He was the greatest escape artist history has ever known. But not even Harry Houdini could slip free of death itself. Or could he?

That’s the mystery at the heart of “The Houdini Code,” a new hour-long documentary airing as part of VisionTV’s Enigma series.

VisionTV presents Enigma: “The Houdini Code” on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

A towering celebrity in his day, Houdini devoted much of his energy to exposing fraudulent psychics who advertised their ability to communicate with the dead. Yet after Houdini’s own death, his widow Bess claimed a medium had relayed a message from her late husband, in a code only she knew. Had the master escape artist somehow reached out to her from beyond the grave?

“The Houdini Code” was written, directed and produced for VisionTV’s Enigma by Donna Zuckerbrot. Actor Colm Feore (24, Bon Cop, Bad Cop) narrates.

Enigma is a documentary strand devoted to exploring the realm of mystery and magic that lurks just below the surface of our everyday lives. The Enigma documentaries spin unforgettable tales of the “spiritual unexplained,” entering the lives of mystics and magicians, and investigating paranormal phenomena from demonic possession to zombies.

For more information, please visit www.visiontv.ca.

Enigma: February Highlights

Encore Presentation
Masonic Legends
Wednesday, Feb. 6, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
Repeats Saturday, Feb. 9, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT

The origins of Freemasonry are shrouded in myth and legend. This documentary delves deep into Masonic lore, revealing this secretive fraternal order’s connections to ancient Egypt, Medieval Scotland and the Knights Templar. What secrets are the Masons now ready to reveal – and which have they sworn always to protect?

Encore Presentation
Masonic Conspiracies
Wednesday, Feb. 13, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
Repeats Saturday, Feb. 16, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT

Tales of Freemasons’ evil deeds have captivated the public imagination since the 18th century. This documentary on the world’s most legendary secret society reveals where and how the conspiracy theories about devil worship, murder and political corruption began. The 1982 murder of an Italian banker; the grave robbery that deprived an anti-Masonic U.S. Attorney General of his skull; a 19th century hoax that confounded both the Masons and the Catholic Church: these are just a few of the tales that shed light on our ongoing fascination with Masonic conspiracies.

Premiere Presentation
Exorcism
Wednesday, Feb. 20, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
Repeats Saturday, Feb. 23, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT

Can evil spirits take control of human beings? This documentary examines the age-old belief in demonic possession, and introduces the viewer to present-day practitioners of exorcism, from a soft-spoken Spanish priest to a self-styled “shaman” in small-town Alberta. In many different cultures throughout history, there have been those charged with the responsibility of driving away demons. (The New Testament names exorcism as one of Jesus Christ’s miracles.) To psychiatrists and other skeptics, mental illness is the likely explanation for most reported cases of “possession.” But the belief persists. Pope John Paul II is known to have performed exorcisms, and in some Catholic countries there so much demand for the ritual that a Vatican-supported institute in Rome now offers training for exorcists. As long as fear and madness persist in the world, holy men (and women) will be called on cast out the evil forces that take possession of the human soul. Produced and directed by Paul St. Amand.

Premiere Presentation
The Houdini Code
Wednesday, Feb. 27, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT

Harry Houdini, the great escape artist, died on Halloween, 1926 of peritonitis from a ruptured appendix. In 1929, his widow Bess claimed that medium Arthur Ford had come to her with a message from beyond, in an unbreakable code known only to Houdini and herself. Was it proof, at last, that the living could speak to the dead? This documentary chronicles the extraordinary life of Harry Houdini – the son of an immigrant rabbi from Hungary who became a legendary magician – and recalls a strange, forgotten chapter of the Houdini saga that unfolded after his death.

Harry Houdini was traumatized by the loss of his beloved mother in 1913, and wished fervently to believe in the possibility of communication with the afterlife. But he was appalled by the trickery of self-styled psychic mediums and their exploitation of the grief-stricken. He dedicated himself to debunking such charlatans (a crusade that cost Houdini his friendship with Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle, an ardent believer in Spiritualism). When Bess proclaimed the message relayed by Arthur Ford to be genuine, it naturally caused a sensation. But was it really Houdini speaking from the grave? Or was his troubled widow taking part, wittingly or not, in a colossal fraud? And what of Houdini’s sudden death itself? Had his enemies set a trap from which not even the master magician could escape?