Adrenochrome

A real, unremarkable chemical; a Hunter S. Thompson joke; and, since 2018, a recycled medieval blood libel. No harvesting network has ever been evidenced. The myth's lineage is the story.

Adrenochrome: a real, unremarkable oxidation product of adrenaline (synthesizable, studied for blood clotting) recast by lore as an elite drug harvested from terrorized children. Documented chain: Huxley mentioned it in 'The Doors of Perception' (1954), Hunter S. Thompson invented the harvested-gland version as a joke in 'Fear and Loathing' (1971, confirmed by his editor), and QAnon industrialized the joke as atrocity lore. No case, seizure, or victim has ever been documented. The compound is real; everything else is traceable fiction — with a body count of harassment behind it.