Who knew that illegal drugs could produce such a positive effect that would have lasting contributions to literature and even film? Many students who are studying the following written works would probably be looking at the writer with a new perspective when they learn that these works were conceived while under the influence of illegal drugs:
· “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson. This novella, which also became a popular film and whose characters are popular Halloween costume fixtures, was written by Mr. Stevenson while he was on a six-day, six-night cocaine roll.
· “Junkie” by William Burroughs. This is writing closer to home, so to speak as the author writes about his heroin addiction through an autobiographical novel.
· “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kesey. This novel was the product of author Kesey’s use of mescaline. He wrote the novel even while he worked during the night as a hospital porter.
· Stephen King’s novels covering the period of 1979-1987. Who would have thought that one of the most popular horror novelists of the present time was a heavy cocaine user? Apparently, so heavily was he under the influence of cocaine that even forgot what he wrote during this period.
· “Kublai Khan” by Samue Taylor Coleridge. Dreaming of a historical figure and writing a poem thereafter was the product of writer Coleridge’s opium use.
· “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” by Hunter S. Thompson. Here is another author who has drawn inspiration from many real-life scenarios as he is a regular user of mescaline, LSD and cocaine. Mr. Thompson wrote this novel about drug experiences in the city of Las Vegas.
· “Requiem for a Dream” by Hubert Selby Jr. This is a novel telling the story of four characters from the city of New York whose lives become out of control as a result of their individual addictions. The author himself has addictions to painkillers and heroin.
