Escapology is the practice of escaping from restraints or other traps. Escapologists (also classified as escape artists) escape from handcuffs, straitjackets, cages, coffins, steel boxes, barrels, bags, burning buildings, fish-tanks, and other perils, often in combination.
The art of escaping from restraints and confined spaces has been a skill employed by performers for a very long time. It was not originally displayed as an overt act in itself but was instead used secretly to create illusions such as a disappearance or transmutation. [1] In the 1860s, the Davenport Brothers, who were skilled at releasing themselves from rope ties, used the art to convey the impression they were restrained while they created spirit phenomena. [2]
Other illusionists, including John Nevil Maskelyne, worked out how the Davenports did their act and re-created the tricks to debunk the brothers' claims of psychic power. However, the re-creations did not involve overt escape, merely a replication of tricks with the statement that they were accomplished by secret magicians' skills rather than spirits. It took another thirty years before the pure skill of escape began to be displayed as an act in itself. The figure most responsible for making escapology a recognized entertainment was Harry Houdini, who built his career on demonstrating the ability to escape from a huge variety of restraints and difficult situations. [3]
Houdini made no secret of the fact that he was an expert on restraints and the skills needed to overcome them but he often concealed the exact details of his escapes to maintain an air of mystery and suspense. Although many of his escapes relied on technical skills such as lock-picking and contortion, he also performed tricks such as Metamorphosis and the Chinese Water Torture Cell, which are essentially classic stage illusions reliant on cleverly designed props. Houdini's feats helped to define the basic repertoire of escapology, including escapes from handcuffs, padlocks, straitjackets, mail bags, [4] beer barrels, and prison cells.
A succession of performers have added new ideas and created variations on old stunts, but it is common for even the best contemporary escapologists to be dubbed modern day "Houdinis". During his lifetime, Houdini argued his main escape acts were copyrighted, and sued competitors such as John Clempert, who in 1906 apologized and settled out of court. [5]
Because St. Nicholas Owen successfully escaped the Tower of London and arranged the escape of two Jesuit inmates from the prison, the 16th-century Christian martyr is considered by Catholic escapologists as their patron saint. Along with St. John Don Bosco, the two are considered the primary patrons of Catholic Gospel Magicians.
The United Kingdom Escape Artists was formed in 2004 and is currently the only organisation in the United Kingdom devoted to the promotion of UK escape artists and the preservation of escapology within the UK. Its members are made up of professional escapologists, restraint collectors, master locksmiths, and historians. The UKEA meet once a year for their AGM. [6]
The International Escapologists Society is an online society with its own monthly newsletter that is dedicated to the art of escape on an international level. [7]
Escape Masters (The International Association of Escape Artists) was formed in 1985 by renowned escape artist Norman Bigelow and has been run by Thomas Blacke as International President of the organization and Editor/Publisher of the magazine since 2001. This newsletter ceased publication with the passing of Mr. Blacke in 2019.
Founded in February 2021, Global Escapology Organisation (GEO) is an elite group of Escapologists and subject experts from around the world.
In 2012, Lucas Wilson, an illusionist from Canada managed the fastest ever recorded escape from a straitjacket while suspended; he escaped in 8.4 seconds while hanging upside down from his ankles at a height of 1m. [9]
Erik Weisz, known as Harry Houdini, was a Hungarian-American escape artist, illusionist, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts.
A straitjacket is a garment shaped like a jacket with long sleeves that surpass the tips of the wearer's fingers. Its most typical use is restraining people who may cause harm to themselves or others. Once the wearer slides their arms into the sleeves, the person restraining the wearer crosses the sleeves against the chest and ties the ends of the sleeves to the back of the jacket, ensuring the arms are close to the chest with as little movement as possible.
A predicament escape is any form of magic trick or escapology stunt in which the performer is trapped in an apparently dangerous situation and is required to escape from it. Classic examples include the Table of Death, Houdini's Chinese Water Torture Cell, Princess Tenko's escape from an exploding boat and the Upside Down Suspended Straitjacket escape, in which a performer is suspended high in the air from a burning rope.
This timeline of magic is a history of the performing art of illusion from B.C. to the present.
