Ghosts, Fairies, Nessie, Bigfoot and Houdini: The Famous "Proof", Explained

For almost two hundred years, people have produced proof of the supernatural: knocks in the dark, ghosts in photographs, fairies, the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot. Here's how they were faked, who got caught, why the Bigfoot film is still argued over, and the one test that was supposed to be impossible to fake, set by Harry Houdini, who died 100 years ago this Halloween. The Fox sisters' spirit knocks (1848), William Mumler's ghost photographs and Mary Todd Lincoln's portrait (1860s-1872), the Cottingley fairies that fooled Arthur Conan Doyle (1917-1983), the Loch Ness "surgeon's photograph" (1934), the Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film and the 1966 reel in Capturing Bigfoot (1967/2026), and Houdini's secret code with his wife Bess. The voice at the end is Bess Houdini herself, live on the radio on Halloween 1936. Chapters 0:00 The impossible test 0:37 The ghost was a toe 2:11 Lincoln's ghost 3:52 Sherlock Holmes believed in fairies 5:24 The monster was a toy 6:51 Bigfoot's disputed rehearsal 8:34 Houdini's test Key sources: Library of Congress; Wikipedia (Fox sisters, William H. Mumler, Cottingley Fairies, Loch Ness Monster, Patterson-Gimlin film, Capturing Bigfoot, Mina Crandon); PBS American Experience; National Geographic; History.com; The Museum of Hoaxes; Wild About Houdini; The Skeptic's Dictionary. Full source links and picture credits are in the pinned comment. Illustrations of moments no camera caught are marked "Illustration" on screen. Archive photos and film are public domain; stock footage is labelled. Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), CC BY 4.0: Long Note Four, Investigations, Hidden Agenda, Ghost Story, Night on the Docks - Sax, Ossuary 6 - Air. #houdini #halloween #history