close to your heart.

And on Halloween Eve, when the veil is at its thinnest, that code comes through louder than any other night of the year. Bess waited for “Rosabelle.” Maybe Harry’s message was already all around her. Maybe yours is already all around you too.

With peace from the other side,

Matt Fraser