Abby Connolly
Anyone who is or was fascinated by the life of iconic illusionist Harry Houdini may know that he went through a period of ‘busting’ people who claimed to be mediums or able to communicate with the dead.
However, he didn’t have the time to find all of these scammers himself, so he took on help from a team of private investigators. One of the most essential members of his team was investigator Rose Mackenberg.
Rose was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1892. After working as a stenographer in a law office, she took an interest in psychics and fortunetellers who claimed they were able to communicate with spirits and tell people their futures.
In the early 20th century, Harry Houdini began seeking the help of psychics and mediums so he could connect to his deceased relatives, including his parents.
However, he eventually caught on to the fact that many of these self-proclaimed mediums were scam artists. Thus, he began his mission to expose the posing mediums and psychics and inform people about the methods they use to scam and lie.
Around this time, Rose came to the same realization as Houdini and began investigating fake mediums. In 1925, she and Harry came together, and he hired her as part of a ‘secret service’ undercover investigating team.
This secret service included a handful of other women, but Rose was considered Harry’s top investigator. Rose worked with Harry for approximately two years and, in that time, investigated over 300 claimed psychics and mediums.
She’d travel with Harry on tour and investigate these people undercover before Harry arrived in each city. Rose would use different names and disguises and make up fake stories about loved ones she had lost to catch these fake mediums in the act.
Then, once she knew they were fake, she’d give her findings to Harry, who would later invite the phonies up on stage during his show and expose them in front of the audience.
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