Rose McEnberg.

If the name doesn't ring a bell, it wouldn't surprise me.

This skeptical heroine was primarily known for being downplayed as Harry Houdini's assistant.

However, she was much more than that.

Not only was she Houdini's chief investigator, she was a prolific debunker

in her own right and should be remembered for all she accomplished.

You're listening to Skeptoid. I'm Kat MacLeod, guest hosting for Brian Dunning from Skeptoid.com.

More than a magician's assistant.

Welcome to the show that separates fact from fiction, science from pseudoscience,

real history, from fake history, and helps us all make better life decisions by

knowing what's real and what's not. A hundred years ago, the spiritualist movement was experiencing

a revival. Medioms and mystics claimed to summon the supernatural, weaving illusions that left many in awe and often in debt.

The name Rose McEnberg once drew fear in the hearts of charlatans. You may not have heard of her,

but she was a woman who was ahead of her time. Dubbed a ghostbuster 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 McEnberg 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 banker when she introduced herself to the man

who would become her mentor, the magician Harry Houdini. The press was reporting on Houdini,

...