Escapology
The stage art of freeing oneself from restraints, made famous by Harry Houdini.
Also: escape artist, Houdini, handcuff escape, Davenport brothers
Escapology is the performance of release from handcuffs, ropes, locked trunks, straitjackets and tanks. The Davenport brothers, American performers of the 1850s and 1860s, escaped from ropes in a cabinet and let the audience believe spirits did it, a claim others disputed. Harry Houdini, born Erik Weisz in Budapest in 1874, made the art world famous in the early twentieth century with the Water Torture Cell, the Chinese Water Torture Cell and escapes in public. He later campaigned against fraudulent mediums and joined a Scientific American committee in 1924 that tested them. Escapes carry real physical risk, and some performers have died in the attempt. The audience watches a test of skill and nerve more than a miracle.