Nino Pecoraro (1899–1973) was an Italian spiritualist

medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

who was exposed as a fraud. Polidoro, Massimo. (2001). ''Final Séance: The Strange Friendship Between Houdini and Conan Doyle''. Prometheus Books. pp. 127-128. Pecoraro from

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

worked as a spiritualist medium. He claimed his spirit guide was

Eusapia Palladino Eusapia Palladino (alternative spelling: ''Paladino''; 21 January 1854 – 16 May 1918) was an Italian Spiritualist physical medium. She claimed extraordinary powers such as the ability to levitate tables, communicate with the dead through he ...

, a deceased medium. Christopher, Milbourne. (1975). ''Mediums, Mystics & the Occult''. Thomas Y. Crowell. pp. 189-190. The psychical researcher Hereward Carrington introduced Pecoraro to the spiritualist

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

in America. Pecoraro who was tied up during a séance by Carrington, managed to impress Doyle by making musical instruments play. Carrington persuaded Pecoraro to participate in the ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it i ...

'' contest. In four days in December, 1923 he was tested by members of the committee. He was tied to a chair with sixty feet of

rope A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly ...

. Beside him was placed a table with musical instruments. During the séances various movements and sounds of objects were heard. He had managed to impress some of the committee members who considered the phenomena genuine. However, O. D. Munn, the publisher of the ''Scientific American'', suspected that he had freed his hand to play the instruments. The magician

Harry Houdini Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...

had not been informed of the test sessions, but managed to get to the fourth séance. Houdini suggested that Percorao was an

escape artist 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 oth ...

who freed himself from the rope that bound him to his chair. Before the séance, Houdini had cut the rope into shorter pieces and tied Pecoraro to the chair. Because of the tight control, no phenomena occurred. In 1931, Pecoraro confessed his fraud in a newspaper interview. Kahn, Ely Jacques. (1979). ''Far-Flung and Footloose: Pieces from the New Yorker, 1937-1978''. Putnam Publishing Group. p. 59 Later in life he became an artist. Two of his paintings are on exhibit at The Houdini Museum in Scranton, PA.

References

External links

Another Medium Exposed
The Drummondville Spokesman, April 28, 1931.
Faked Seances: Confessions of a World-Famous Medium
The Sunday Times, Perth, Western Australia, June 28, 1931. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pecoraro, Nino 1899 births 1973 deaths Harry Houdini Italian spiritualists People from Naples Telekinetics Spiritual mediums