And before anyone makes a cheeky “what do you need this for 🤨” comment, I’m a writer. I’m not going to murder anyone I promise, I just want to write a scene where one guy gets poisoned.
I need something that doesn’t require modern technology to extract/produce, and would make sense to be avaible in a place with a temperate to mediterranean climate. The slower, the better. Does a plant or something like that exist or do I need to make one up?
Update: I looked into death cap mushrooms and they might be just what I’m looking for! Long reaction time, and being dried doesn’t make them less toxic! (the scene takes place in midwinter so no fresh ones would be avaible) If anyone has more info on them, please do share.
In almost every case in fictional writing it’s better to make up a poison then use a real one. That way you don’t have someone picking it apart later. Also you can give it whatever properties you want/need. Now excuse me while I continue to work on my immunity to iocane powder.
They’re gonna pick it apart anyway. A reader criticized the historical accuracy of a fantasy novel my sister wrote.
H-how does one even criticise something like that? Like, “you got this and that wrong about the world you made up”?
Not even that, (in a medieval-fantsy setting) one criticized the use of archer for defense, another wanted for her to write the exact years the events happened… Another one asked why one nation had an italian-sounding name, while the bordering countries had foreign-like names, and different languages! (hello, ever been to Europe?) @[email protected] (is this how I mention someone?)
deleted by creator
deleted by creator
Yeah, best just to ignore pedantry, it’s a mental illness.
Mental illnesses are very clearly defined, for example in the ICD-10 puplished by the WHO. Pedantry is defnetly not listed in there.
And yes, this was an attempt of humour.
Bravo. Well done.
defnetly
That’s a new one.
And the commonly accepted authority on the definition of mental illnesses is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The current edition is referred to as DSM-5.
The ICD-10 is used in Europe and the DSM-5 in America. In that sense we are both correct.
Who’s to say pedantry is useless? I’m learning new things!
I knew a guy I was working summers with in college. Said he did not like roger rabbit because it was unrealistic.
I do like Roger Rabbit because it’s unrealistic.
I’ve never seen anyone even think twice about the Tears of Lys or The Strangler. And after Milk of the Poppy, it’s established that we may expect some similarity to reality in this world.
Was milk of the poppy not obviously literally opium (unrefined morphine)?
That or just do the classic ones of arsenic or cyanide and just roll with it.
Alcohol. Sometimes it takes 30 or 40 years to be effective. Not very good for murder, but wildly popular for suicide.
Yeah OP needs to define what “slow” means to them. You could say that a one-week delayed effect is slow. Or you could say that it’s only slow if it takes months of exposure.
I’m a writer
“A writer” 😉
hey guys, i am looking to write an obituary for my ex husband…
I knew it. Come on.
Theoretically speaking… Do you need an alibi as well? Just for the book of course.
I’m partial to “I was writing my book, alone, at home, with no witnesses.”
Rookie mistake honestly, should’ve asked for your friend who’s writer
I’m neither a writer nor a scientist, but there’s a copy of this on my bookshelf and I wish I could lend it to you: Deadly Doses: The Writer’s Guide to Poisons
Holy shit. That’s the perfect answer, I think.
As a writter you should get enough details wrong that someone trying to follow your recipie fails. Ideally they are also caught.
That’d require someone to actually read my stuff.
See people? I told you that everyone on lemmy is one person! But noooo!
Here’s the proof. I can’t even buy readers. This has to be me.
What do you mean by slow? Time till symptoms? time till death? Hours? Days? Weeks?
Raw castor beans contain ricin its a cool looking plant that gets big. My neighbor grew on once accidentally.
symptoms commonly begin within two to four hours, but may be delayed by up to 36 hours.
Unless treated, death can be expected to occur within 3–5 days; however, in most cases a full recovery can be made.
Actually a lot of beans are toxic when raw, but not deadly. Raw lima beans are special though; they contain something that the human body breaks down into cyanide. No clue how long that takes or how many it would take to cause harm.
Heavy metals (mercury, arsenic, cadmium, lead) are known for building up over time with many exposures. Think mad hatter syndrome, etc. but exposures can also be acute if high enough. IIRC acute arsenic poisoning makes you vomit and diarrhea until you die of dehydration after days or weeks.
Yeah, in a historic setting, use something readers will recognize, as well. Arsenic, Mercury, that kind of thing. They’ve been used as a poison, and have accidentally poisoned, for so long that they’re tropes of their own. Both of those in specific were available in the region you’re using.
