The great psychologist, Carl Jung (who, incidentally, was born just one year after Houdini), identified four characteristics that all human beings posses; for each characteristic, each individual person displays one of two opposite ‘types’:

Thus there are 16 different combinations or overall ‘types’. The ‘types’ are referred to by the letters shown above in bold…so one might be, for example, an ‘ESTJ’ or maybe an ‘ISFP’. Hopefully you can see how this works.

What is the point of that? Well, all the people who are of the same type display the same social characteristics, have the same motivations and react in the same way to ‘obstacles’ in life. By determining what type Houdini had, and then finding out some standard interpretations for this type, we can begin to understand more about how his mind worked.

In modern recruitment, a tool called a ‘Myers-Brigg’s Type Indicator’ is used to ascertain people’s type. This consists of a lengthy questionnaire which is marked by a professional psychologist. The results are useful as it enables employers to find out how well a candidate would work in a team, for example, or how they would cope under stress. And so, while the questionnaire is how you would go about deducing someone’s type for commercial purposes, for our needs, it is perfectly adequate to deduce Houdini’s type by weighing up the options…

First letter:

Either Extrovert or Introvert.

This does not refer to whether someone is loud or quiet, but to whether their primary source of energy is from the outer world or from the inner world.

An extrovert might be social, outward and act before thought while an introvert is more private, deep and would think before action. I believe Houdini would be an introvert or I.

Second letter:

Either Sensing or iNtuition.

This concerns how the person perceives information: in the form of facts and details or in the forms of patterns and overviews.

Sensing people would like facts, details and realism while intuitive people see possibilities and opportunities. They like overviews and are idealistic. Houdini was definitely an idealist so he would be an N.

Third letter:

Either Thinking or Feeling

The third letter depends on how you make decisions…on the basis of logic or on the basis of personal values?

Thinking people are analysing and logical, have a long term view, are often onlookers and are critical while feeling people are personal, appreciative, are participators and have an immediate view. This is the most difficult letter to chose for Houdini as he shows characteristics from both letters, but I have decided that he was an F. For all he was very analytical I believe his true self was more sensitive.

Fourth letter:

Either Judgment or Perception

Referring to the lifestyle you prefer, either organised or flexible.

Words associated with judgment are decided, structured, organised and controlled while those often associated with perception are open, flexible and spontaneous. Again, another difficult decision but despite the fact that Houdini was very organised, to be able to perform in the way he did flexibility and spontaneity were key assets to him. I think he was a P.

So Houdini’s Myers-Briggs type (MBT) was INFP. What does this tell us and what is the point of knowing it?

Knowing Houdini’s MBT gives us valuable insight into the way Houdini interacted with people and how his mind worked.

Some standard interpretations of the INFP type follow, beginning with an overview. Because we have decided that Houdini was an INFP, simply replace those four letters with the word ‘Houdini’ in the paragraphs that follow for a revealing read about his nature…

The INFP takes his energy from the inner world of thoughts and emotions. He prefers dealing with patterns and possibilities, especially for people, and prefers to make decisions on the basis of personal values. His life is flexible, following new insights and possibilities as they arise. He is quiet and adaptable (up to a point – when his values are violated the normally adaptable INFP can surprise people with his stance). He will seem to be very interested in ideas, and he may sometimes make very creative contributions. He has a hidden warmth for people and a desire to see self and others grow and develop. He prefers to undertake work that has a meaningful purpose.

I would think that this description is very accurate of Houdini especially the section that says he is adaptable up to a point until he suddenly and surprisingly flips. This explains why Houdini was known as a genial man but had a notorious temper. We also see clues as to why Houdini was so fond of his niece and the mention of a ‘hidden warmth for people’ is very accurate in my opinion.

Here are some more detailed points:

• INFPs often develop an inner emotional life that is often unseen to others, but is experienced as intense. I believe this is very true of Houdini. He was a very sensitive man; you know how distraught he was when his mother died, yet he managed to largely bury this on the outside only revealing his true emotions to a few close friends. Equally, while on the outside Bess was more of an assistant than wife to his audiences, they led a very deep relationship
  
  
• Are appreciative and accepting of people – enjoying company and seeking harmony. This is not so obvious of the Houdini we know– why this is is explained later. But in his early days, Houdini was a very sociable person, becoming very good friends with many of his sideshow colleagues; like the Keaton’s, for example, with whom he had a very good relationship.
  
  
• Decide on friendships through insight into their personality and motivation. Houdini was very selective of his friends and this is probably why, resulting in few, but sincere friends.
  
  
• Look for meaningful relationships. Houdini was not the type to socialise for the sake of it – he always had friends for a reason.
  
