Here's a delightfully dangerous HOWTO from the July, 1937 issue of Modern Mechanix giving directions for making your own tame lightning wiht a giant Oudin Coil. As Charlie Shopsin notes, "When even a DIY article from 1937 peppers its instructions with warnings, it's probably best to be very careful."
THE apparatus about to be described is capable of throwing a spark four and a half feet long. In spite of its deadly appearance, this spark is quite harmless. The operator may hold a metal rod in his hand and let it jump to the end of the rod and run through his body to ground, not only without harm, but without any sensation of shock. A rather spectacular stunt is to hold one wire leading to an incandescent light, and bring the other end near the coil. The lamp will be lighted by the current passing through the body and may in a few minutes even be burned out. A mystifying trick is to hold a short length of neon tube in one's hand, and approach the coil. Long before there is any sign of a spark jumping to the tube, it will light with its characteristic glow.
MAKE Artificial LIGHTNING WITH GIANT OUDIN COIL
