3mo ago

What are some slow acting poisons?

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.

128 comments

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"?
  
  Yeah, best just to ignore pedantry, it’s a mental illness.
  
  I knew a guy I was working summers with in college. Said he did not like roger rabbit because it was 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.
- 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 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
- https://en.z-lib.gs/s/?q=Deadly+doses+%3A+a+writer%27s+guide+to+poisons+Deadly+doses+%3A+a+writer%27s+guide+to+poisons+
- Holy shit. That's the perfect answer, I think.
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.
  
  Rookie mistake honestly, should've asked for your friend who's writer
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.
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.
Mushrooms are a good option, and you can just make up a species if you want specific time frames/symptoms. Mushrooms can cause a lot of weird symptoms.
There's also a brain eating amoeba or other sickness from still water (people back in the day were very aware of tainted water).
If you have access to polar animals, a unique poisoning would be vitamin A toxicity from their livers. It's a horrific way to die, though (skin sloughing off).
- Yeah look at the Death Cap
  
  Ongoing case here in Australia with a lady accused of murdering her ex and ex-inlaws. Invites them to lunch of beef Wellington and death cap mushrooms.
  3 died fairly awful deaths in the following days/weeks, 1 survived after intensive care.
  Accused of trying to murder the ex 4 prior times too.
  The "Mushroom lady" case absolutely captivated us for weeks
- That and mushrooms often have great scary ass names like "Destroying Angel"
- Was going to say that. They to go through the digestive track, so it needs a day or so to work. The toxin of amanita is heat resistant so you can make a stew of it, and when the first symptoms show up your liver is probably already beyond repair. If you want it to be more interesting, there are some species that are poisonous only with alcohol, like https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coprinopsis_atramentaria , although the symptoms are less severe as in death cap, but maybe it's not unimaginable to give a hearty stew a day before a known heavyweight drinking run to kill the dude(ette).
Whole maybe not “poisons” by definition I have a couple scary stories of people working in damp, moldy office and basement environments and after a couple years getting rare autoimmune and neurological disorders that killed them. One being my uncle, my family tried to get his workplace to test where he worked because the doctors said that’s most likely where he contracted it, but they refused. We weren’t looking for money, just trying to save the next guy. I was fairly young when this happened so I don’t remember all the details.
- Didn't that happen to Brittany Murphy (90s actress), then her boyfriend/husband shortly thereafter?
  So strange.
  
  There's a conspiracy it was ricin because she knew about Ashton and Diddy trafficking
  
  Did she write a book? My parents had it and explained that it was similar to what happened to my uncle. It had her looking all sad on the cover if I remember but had to be nearly 30 years ago at this point
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
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.
Depending on your setting and desired outcome for the poisoner, uraninite (aka pitchblende) might be an option. It has historical uses in glass making and pottery glazing, which could provide justification for why someone would have it.
It contains Uranium, which is radioactive, but I don't believe will bioaccumulate, but can build up on surfaces, tools, and clothing providing a source of long-term radiation exposure. In addition, it contains lead, which does bioaccumulate, providing a source of gradual long term poisoning as well as radium which also bioaccumulates and is radioactive, providing an additional source of longterm radiation exposure.
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.
  
  Yes. Here's a video describing a copper poisoning case: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saxga-xm0Rk
  
  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
- Mercury, Silver (will cause blue skin)
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.
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.
Apple seeds contain cyanide. You'd have to crush and eat anywhere from 150 to a few thousand seeds for it to be fatal though. I'm sure that hasn't stopped authors from using it before.
- "Honey, I've made your favorite meal! Crushed up pulp from 150 to a few thousand apple seeds!"
- Cyanide poisoning is famously pretty fast though...
- Cyanide is legendarily fast acting. Among the fastest known poisons.
- Breaking Bad did this IIRC
  
  I forgot about Breaking Bad! That was ricin from castor oil beans, but ricin is the opposite of slow acting.
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.
Heavy metals: lead, mercury
Arsenic in small doses over a long period
I don’t know of any plants, but I do know that the leaves of nightshades (potato, tomato, eggplant, capsicum, tobacco) are ~~poisonous~~ toxic in large doses.
Lead, mercury, and other (mostly heavy) metals. Look up mad hatters. Also phosphorus and match girls
Heavy metals in artists’ oil paints.
You can always dig into true crime, see what methods are used to kill husbands.
Check out ChubbyEmu on YouTube. He’s a pharmacist who presents strange and interesting medical stories (with dramatic re-enactments) involving unusual chemical exposures that damage and sometimes kill people. Examples: soda, coconut water from a bad coconut, a fermented soup, ivermectin ordered online, lab chemicals stolen by a student and given to a disliked roommate, and so on. Maybe something there will inspire you. ChubbyEmu does a good job of breaking down complex medical into an easily digestible format.
- Doing research like this is really interesting, but also makes me think if I'm on a list now.
How slow are you talking? Days? Weeks? months?
- A couple days or more.
  
