Eric was just four when his family packed up their life and moved across the world to America.

Like a lot of people in the late 1800s, they were looking for a better life in a land that promised more opportunity.

Heck just 15 years after Eric's family made the trip, my own German ancestors boarded a ship and did the same.

Of course, travelers, settlers, and immigrants all carry some common things

with them. Treasured belongings, necessary supplies, maybe a nest egg of some kind to fund their

new adventure, but they also bring

intangible elements with them as well, namely their hopes, dreams, loves, and fears.

Eric's family first settled down in Wisconsin, where his dad worked as a rabbi.

By 1887, though, they had moved to New York City,

and it was there, just three years later, that Eric read about a French magician and stage

performer named Jean-ugine Robert. Eric was instantly hooked and it's a good thing

too because that hero worship of an illusionist eventually led to a direct imitation.

Eric dropped his childhood nickname of Ari, in favor of Harry, and then added on an altered version of Robert's married surname, giving the world a name that few have not encountered.

Harry Houdini.

And I don't know about you, but I think a lot of us shared that same passion for magic in our own childhood.

We might not have changed our name to reflect our interests, but we've all spent moments in front of the TV or computer screen are mouths open in disbelief as some new

sleight of hand or illusion is pulled off before our very eyes.

Magic is attractive. Magic is a attractive,

magic is entertaining, and for some people magic is a way of life,

but if the pages of history and folklore are any indication,

magic is a dangerous tool to play with. I'm Aaron Mankey and this is

lore. It's never just been a fantasy. Throughout the pages of history, the idea that people might have

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