Houdini was quick to accuse the photographer of using a double-exposure technique to create the images, an accusation his friend Doyle rebuffed, claiming that the photos were indeed authentic. The next day, Martin took another picture of Houdini and this time, five faces appeared, one of them clearly Theodore Roosevelt.

The photo showed Houdini with Martin's assistant standing behind him along with four faces hovering in the background. Houdini went to see the photographer who then took the magician's picture. When it came to the work of Denver photographer Alexander Martin who had made a name for himself by taking photos that showed ghostly figures in the background, the two men disagreed. Doyle believed in all sorts of spiritual exhibitions while Houdini had forged a part-time career out of exposing spiritual phonies. In a later trip to Denver in 1923, Houdini met with his longtime friend Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Houdini surrounded by spirits? Photo by Alexander Martin

Famous magician houdini