  There are a number of options for things you could dose such that it takes 2 to 7 days. Cyanide, Atropine (belladonna) Arsenic, Thallium.
Arsenic is a classic murder poison. It's been known since anciemt times, though possibly unsuited to your onset requirement. Acute poisoning by ingestion is generally within a few hours, but if your character sustains lower doses over time, you could probably draw out the timeline to whatever you wanted. It would be obvious that the character is unwell during this time, but the symptoms aren't super specific and could be confused with e.g. food poisoning.
Or just invent a mushroom like others said. The toxins are diverse enough that I doubt anyone would be too upset if you tuned it exactly to your timeline and desired symptoms.
Time. It's very slow but will get them in the end.
Mushroom poisons usually are slow actors. They take a few days while they kill your liver, and then you'll follow suit.
Apple seeds contain cyanide, simply crushing them will release the poison and it can be added to something else, although it's not very slow.
There's also the Destroying Angel/Death Cap mushroom, whose symptoms can take up to a day to even start, by which point the toxins have been incorporated and destruction of liver and kidney tissue is irreversible. They also contain toxins that can cause severe DNA damage, making it so your body can no longer repair itself after exposure, and you slowly die cell by cell.
There is a way, and it might already be somewhat of a trope but you can use fruitpits to extract amygdalin which can be then refined with a homelab to a cyanide like substance. Although not pure or concentrated enough, but it could be added to food by a wife on a very long period of time and make the Victim very I'll with fatal results.
Amygdalin is extracted from almonds or apricot kernels by boiling in ethanol; on evaporation of the solution and the addition of diethyl ether, amygdalin is precipitated as white minute crystals.
well you can try to look it up - slow acting poisons in minecraft.
on a more serious note, as others have noted heavy metal poisoning like mercury or lead.
I have another one - sulphur. Readiy available throughout ancient times, and non-toxic by itself (S8 form that is). But many of it's compounds are toxic in varying degree. You can look its wiki page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur) for some commonly available toxic salts, but I also have some ideas to incorporate in story - burning of sulfur (in incomplete form producing SO2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur_dioxide). You can incorporate it very easily (someone tampered someone elses fireplace or incense sticks if we also want to hide any wierdities with flame). By itself it iis not very toxic, almost odorless, and not a strong color. It has existed even in food stored for long time due to degradation of sulfur containg organic compounds, wiki page also lists that wine this (another potential vector to supply this). When in body, it can produce H2SO3 (sulphurous acid) and by inhaling/ingesting small amounts for long time - it will gradually destroy alveoli/stomach inner lining and liver. Sulfur by itself is very cheap (you can find ores in a lot of places around the world, relatively easy to mine, also found near volcanic places), humans have used it in trying to make medicine out of it, and it has huge amount of history in alchemy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alchemical_symbol, https://www.thoughtco.com/tria-prima-three-primes-of-alchemy-603699). In fact, since it is present in humans naturally, and msot organic matter for that matter - small amount of sulfur being present in someones' reports will not raise a special eye, and they would just be recommended to not eat food that is traditionally know to have much sulfur (for example garlics (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allyl_isothiocyanate). Garlic extract can also be used to deliver large amount of isothiocynate, but this would be a seperate method of poisoning all together - it is much more lethal, so not very slow acting, but one can keep giving a dose of this below lethal dose to keep damaging liver, and a final blow sometime.
I hope you find this helpful, and I hope no villagers in minecraft are killed by this.
- The phrase "in minecraft" must trigger alarm bells in some intelligence agency at this point
  
