Welcome to Magic Week!

by Allison Meier February 24, 2014

article-image A vintage magician poster (via abbasj812/Flickr user)

Welcome to Magic Week, a world of wonder and illusions! This week we’re exploring magic in all its manifestations, from magnificent magicians to magical creatures to the history of witchcraft.

Have any stories or places you’d like to share for Magic Week? Send us an email or drop us a line on Twitter with the hashtag #MagicWeek. You can also join the discussion on Facebook and Tumblr. To get us started, check out some of our favorite magic places and stories from around the world below, and keep an eye out all week for more tales of magic. We’ve also collected together some vintage magic posters to set the mood for the wonders to come.

WAITING FOR HOUDINI TO ESCAPE FROM DEATH
Will the greatest escape artist ever escape the grave?

VAMPIRES, MAGIC DUELS, AND HEADLESS BODIES
In the 1970s, two magicians met for a duel in London’s most eerie cemetery

ROBERTSON’S FANTASTIC PHANTASMAGORIA
The story of an 18th century magician who conjured up ghosts in Paris

FOUR JOBS FOR AN ANCIENT WITCH
Magical employment for witches in ancient Greece and Rome

NECROPANTS
Icelandic magic for wearing your friend’s skin as a way to wealth

HOUDINI’S MILK CAN ESCAPE, WHERE FAILURE MEANT DEATH BY DROWNING
The American Museum of Magic holds the harrowing centerpiece of one of Houdini’s most famous tricks

THE SPIRIT PAINTERS OF OLD NEW YORK
When 19th century New York City was caught in the spell of ghost painting

THE TABLE THAT COULD TALK TO THE DEAD
The Fox Sisters, America’s leading mediums in the mid-19th century, possessed a table they used to reach the dead

via Wikimedia