A good fictional poison has a name that sounds almost kind: the Quiet Guest, Gentle Death, Sleeper's Wine. This poison name generator gives you names for poisons in stories and games, with the form they come in and what they do. All of them are invented, for fiction only.
How real poisons got their names
- Belladonna is Italian for "beautiful lady": deadly nightshade drops were once used to widen the pupils, which was thought attractive.
- Wolfsbane, or aconite, was said to have been used to poison wolves; folklore made it a guard against werewolves.
- Hemlock is the poison Socrates was condemned to drink in Athens in 399 BC.
- Arsenic was nicknamed "inheritance powder" in 19th-century France, for obvious reasons.
The pattern holds in fiction: the best poison names are euphemisms, beautiful on the outside.
Poisons in fiction and games
- Agatha Christie worked in a hospital dispensary during the First World War, and her knowledge of poisons shows in dozens of novels.
- Game of Thrones has the Strangler and Tears of Lys: poisons with names as memorable as the people they kill.
- D&D has its own, like Midnight Tears, which does nothing until midnight, and drow poison, which puts its victims to sleep. Give yours a name and a rule, and players will remember it.
Writing a poison
- The form matters. A poison in wine needs a feast; a poisoned candle needs a long night in a closed room.
- The effect is a clue. A poison that "looks like old age" is a mystery plot. One that leaves the victim hearing everything is a horror one.
- Every poisoner needs a name too. Try the Assassin Name Generator.