Mama director Andres Muschietti will make the Houdini story The Witch of Lime Street
STX Entertainment has acquired motion picture rights to David Jaher’s “The Witch of Lime Street: Seance, Seduction and Houdini in the Spirit World,” it was announced today by Oren Aviv, President and Chief Content Officer for the STX Entertainment Motion Picture Group.
The true story inspired by real events chronicles the thrilling rivalry that simmered and grew more intense and mysterious as Harry Houdini and a panel of investigative experts embarked on a quest to debunk the world’s most gifted and accurate psychic and spirit medium of the era, Margery Crandon, known as The Witch of Lime Street.
Andres Muschietti (Mama) will develop, direct and produce the mystery thriller from a screenplay written by Jaher. The film will also be produced by Barbara Muschietti.
Based on David Jaher’s book of the same name, The Witch of Lime Street will be a gripping supernatural film set in post war 1920s about Harry Houdini, the legendary magician and occult expert, and his escalating rivalry with Margery Crandon, a woman who was considered to be the only real medium in New York City. An era better known for its jazz and glamour than for its dark obsession with the occult, the loss of lives in World War 1 gave rise to an intense desire to communicate with the dead and spawned a rash of self-proclaimed psychics. Houdini made it his personal mission to debunk fake spiritualists as frauds and charlatans by revealing their tricks. But Houdini meets his match in an alluring high society flapper known to her many astonished followers as Margery, The Witch of Lime Street, pitting the brash illusionist against dark and dangerous forces of the underworld, with Margery his ultimate target.
“Quite a few producers and studios were pursuing rights to this book for very good reason,” said Oren Aviv. “This is a spellbinding and exciting true story that weaves a fantastic mystery and lots of intrigue with history involving some of the most renowned and iconic figures of the era. The timeless question: ‘is there life after death?’ is explored through a scientific quest to investigate and validate supernatural phenomena. Ultimately the film leads to an epic showdown and otherworldly confrontation as the world renowned occult master Harry Houdini takes on the world’s greatest psychic Margery Crandon.”
STX Entertainment’s Vice President of Production Sheroum Kim will oversee development of the project on behalf of the studio.
