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The Tell-Tale Heart

£250.00

The effect is simple.

A centuries-old heart...

Silent for generations...

Begins to beat once more.

Long before modern medicine understood the heart's function, it was believed to be far more than a simple organ. Across Europe, it was regarded as the vessel of the soul, the seat of emotion, memory and life itself. In folklore, the preserved hearts of witches, saints and executed criminals were said to retain a fragment of the owner's essence long after death. Such relics were hidden away, sealed beneath glass, or entombed with iron to prevent whatever remained within from stirring once more.

The Tell-Tale Heart places one of these forbidden relics into your audience's hands.

Beneath an aged Victorian display dome rests the genuine mummified witch's heart, pierced with iron nails and preserved for centuries. It is introduced as an object steeped in folklore, a vessel that has lain dormant for generations, waiting for another living heart with which to resonate.

The Effect

The audience is invited to hold the relic... and after a few quiet moments, something impossible happens.

Slowly at first.

Then unmistakably.

The heart begins to beat.

Not with electronics buzzing or obvious gimmicks, but with an unnervingly organic pulse that can be felt, indiscernible from your own beating heart. The moment is intimate, deeply unsettling, and leaves spectators questioning what they have just experienced. Whether presented as a cursed relic, a witch's heart, a preserved holy relic or Poe's infamous heart itself, the possibilities are endless.

Routine Ideas

Life for Life – The performer slows and "stops" their own heartbeat through breath and concentration, transferring their life force into the mummified heart, which begins to pulse in another spectator's hands.
The Heart Knows – Use the beating heart as an oracle. Ask a series of questions, allowing the heart to awaken only when the truth is spoken or a chosen object is correctly identified.
The Vampire's Trophy – Present the relic as the preserved heart of a vampire, immobilised by iron nails. Remove the nails and, after a moment's silence, the heart begins to beat once more—as though something within has started to awaken.
Judge of the Dead – Use the beating heart as a supernatural lie detector. The heart remains silent for the innocent, but begins to beat when held by the guilty, the liar, the cursed—or whoever your story requires.

Part of The Tell-Tale Heart's appeal is its sheer simplicity. There are no complicated procedures, no elaborate set-up and nothing to distract from the moment itself. It is, quite simply, a centuries-old mummified heart... that begins to beat.

The performer has complete control over the experience. Decide exactly when the heartbeat begins, when it ends, how long it continues, and even the intensity of the pulse from a faint, hesitant flutter to a strong, unmistakable beat.

Pick it up and you'll immediately notice how convincing it is—light in weight, slightly delicate in the hand, with the dry, fragile appearance you'd expect from a centuries-old preserved heart.

Despite its realistic feel, it has been engineered for performance. The heart is robust enough to withstand years of regular use while retaining the convincing tactile qualities that make spectators instinctively treat it as something rare and precious.

Sometimes the most powerful effects aren't the most complicated.

Each set includes

Museum-quality handcrafted mummified witch's heart
Antiqued domed display case with wooden base
Removable iron nails
White cotton handling gloves
Complete hidden working system
Access to a private online tutorial featuring handling and performance ideas

Audience reactions

Even before its release, The Tell-Tale Heart has generated an incredible response. Every preview copy sold out during Doomsday, the demonstration model has already been booked for use in two professional productions, and reaction videos have shown exactly why it will become one of the most talked-about bizarre magic releases of the year.

Performers have described it as:

"One of the most disturbing props I've ever held."
"The moment the heart started beating in my hand gave me genuine goosebumps."

Click on the image below to see an product demo given at Doomsday 2026 -

The first production run is strictly limited to 100 pieces to ensure every heart is handcrafted to the standard collectors have come to expect from Lebanon Circle.

Shipping will start in July.