19th century hallucinogenic drugs - specific side effects needed

[ladystormcrow]

Time/Place: Victorian London, circa 1887
Search terms used: "19th century hallucinogens", "Victorian hallucinogens", "Victorian aphrodisiacs", "hallucinogen sexual effects

Comments

[orange_fell]

I think Spanish fly would be useful for your purposes--I'm not sure exactly how well it works, but it was definitely known in the Victorian era (and before) to be a male aphrodisiac. As for getting him incoherent, an overdose of alcohol might work in combination with the "fly," but you would have to do more research.

[ladystormcrow]

I've looked up Spanish fly, and, while I don't think it would produce the effect I want on its own (from what I've read, it causes genital irritation that people can mistake for arousal), it would certainly be in-character for Miss A to include it as an ingredient in a mixture of drugs. Thanks!

I do know alcohol won't work, though. As the poster below said, too much interferes with erection and ejaculation, but also, since this takes place in Miss A's home, it would be out of character for Mr. B to drink that much - he wouldn't have anything stronger than one glass of wine, and then only if she pushed it on him.

[anonymous]

Alcohol is probably a no go, as enough of it to seriously impair judgement can interfere with erection and ejaculation. Hallucinations from alcohol are mostly restricted to withdrawal, anyway.

I'd favor hallucinogenic Psilocybin mushrooms ("shrooms") from the New World. The wikipedia article on psilocybin mushrooms details their effects pretty well, but a weird, dreamlike state with visual and auditory changes is characteristics. She might be able to convince him she's someone else, or that he's dreaming.

[lyonesse]

those weren't known by white folks until the 1950's. there are some british species though which apparently had occasional accidental use, which you could possibly slur into "occult". (Psilocybe cyanescens is your species of choice for that.) more likely would be some wacky ritual descendant from Amanita muscaria, believed to have been the "soma" of antiquity.

there's also opium.

[ladystormcrow]

I hadn't thought of using mushrooms, though I've heard about Amanita and its history. My main question would be whether the 'shroom would still work if it were powdered or liquefied and mixed in a drink.

[lyonesse]

yes, that should still work.

[nineveh_uk]

The Victorian drug of choice for this scenario has absolutely got to be laudanum. As long as it's theoretically possible to have an erection while under its influence, it is the one to go for. It would be easy for Miss A to get hold of it, and hallucinations are a side-effect. If you actually were a Victorian writing about this scenario in a novel, laudanum would be your plot device here.

[ladystormcrow]

Ooh, I didn't know hallucinations could be an effect of laudanum! I did know the stuff was extremely popular in literature from the time, and from what I understand, it takes a pretty small dose to have an effect, especially if the person's not a regular user. A "love potion" of laudanum and maybe one or two other substances may be just what I'm looking for.

[anonymous]

If you don't already know it, it might be worth having a look at The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, in which [Cut for spoilers - it may have been published in 1868 but it's a fantastic book and the twist is a good one] a character does something under the influence of laudanum that he has absolutely no memory of. It isn't an overtly sexual act but you might find it interesting as evidence that the Victorians believed that laudanum could induce a trance in which people were perfectly capable of getting up and doing things like, say, trying to put a valuable object in a safer place. Great confusion and misunderstanding ensues but the events of the night are later reconstructed by a very scientifically-minded and analytical outsider who proves that our hero was acting in good faith.

[ladystormcrow]

Yeah, laudanum is sounding more and more promising, at least as the main ingredient.

Also, thanks for reminding me to read The Moonstone! I've heard really good things about it (and I saw the Wishbone episode when I was a kid), so I've been meaning to go back and read the original version in detail.

[anonymous]

I hope you enjoy it. It's a wonderful book. Dorothy L. Sayers thought it was "probably the finest detective story ever written" and she knew her stuff. Plus, it features the best butler in literature in Gabriel Betteridge.

[occasionalhope]

Not directly relevant to your question, but you do know there would be a significant class difference between these two, don't you? A professor would be solidly middle/upper class. Police were equally definitely working class.

[ladystormcrow]

Yes, I'm aware of the class difference. Like I said, Miss A isn't a stable or rational person - among other things, she's obsessed with pulp romance stories, and sees the class divide between her and Mr. B as a "forbidden love" obstacle they can overcome. (Also, if it helps, she's aware at this point that Mr. B wasn't born into a working class background - his family's middle class too, although he's estranged from them.)