Thomas Solomon is an American escape artist and magician.
Ferenc Dezső Weisz, known as Theodore "Dash" Hardeen, was a Hungarian-American magician and escape artist who was the younger brother of Harry Houdini. Hardeen, who usually billed himself as the "brother of Houdini", was the founder of the Magician's Guild. Hardeen was the first magician to conceive escaping from a straitjacket in full view of the audience, rather than behind a curtain.
John Nevil Maskelyne was an English stage magician and inventor of the pay toilet, along with other Victorian-era devices. He worked with magicians George Alfred Cooke and David Devant, and many of his illusions are still performed today. His book Sharps and Flats: A Complete Revelation of the Secrets of Cheating at Games of Chance and Skill is considered a classic overview of card sharp practices. In 1914 he founded the Occult Committee, a group to "investigate claims to supernatural power and to expose fraud".
Dorothy Dietrich is an American stage magician and escapologist, best known for performing the bullet catch in her mouth and the first woman to perform a straitjacket escape while suspended hundreds of feet in the air from a burning rope. She was the first woman to gain prominence as an escape artist since the days of Houdini, breaking the glass ceiling for women in the field of escapes and magic.
The Chinese Water Torture Cell is a predicament escape made famous by Hungarian-American magician Harry Houdini. The illusion consists of three parts: first, the magician's feet are locked in stocks; next, he is suspended in mid-air from his ankles with a restraint brace; finally, he is lowered into a glass tank overflowing with water and the restraint is locked to the top of the cell.
Houdini is a 1953 American Technicolor biographical film from Paramount Pictures, produced by George Pal and Berman Swarttz, directed by George Marshall, that stars Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. The film's screenplay, based upon the life of magician and escape artist Harry Houdini, was written by Philip Yordan, based on the book Houdini by Harold Kellock. The film's music score was by Roy Webb and the cinematography by Ernest Laszlo. The art direction was by Albert Nozaki and Hal Pereira, and the costume design by Edith Head.
The Grim Game is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by Irvin Willat and starring Harry Houdini and Ann Forrest. The basic plotline serves as a showcase for Houdini's talent as an escapologist, stunt performer and aviator. As the story unfolds, a series of Houdini's trademark set-piece stunts and escapes are performed. When his tormentors chain him up and imprison him on numerous occasions, Houdini escapes. The film concludes with a climactic mid-air collision following an aircraft pursuit. Following the collision, Houdini is reunited with his fiancée.
Alan Alan was a British escapologist and magician. He originated tricks that have subsequently become familiar features of the repertoire of other performers and he was honoured by The Magic Circle.
Morgan the Escapist is a magic performer specialising in escapology. She is based in South Plainfield, New Jersey, USA, and often works with the magician John Bundy. She has also had careers as a theatrical designer and script writer. In October 2009, she received the title "Best female escape artist" at the World Magic Awards.
Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close-up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It is to be distinguished from paranormal magic which are effects claimed to be created through supernatural means. It is one of the oldest performing arts in the world.
Randolph Osborne Douglas was a British silversmith, artist and amateur escapologist, who worked under the stage name 'The Great Randini'. Douglas is said to have devised tricks for Harry Houdini. He later created a museum of curios in Castleton in Derbyshire.
Christopher Alfred Goode, better known as Chris Cross, is an English magician, escapologist, and former contortionist. He has performed worldwide and appeared on British television.
David Merlini is a Hungarian-Italian escape artist, and World Record holder, described by Expo 2015 as the world's most famous escapologist, currently serving as Director of The House of Houdini, the only Houdini museum in Europe.
Norman Bigelow was an American illusionist. He has been described by the Society of American Magicians as "one of America’s leading escape artists".
John Clempert was a Russian escape artist who became famous for his hanging tricks and for a legal dispute with Harry Houdini.
Norman Murray Carrington Walters, who used the mononym Murray, was an Australian escapologist and illusionist, who found international success between the 1920s and 1950s and settled in Britain.
| General |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Genres | ||
| Tricks and techniques | ||
| Guidebooks |
| |
| Lists | ||
| Related | ||