Rose Mackenberg (July 10, 1892 – April 10, 1968) was an American investigator specializing in fraudulent psychic mediums, known for her association with Harry Houdini.

[4] In the early 1920s, Mackenberg was working on a case for a banker who had suffered losses after making investments on the advice of a psychic medium.

[12] To remain undercover, they used various disguises and false names, some of them containing puns like "Frances Raud" (for FRAUD)[13] and "Alicia Bunck" (for All Is A Bunk).

[6] According to William Lindsay Gresham, Julien Proskauer credited Mackenberg for "much of his material" in his book The Dead Do Not Talk.

She targeted local mediums, including Jane B. Coates and Madam Grace Marcia, who were scheduled to testify against the bill.

[32] Her testimony on May 18, 1926, included the revelation that Coates had told her that Senators Capper, Watson, Dill, and Fletcher "had come to her for readings" and that "table tipping seances are held at the White House" with President Coolidge and his family.

[30][33][34] After Houdini's death in October 1926, Mackenberg continued to investigate fraudulent psychics for over 20 years and served as an expert on them in various venues.

The state of Pennsylvania sought to invalidate the will, in part on the argument that the bequest would benefit criminal behavior and thus would be "against public policy".

[15] She also assisted with investigations which were published in major media outlets such as Popular Science,[41] The Chicago Tribune[6] and The Saturday Evening Post.

[44] She remained single and continued to live in the New York City area in a "well lighted" apartment "because I get tired of dark rooms".

[1] In 2017, Mackenberg was featured alongside Houdini in re-enactment sequences during season 14, episode 13 of the Travel Channel's documentary series Mysteries at the Museum.

In 2023, The Museum of Revelatory Fakes podcast produced an episode about Rose Mackenberg and Harry Houdini that features commentary by scholars Efram Sera-Shriar, Matt Tompkins, and Christine Ferguson.