Category Archives: Contact Poisons

DIELDRIN – An Old Remedy For A New Kill

Posted on June 17, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

In the past I’ve blogged about many compounds that have been used for murder or been used as wartime bio-weapons. One of the common denominators of these lethal compounds is that many were first developed as pesticides and used for … Continue reading →

Posted in A How To Blog on Murder Plot Ideas, A How To Blog on Murder Weapons, About James J. Murray, About Murder, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Chemical Poisons, Chemicals Used For Murder, Chronic Poisons, Contact Poisons, Dieldrin and Its Lethal Effects, Dieldrin Discussed, Dieldrin Used For Murder, DMT, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Killing Off Characters in Your Novel, Lethal Chemical Poisons, Lethal Insecticides, Lethal Pesticides, Murder Weapons, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, Poisons and Murder, The Science of Murder, Tools of Murder, Unique Murder Weapons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Mad As A Hatter!

Posted on September 24, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

More than 200 years ago, hat making was a profitable business, but it could also be a deadly one. The furs used to make felt hats were dipped in a preservative made with mercury nitrate solutions. The soaking also helped … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Murder, All About Murder, Blog Trends, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Contact Poisons, Dimethylmercury, Dimethylmercury is Lethal, Dimethylmercury Poisoning, Dimetnylmercury as a Potent Neurotoxin, Hatter's Disease, How To Write A BloodLess Murder Scene, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Interesting Murder Weapons, Killing a Villain in a Novel, Killing Off Characters in Your Novel, Lethal Chemical Poisons, Mercury Poisoning, Murder Weapons, Murder With Dimethylmercury, Murder with Neurotoxins, Neurotoxins, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, Plotting Murder Scenes, Poisons Used For Murder, The Science of Murder, Tools of Murder, Ways to Murder, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Aconite – A two-edged sword!

Posted on September 17, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Many botanical compounds have important medical uses, and some of modern medicine’s most important drug classes were derived initially from plant sources. However, some of these botanical compounds have a very narrow dosage range between a therapeutic effect and toxicity. … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Murder, Aconite - A Two-Edged Sword, Aconite and Homeopathic Medicine, Aconite and Murder Mysteries, Aconite as a Medicine, Aconite as a Poison, Aconite Used For Murder, Aconitine Dosing and Usage, Aconitine Toxicity, Aconitum Plant Species, All About Murder, Blog Trends, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Blue Rocket Plant and Murder, Botanical Murder Weapons, Chemicals Used For Murder, Contact Poisons, Devil's Helmet and Murder, Drug Poisoning, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used For Murder, How To Write A BloodLess Murder Scene, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Leopard's Bane and Murder, Medical Uses of Aconite, Monkshood and Murder, Murder Weapons, Murder With Drugs, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, Plant Poisons, Plants That Kill, Plants Used For Murder, Plotting Murder Scenes, Poisonous Aconite, Poisonous Plants, Tools of Murder, Ways to Murder, Wolf's Bane and Murder, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

The Narcissus Plant – Pretty But Deadly!

Posted on July 16, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

I’ve blogged before about some deceptively attractive plants that can be lethal when ingested, and I’ve recently discovered one more to add to the list. Parts of the beautiful, flowering narcissus plant can be quite poisonous and deadly! Narcissus is a popular … Continue reading →

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Polonium – A New Weapon of Mass Destruction!

Posted on June 25, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Last week I posted a blog on thallium, a classic drug used as a murder weapon both in novels and in real life. And this week I have another interesting chemical that can be used in the same fashion. That … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Murder, About Writing, Accuracy in Writing, All About Murder, All About Writing, Biological Warfare, Biological Warfare Treatments, Biological Weapons, Bioterrorism, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Botanical Murder Weapons, Chemicals Used For Murder, Contact Poisons, Dimercaprol Chelation of Polonium, Dimercaprol Use, Drug Poisoning, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used For Murder, Elements of Murder, How To Write A BloodLess Murder Scene, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Murder Weapons, Murder With Drugs, Poisons Used For Murder, Poisons Used to Murder, Polonium, Polonium and Murder, Polonium Discovery by Marie and Pierre Curie, Polonium Poisoning, Radioactive Polonium Poisoning, Radioactive Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), Radioactive Weapons of Murder, The Science of Murder, Tools for Murder, Ways to Murder, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Saxitoxin and Ciguatera – More Killers From The Sea

Posted on June 4, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Last week I blogged about pufferfish and the lethal tetradotoxin that they contain, and we discussed their use as possible murder weapons. Today I want to talk about a couple of other interesting sea toxins that could be incorporated into … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Acute Poisons, All About Murder, All About Writing, Bio-Defense, Biological Warfare, Bioterrorism, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Characteristics of Killing, Characteristics of Murder, Ciguatera, Ciguatera and Folklore Medicine, Ciguatera and Marine Microalgae, Ciguatera and Murder, Ciguatera Poisoning, Contact Poisons, Developing Better Writing Skills, Developing Writing Skills, Drugs and Terrorism, Drugs Used to Murder, Flaccid Paralysis, Heat Resistant Poisonings, How To Write A BloodLess Murder Scene, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Murder Weapons, Murder With Drugs, Neurological Poisons, Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning, Paralytic Shellfish Toxins, Plotting Murder Scenes, Poisons That Mimic Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Pufferfish and Murder, Pufferfish Poisoning, Sarin Gas, Saxitoxin, Saxitoxin and Biological Terrorist Weapons, Saxitoxin and Murder, Saxitoxin and Suicide, Saxitoxin as Bioweapons, Saxitoxin Poisoning, Severe Food Allergies, STX, Tetradotoxin, The Science of Murder, Toxins From Shellfish, Ways To Kill, Ways to Murder, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Most Lethal Toxin From the Sea!

Posted on May 28, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Sea toxins have become very popular as tools of murder, both on television as well as in murder mysteries over the last few years. One of the most popular, and one of the best known, is Fugu, the Japanese name … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Acute Poisons, All About Murder, All About Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Characteristics of Killing, Characteristics of Murder, Contact Poisons, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used For Murder, Fugu, Fugu and Murder, Fugu Poisoning, How To Write A BloodLess Murder Scene, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Murder Weapons, Murder With Drugs, Plotting Murder Scenes, Poisons Used to Murder, Pufferfish and Murder, Pufferfish Poisoning, Tetrodotoxin, Tetrodotoxin and Murder, The Science of Murder, Tools of Murder, TTX and Murder, Ways To Kill, Ways to Murder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Hydrofluoric Acid – The Flesh Eater!

Posted on March 19, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Hydrofluoric acid is a colorless liquid that mixes readily in other fluids. It’s highly corrosive and is classified as an acute poison that immediately begins to degrade tissue on contact. If you’re a fan of the Breaking Bad TV series, … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Acids and Tissue Damage, Acids and Tissue Death, Acids Used to Murder People, Acids with Systemic Toxicity, Acute Poisons, All About Murder, All About Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Breaking Bad Acids, Breaking Bad Poisons, Contact Poisons, Flesh Eating Acids, Hydrofluoric Acid, Hydrofluoric Acid and Murder, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Killing a Villain in a Novel, Murder Weapons, Murdering with Visine, Plotting Murder Scenes, Poisons Used to Murder, The Science of Murder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments