It was a year ago that a frenzy of media announced that the body of Houdini would be exhumed and tested to see if he was, yes, poisoned!

While the press seemed to have forgotten about this, fans have not, and I’ve received no shortage of enquires here and at the Houdini Lives mySpace page about when the old boy is going to be dug up.

I’m sorry to say I haven’t been able to get any answers, but the Daily News recently resurrected the story and added one telling new fact; the parties involved never even filed legal papers to preform an exhumation.

This, combined with the dead silence of a year, gives credence to a Washington Posts report that the entire escapade was simply a book promotional stunt.

It looks like Houdini -- and the rest of us -- can rest in peace.