Grown up on a diet of illusionists and magicians, that you want to emulate the careers of David Blaine and David Copperfield instead of taking the traditional engineer/doctor/lawyer route? The Freaky Body Illusions set ought to get you started on the right footing then, letting you perform seemingly “miracles” by stretching your ear to an inhuman length and levitating on the spot among others.

Perfect for scaring the local kids and giving elderly relatives a heart attack, the range of disgusting acts you can perform with this set is delightfully wide. All in all, you can take pleasure in making your audience (or just the cat if you can’t rustle one up) feel quite sick with these clever little tricks. You can snap bones in your neck, discover a disembodied hand, even tear someone else’s arm off – all with the help of the included instructional DVD. Of course, the Magic Circle might not approve of these secrets being divulged, but that won’t matter a jot when you’re merrily terrifying anyone watching you yank a blood-drenched and still-moving arm out of a box. Of course, the tricks are surprisingly simple and just require a little bit of acting (not method-acting) and rehearsal to make a convincing show. Included are all the props you could need for these illusions, such as a box (with one panel missing), a fake ear, a fake arm (with gore detail), a bone-click simulator, a fake hand and various other bits and pieces to create the impression that you’re doing yourself some irresponsible harm.

The Freaky Body Illusions will retail for £24.99 and ought to make for a really wacky gift set.