Also known as henbane and black henbane, stinking nightshade (Hyoscyamus niger) is a toxic plant reputed to have magic, spiritual and medicinal powers. One of the mystic herbs, henbane is native to Europe and Siberia and naturalized in Ireland and Britain.
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Stinking nightshade is known to the Vikings. Due to its hyperactive properties Hyoscyamus niger may have been used to stimulate "berserker rage" in ancient warriors. As a plant of shamans it aids connection with the spirit realms.
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The name henbane first appears in the Middle Ages in England, though the plant was in use since antiquity in continental Europe and the East. It's associated with the Indo-European stem *bhelena whose hypothetical meaning is 'crazy plant.
The Proto-Germanic element bil meaning ‘vision, hallucination; magical power, miraculous ability’. Henbane is known for its psychoactive properties. The plant has been used in potions or magic brews, mixed with others like deadly nightshade or mandrake.
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Henbane Psychoactive Properties
Psychoactive properties of henbane or stinking nightshade include visual hallucinations and a sensation of flight. Pliny writes about use of henbane by the ancient Greeks, describing it "of the nature of wine and therefore offensive to the understanding". Greek physician and botanist Dioscorides suggests its use as a sedative and painkiller.
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Henbane, called Herba Apollinaris, was used by the priestesses of Apollo to bring oracles. German friar Albertus Magnus, in his work De Vegetalibus (1250), claims necromancers used henbane to invoke the souls of the dead, as well as demons. 16th century historian John Gerard states in his Herball:
"The leaves, the seeds and the juice, when taken internally cause an unquiet sleep, like unto the sleep of drunkenness, which continueth long and is deadly to the patient. To wash the feet in a decoction of Henbane, as also the often smelling of the flowers causeth sleep."
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By the late Middle Ages henbane became intertwined with witchcraft and supernatural evil. A written work of 1864 explains:
“The witches drank the decoction of henbane and had those dreams for which they were tortured and executed. It was also used for witches’ ointments and was used for making weather and conjuring spirits. If there were a great drought then a stalk of henbane would be dipped into a spring, then the sun-baked sand would be sprinkled with this.”
Before hops, henbane is an ingredient in gruit, a beer flavoring. It's used in Germany until the enactment of the Bavarian Reinheitsgebot or purity law for brewing beer, which states only certain ingredients like hops can be used.
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Henbane Traditional Medicine
As a traditional folk medicine, henbane is used to treat
bone ailments
rheumatism
asthma
cough
nervous diseases
stomach pain
Stinking nightshade also functions as a painkiller, sedative and narcotic. Its psychoactive elements cause an altered state of consciousness, hallucinogenic experiences, and delirium. Use of henbane has been linked to dementia.
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Henbane Ingestion & Toxic Effects
Ingestion of henbane or stinking nightshade overdose can cause:
hallucinations
dilated pupils
narcosis
restlessness
flushed skin
fast heart rate
convulsions
vomiting
hypertension
fever
loss of muscle co-ordination
Effects of the plant last 3-4 hours and aftereffects can last three days.
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Henbane Side Effects & Overdose
Side effects or after effects of stinking nightshade consumption can include:
dryness of the mouth
confusion
visual illusions
bizarre thoughts
body imbalance
memory disturbances
farsightedness
Overdose can cause respiratory paralysis, coma and death. As with many poisonous plants there's no direct cure for henbane poisoning. At the hospital the patient's stomach is pumped and symptoms treated as they appear.
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Firsthand Experience: Michael Schenck
German scientist Michael Schenck explains an experience on black henbane:
"The henbane's first effect was purely physical discomfort. My limbs lost certainty, pains hammered in my head, and I began to feel extremely giddy....I went to the mirror and was able to distinguish my face, but more dimly than normal. It looked flushed and must have been so. I had the feeling that my head had increased in size: it seemed to have grown broader, more solid, heavier, and I imagined that it was enveloped in firmer, thicker skin. The mirror itself seemed to be swaying, and I found it difficult to keep my face within its frame. The black discs of my pupils were immensely enlarged, as though the whole iris, which was normally blue, had become black. Despite of' the dilation of my pupils I could see no better than usual; quite the contrary, the outlines of objects were hazy, the window and the window frame were obscured by a thin mist."
Schenck's pulse became rapid and he experienced a further increase in the hallucinogenic effects of the plant:
"There were animals which looked at me keenly with contorted grimaces and staring, terrified eyes; there were terrifying stones and clouds of mist, all sweeping along in the same direction. They carried me irresistibly with them. Their coloring must be described - but it was not a pure hue. They enveloped in a vague gray light, which emitted a dull glow and rolled onward and upward into a black and smoky sky. I was flung into a flaring drunkenness, a witches' cauldron of madness. Above my head water was flowing, dark and blood-red. The sky was filled with herds of animals. Fluid, formless creatures emerged from the darkness. I heard words, but they were all wrong and nonsensical, and yet they possessed for me some hidden meaning."
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