Harry Houdini died on Halloween, exactly 100 years ago. A full century. Outside of being the most famous escapologist of all times by far, he spent much of his later career exposing the tricks of supposed "supernatural" practitioners. He died at age 52 from complications of a ruptured appendix when he was punched in the abdomen -- before he was prepared -- by a student wanting to test Houdini's famous ability to withstand such punches. He might have survived had he not delayed treatment with his "the show must go on" attitude. Before his death, he arranged a secret code phrase with his wife Bess, and said if there was any way to get a message back to her after death, he would do so on a subsequent Halloween. She held events waiting for this on Halloween for 10 years until 1936, but no message ever came.