One of many magical joke items invented by the Weasley Twins, Fainting Fancies were part of the Skiving Snackbox range designed to produce symptoms that would get students out of class. Eating half of the sweet would cause them to faint within seconds, while eating the other half would make them feel better again.

The sweets were tested extensively by the Weasley Twins during the 1995-96 school year, mostly as part of the Umbridge-itis craze designed to irritate Dolores Umbridge.