Plus, they’re going to be really easy to describe the actions of, and don’t require medical knowledge to understand the effects of. Well, the stuff that’s going to be useful to show on page anyway, the stuff that happens inside organs might take a little.
how slow acting? As in months, or as in time to get the fuck outta dodge?
Ricin will kill you in a couple of days, was first extracted in 1888, and the plant grows in the mediterranean.
Like takes at least a day or more for the poisoned character to notice.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_phalloides
you also get points for historical accuracy, as it was used as far back as ancient rome
also, how low tech is low tech? Litvinenko was dying for three weeks after polonium poisoning, and radium will have similar effects, first extracted 1898
Low tech in this case would be similar to antiquity. I think I’ll look into the amanita phalloides thing!
Mistletoe berries i think. Otherwise mercury depending on dosage.
Ok I looked into mercury and it might be what I’m looking for. Any idea how long it’d take before the effects become noticeable?
A lot of detailed information on the Wikipedia page. There are a ton of different ways people can come into contact with mercury, and a ton of different formulations of mercury with varying effects. For what symptoms adults may exhibit from the most common form of organic exposure, look no further than RFK Jr., who himself has stated he has mercury poisoning from eating too much tuna:
Due to the body’s inability to degrade catecholamines (e.g. adrenaline), a person with mercury poisoning may experience profuse sweating, tachycardia (persistently faster-than-normal heart beat), increased salivation, and hypertension (high blood pressure).
It also causes memory impairment and reduced IQ. RFK Jr. seems to really fit the bill here.
But for something truly terrifying, try dimethylmercury. People can get one drop on their skin, then several months later start developing symptoms, and die within a year. It even soaks right through rubber and latex gloves: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethylmercury
For full symptom progression, check out Minimata Disease.
It used to slowly drive haters insane, hence mad haters. There was a theory Napoleon was exposed to excess levels of Arsenic over time although that might have well been background exposure. Nevertheless over time it’s not good for you. Neither is lead.
I got mad haters yo
Gotta lotta enemies
Hatters? Haberdashers?
Mercury poisoning of hat-makers – In 18th and 19th century England, mercury was used in the production of felt, which was commonly used in the hat-making trade at the time. Long-term use of mercury products often resulted in mercury poisoning-induced erethism among hat-makers. In the late 19th-century United States, a notable example occurred in Danbury, Connecticut, where hat making was a major industry. Instances of erethism were so widespread among hat-makers, the condition became known locally as the “Danbury Shakes.” It was characterized by slurred speech, tremors, stumbling, and in extreme cases hallucinations.
Look above.
At my hat?
Dimethylmercury.
Two drops will kill you in a few months and nothing can be done. It penetrates clothing, regular latex gloves, and skin very easily and unnoticed.
Pretty terrifying stuff. Not sure you’d be able to figure out availability or production in your plot, but as far as poisons go you’d be set for time between dose and death.
I’ve heard something about writers writing about guns – if you describe a specific gun they’ll come at you for being wrong, but if you say something like “a modified Kalashnikov” you’re conveying the image you want, and the nerds will do the work for you in figuring out how it could have been modified.
I’m thinking metal poisoning over time. Lead or copper, for example.
No that’s pretty obvious and can be easily treated, doctors keep an eye out now.
it’s absurdly easily detected and somewhat easily treated today, not in op’s setting
Wait, can copper be poisonous?
all metals that bind to sulfur well are to some degree poisonous. these are lead, mercury, thallium, some platinides (in salt form), arsenic, and also copper, but less than others. some metals have other mechanisms of toxicity, like nickel, hexavalent chromium, cadmium, beryllium or barium. some of these accumulate in brain or bones, and some don’t. some are more toxic when inhaled like zinc or chromium
Yes, but not as much as many other metals. We’retalking large amounts over a long period of time.
On sidenote, everything is poisonous, it’s just a matter of dosage.
On sidenote, everything is poisonous, it’s just a matter of dosage.
That’s a terrifying way of viewing it, thank you.
Over time most metals can build up in your body if they’re not in a compound your body can process.
Copper, lead, cadmium etc - it’s difficult for your body to expell them so they build up in your tissues
Yes. Here’s a video describing a copper poisoning case: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saxga-xm0Rk
For that i think having a read about acqua tofana would be a pretty good source of inspiration, since it was designed to have effects like an illness. it originates in italy so most of it’s ingredients are by default from a mediterran climate.
Or if you want something natural without too mutch human processing, belladonna is a surefire, but not slow acting.
Lead, mercury, and other (mostly heavy) metals. Look up mad hatters. Also phosphorus and match girls
Time. It’s very slow but will get them in the end.