  
• Retain a strong sense of values, which are often not expressed. I think Houdini always remained attached to his father’s Jewish values and this certainly appeared later in his life when he rekindled an interest in collecting Hebrew books like his father would have kept.
  
  
• Emotionally accept or reject various aspects of life – for example, deciding whether praise or criticism received is valid and, at extremes, ignoring whatever is unacceptable. It is by being able to ignore unnecessary criticism and by choosing the right advice that Houdini was able to make it as a star - and more importantly stay there. There are few examples of it left, but I am positive that Houdini would have been heavily criticised from all sides during his life – the public, mediums and magicians.
  
  
• Feel appreciation towards others, but not express it. Houdini often came across as very conceited and perhaps this is the reason why. Obviously he wasn’t able to disclose all his backstage help to the public but equally, he was rarely willing to admit, even to close friends, that it was a great illusion builder that had created his latest trick. It might also hint to us that Bess sometimes got fed up with Harry (unless she was unusually tolerant), as he would often forget to show his appreciation. Certainly, the Houdini’s had their own pre-arranged routine for when they had arguments. You have probably heard it before: Harry would leave the house, walk around the block and return. If, on throwing his hat into the living room (where Bess would still be seated), it was thrown back out again, he would walk around the block once more and repeat the process. If it didn’t come flying out, he knew he was ‘safe’ to enter.
  
  
• Have a basic driving force as the search for meaning or purpose Throughout his life, Houdini was searching. This is not the place to discuss what or why but the chances are it was something very fundamental.
  
  
• It is possible to misunderstand the INFP, and believe the extroverted iNtuition is paramount (eg he has an important vision towards which he is working, or he is driven by a desire to learn and understand). However, there are some core values that are paramount and may not be articulated that take precedence over the extroverted iNtuition. The INFP may therefore appear to be adaptable, flexible and inquisitive until the point when his inner values are violated. At this point, the INFP would dig his heels in and surprise everyone at the strength of his stance. Houdini would often flip or show extreme views. He was never amused when people tried to trick him or catch him out; self-pride must have been one of his inner values. You must have heard the story of how he was once locked in the telephone box of a hotel lobby by someone (a certain E P Wilkins) who had seen him at the local theatre. Houdini was furious. He swore and tried to kick the door down.
  
  
• INFPs like working in groups with an atmosphere of openness and trust This is surprising. While the second half is easy to believe, you would not immediately think of Houdini as a group worker. But he did work for most of his days as a member of a team and this was alright for him as long as he was head of it; be it performing the escapes worked on by Collins and his dedicated band of men or having the final say when serving on the committee of the Scientific American. While you may think that Houdini was annoyed, having to work with the other men on the team, it is only when they did things behind his back (ie secretly as opposed to in an atmosphere of openness and trust) that he became irate with the setup.
  
  
• They enjoy breaking new ground and receiving appreciation This is obviously applicable to Houdini.
  
  
• They will not be happy providing a service purely to satisfy others. This is interesting – it goes to show that there was a deeper reason for Houdini performing escapes than meets the eye – he wasn’t doing them just to entertain his audience. Again, the reasons why he was doing the escapes should be discussed elsewhere.
  
  
• When under stress, the subconscious (or opposite, so in his case ESTJ) MBT will show itself thus INFPs will concentrate on only what they see as important, they will work alone if possible, they will contribute creative ideas, but overlook current realities, they will fail to consider the cost implications. I mentioned earlier that most INFPs “enjoy company and seek harmony”. Here is the reason why Houdini spent a lot of time by himself – he was, understandably, stressed. Permanently. The more important point I see is that when stressed they “will concentrate on only what they see as important, and overlook current realities, they will fail to consider the cost implications. ” Setting aside pecuniary cost, think about physical cost, and how Houdini failed to consider the cost on his body of performing with appendicitis, and how his mind was purely set on the target of performing for his audience. Houdini dies because he was too stressed to see reality.
  
  
• Under acute stress, the INFP will be very critical and find fault with almost everything, will do things to excess (eg exercise) become bossy or domineering and ignore others’ feelings…they will become pedantic about unimportant details. How true this is. Take for example those times when he would walk into the performance of another ‘handcuff king’, stand up in the middle and try and denounce the performer. Not the behaviour you would normally expect from a sensitive person. But when stressed, Houdini became domineering and would ignore the possible repercussions for the other performer. Houdini didn’t act like this for publicity – that was a useful by-product of his natural urge. I can also imagine Houdini being hypercritical. He was certainly a very precise man and would pick out the tiniest details in the work of his ‘ghost-writers’ (authors he commissioned to write under his name).

I hope this has provided an interesting insight into Houdini’s character. It certainly shows that Houdini spent most of his life under stress and enables us to understand better how he interacted with people and what made him tick.