  That's why those of us who poison people for fun and profit have started appending "in roblox". The spooks will never catch us.
There was a theory a while back that Napoleon died from arsenic poisoning due to the damp Mediterranean climate causing the decay of a green wallpaper using an arsenic based dye. It didn't end up being entirely true but he may have been slowly poised by environmental arsenic throughout his life. Here is an article about it.
Arsenic is a naturally occurring element in the Earth's crust as metallic crystals or combined with other elements. Being a heavy metal, arsenic bioaccumulates. That is, it builds up in the body over time, so slow poisoning is possible.
- Penicillium brevicaule
Ricin was used in Breaking Bad. Fairly easy to produce and administer.
Source of radiation given to someone to hold in their wallet/pocket
don't be Don, don't be Don, don't be Don
Oh thank God.
At work I learned that cyanide is actually very dangerous because it accumulates its effects. Like you have a little now and a little later, then suddenly you can't get up from bed so you call in sick. Its dangerous stuff.
- cyanide doesn't accumulate, it can be broken down in some hours (very small amounts of course). otoh many heavy metals do behave this way, maybe you worked with both at the same time
- Pretty sure there's at least one Agatha Christie novel that uses that idea. A little here, a little there...
  Although, actually, maybe it was the other way round, like someone was deliberately dosing themselves gradually to build up a tolerance. Something like that.
Hey siri, remind me!
- I don't like where these comments are going.
Thallium was pretty famous for this until its mechanism of toxicity and antidotes were better understood. Slow acting, tasteless, odorless, colorless, symptoms weird and mimic other things. Used to be used for rat poison but the risk of accidental exposure was too high. Requires late 1800s technology.
If you want long-term, look to the liver. Alcohol will destroy it over time, but so will viral hepatitis. Have you considered slow acting diseases like hepatitis or HIV? Or something intensely carcinogenic?
- Mushrooms can cause liver failure too, depending on the species. Amanitas are an example
- I know someone who drinks a few litres of gin a week. They seem impervious.
  
  Just wait… they’ll die eventually.
Alcohol is a very effective slow acting poison.
Am not sure if helpful, or if this would be somewhere you could visit for reference.
The Alnwick Victorian poison garden is fascinating and perhaps even has ideas for you.
https://www.alnwickgarden.com/the-garden/poison-garden/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alnwick_Garden
Hope this helps. Am hoping to get to visit one day.
You could go for Paracetamol/Acetaminophen. The lethal dose is quite low and in theory low enough someone could poison someone else with it. And once symptoms set in people's livers are often beyond rescue and they die a very gruesome death unless we find a transplant organ in time.(And even then survival is not guaranteed)
And it's relatively save to use in writing as it is coated/mixed with enough bittering agent these days that it actually wouldn't work that well to secretly posing someone.
If you need something with a shorter timeframe Methanol is an option.
And of course there's always Dihydrogen monoxide-everyone who has even had one drop of it will die eventually but the time range depends on the dose. With very high doses people die in minutes,with medium doses (this is actually sometimes used by inmates to kill themselves) they die within a day, with lower dose after decades, but some die mere days after they ingested the mere last drop of it. Nasty stuff and very available.
- I've now written the scene with death cap mushrooms, but I'll keep this in mind if I decide to change it later. Ty!
Does anyone remember when the writer googled a recipe for their historical novel and copy pasted the first result - which turned out to be fictional from Zelda BOTW
edit: https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2020/8/3/21352299/zelda-breath-of-the-wild-red-clothes-dye-traveler-gates-of-wisdom-john-boyne-google-search-results
Apple seeds contain cyanide, and are easy to get in quantity without raising suspicion. How long does it take? No idea.
Good luck with your writing! I too have had to search for some very silly things for things I've written! As for slow acting poisons, only ones I could think of that would be really available modernly would be like, antifreeze and such, but I don't think that's so slow acting. And usually it's kids and dogs that get into that.
- There's a historical analog for antifreeze poisoning: poisoning from improperly brewed alcohol (methanol poisoning)
I recommend an American diet: ultra-processed foods, excess sodium, saturated fat, refined grains, calories from solid fats and added sugars, and avoid vegetables like the plague! The target will be dead within 50 years...
Alcohol
Go ask chatgpt or something similar for old medical herbs used back in the day that might also posion you. I inspire to write a book one day, and ive found ai to be really informative. The best part is, even if they're wrong its going in a fiction story(i hope) where it wouldn't matter.
- I hope since you want to write this will be appreciated: for that sentence you're looking for "aspire" not "inspire".
  
  Hey i said i want to write one, i never said it was going to be good.
- ah yeah the subtle, slow acting poison, the checks notes atropine
  all of these work on nervous system which means that they act rapidly. this is worse than useless
- For what it’s worth, I was able to get some AI suggestions.
  Eeeewww.
  It wasn't worth anything.

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