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Ghost Buster Rose Mackenberg
An interesting historical article at skeptoid.com today: https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4987
by Kat McLeod
May 6, 2025
A hundred years ago, the Spiritualist movement was experiencing a revival; mediums and mystics claimed to summon the supernatural, weaving illusions that left many in awe — and often in debt. The name Rose Mackenberg, once drew fear into the hearts of charlatans. You may not have heard of her, but she was a woman who was ahead of her time. Dubbed a 'ghost buster' by the press in the 1950s, she was far more than a cynic of the psychic world. She was a bold trailblazer who challenged deception, exposing frauds with skill and tenacity. However, despite her remarkable legacy, she remains a hidden hero in history.
In the early 1920s, a young, Brooklyn-born Rose Mackenberg was working as a private detective at an agency in New York — unheard of for a woman at the time. She was working on a case about a psychic who had recommended worthless stock to a local banker when she introduced herself to the man who would become her mentor, the magician Harry Houdini. The press was reporting on Houdini, who was waging a crusade against psychics and Spiritualists, which inspired Mackenberg to seek his counsel. Houdini's advice was enough for Mackenberg to ensnare the psychic and have him convicted.
Like Houdini, Mackenberg started out as a believer in the paranormal. Houdini wanted to spare others the grief he'd experienced after failing to contact his mother after her death. Impressed by her investigative and acting skills, Houdini hired Rose Mackenberg in 1924 to be part of his small investigative team, to work undercover and expose the charlatans who prospered in the years after World War I and the Spanish flu pandemic. Mackenberg quickly became his chief investigator; she would dress in various disguises, create fictitious backstories, often posing as widow or a grieving mother, and use false names (like the pun-intended Francis Raud, F. Raud) when making appointments with psychics. She would arrive in cities a week or two before Houdini's tour, and meet with psychics to determine which tricks they were using when performing their readings. She took comprehensive notes, would report back to Houdini, and then would appear on stage with him when he came to town, and they would discredit the local medium during Houdini's show by exposing their trickery. In the two years she worked with Houdini, she investigated and helped expose approximately 300 mediums. Her very detailed manuscripts for Houdini have been studied and exhibited in museums.
The Vancouver Sun wrote, "Rose Mackenberg dons shabby clothes and tracks down 'spirit world' frauds, she has found plenty, too, having been put in touch with 1,500 departed husbands she never had."
May 6, 2025
A hundred years ago, the Spiritualist movement was experiencing a revival; mediums and mystics claimed to summon the supernatural, weaving illusions that left many in awe — and often in debt. The name Rose Mackenberg, once drew fear into the hearts of charlatans. You may not have heard of her, but she was a woman who was ahead of her time. Dubbed a 'ghost buster' by the press in the 1950s, she was far more than a cynic of the psychic world. She was a bold trailblazer who challenged deception, exposing frauds with skill and tenacity. However, despite her remarkable legacy, she remains a hidden hero in history.
In the early 1920s, a young, Brooklyn-born Rose Mackenberg was working as a private detective at an agency in New York — unheard of for a woman at the time. She was working on a case about a psychic who had recommended worthless stock to a local banker when she introduced herself to the man who would become her mentor, the magician Harry Houdini. The press was reporting on Houdini, who was waging a crusade against psychics and Spiritualists, which inspired Mackenberg to seek his counsel. Houdini's advice was enough for Mackenberg to ensnare the psychic and have him convicted.
Like Houdini, Mackenberg started out as a believer in the paranormal. Houdini wanted to spare others the grief he'd experienced after failing to contact his mother after her death. Impressed by her investigative and acting skills, Houdini hired Rose Mackenberg in 1924 to be part of his small investigative team, to work undercover and expose the charlatans who prospered in the years after World War I and the Spanish flu pandemic. Mackenberg quickly became his chief investigator; she would dress in various disguises, create fictitious backstories, often posing as widow or a grieving mother, and use false names (like the pun-intended Francis Raud, F. Raud) when making appointments with psychics. She would arrive in cities a week or two before Houdini's tour, and meet with psychics to determine which tricks they were using when performing their readings. She took comprehensive notes, would report back to Houdini, and then would appear on stage with him when he came to town, and they would discredit the local medium during Houdini's show by exposing their trickery. In the two years she worked with Houdini, she investigated and helped expose approximately 300 mediums. Her very detailed manuscripts for Houdini have been studied and exhibited in museums.
The Vancouver Sun wrote, "Rose Mackenberg dons shabby clothes and tracks down 'spirit world' frauds, she has found plenty, too, having been put in touch with 1,500 departed husbands she never had."
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