If you’ve ever read the book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, you may have heard of a drug called adrenochrome. The psychedelic compound was introduced in the novel by writer Hunter S. Thompson, who describes it as making “pure mescaline seem like ginger beer.” The Hollywood nightmare, QAnon’s “adrenochome” blood harvesting conspiracy.

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In a 2018 interview with The Daily Beast, Jim Caviezel, the actor best known for his portrayal of Jesus in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, claimed that elite children are being “pulled out of dumps and all kinds of places” to be adrenochrome-harvested by child traffickers. That’s a pretty wild claim, and it’s one that QAnon followers have taken on as fact.

Adrenochrome: QAnon’s Hollywood Blood Harvesting Conspiracy

QAnon believers believe that these elites have been harvesting the blood of children for centuries to get adrenochrome, which they claim has psychedelic properties and can promise immortality. According to the conspiracy theory, these global elites thirst for the drug because it gives them a fountain of youth and a high that makes them feel like they’re invincible.

The adrenochrome conspiracy is a hoax, or at least a very far-fetched one. It’s on the “more plausible” end of the spectrum of conspiracy theories, but still a little off-kilter for some people to take seriously.

This conspiracy theory is actually based on a joke in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but it’s also been referenced in other literature. In the 1970 novel, a character named Dr. Gonzo is asked by a character named Hunter S. Thompson to describe a substance that makes “pure mescaline seem like…” ginger beer, and the doctor answers by explaining that it only comes from the adrenaline gland of a live human being.

In his 2018 book Escaping the Rabbit Hole, author Mick West notes that this kind of conspiracy theory is on the spectrum between legitimate claims and wild ideas that no reasonable person could possibly accept. In fact, he’s found that some people even prefer conspiracy theories that are more far-fetched than others.

As a result, some conspiracies are more likely to go viral than others, which is why the adrenochrome conspiracy is so popular with QAnon fans. That’s because it’s a fanciful theory that has been referenced in other media, such as the movie Monsters Inc.

Does this have any chance of being real?

Moreover, some conspiracy theorists believe that this idea is tied to a number of other QAnon ideas, such as the belief that North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un is a puppet ruler installed by the CIA. Similarly, some QAnoners have claimed that the British Royal family are extraterrestrials, and that a lot of Hollywood stars are part of a pedophile ring.

It’s worth noting that adrenochrome has some medical uses, such as slowing bleeding from wounds. It’s an interesting chemistry compound, though, so it’s not surprising that people would associate it with this conspiracy.

The adrenochrome conspiracy has also been credited with being one of the inspirations behind a song by British band The Sisters of Mercy, which sings about how schoolkids are harvested by nuns to get the drug. It’s a clever nod to the adrenochrome conspiracy, and also fits in well with the QAnon obsession with demented literary criticism.