Acid Lore: The Orange Man
Acid Lore: The Orange Man
Of the many cautionary urban legends about LSD trips gone wrong, one of the most surreal is the story of the Orange Man. No, not that orange man, I mean the one who took acid and then became convinced that he had turned into an orange. He was terrified that if anyone touched him, he would turn into orange juice–So he lived out his life in a psychiatric ward, where he remains to this day, still convinced he’s a piece of fruit.
In some versions of the legend, the Orange Man is afraid of people trying to peel him, or even worse, that he takes a knife and attempts to peel himself…
Other variants have the unfortunate man take some LSD and become convinced he’s a glass of orange juice and so sits as still as possible, forever convinced that if he moves, he will spill.
Some versions of the tall tale involve the Orange Man accidentally taking a huge hit of LSD before suffering the permanent psychiatric delusion. For example, a young man straps hundreds of sheets of acid around his stomach under his clothes when crossing the US-Canada border, only to be told by customs officials to wait in a room while they search his car. As he nervously waits, he sweats so much that he absorbs the drug through his skin, the astronomical dose causing him to remain forever trapped in the delusion that he’s an orange that everyone wants to peel.
Interstellar Orange Juice
In the UK, the Orange Man story is sometimes attached to Syd Barrett, the leader of Pink Floyd in their psychedelic heyday. In this version, Syd imbibes a huge dose of LSD only to become convinced that he is an orange, locking himself in a cupboard so that nobody can peel or squeeze him.
The story was probably inspired by Barrett’s reputation as the ultimate ’60s acid casualty, but there is no evidence that it ever happened. Interestingly, though, on his first acid trip in 1965 with artist and future album cover designer Storm Thorgerson, Syd placed an orange, a plum, and a matchbox in a corner and stared at them, saying the fruit represented Venus and Jupiter. This event inspired Storm’s cover design for a 1974 compilation of Barrett’s solo albums, perhaps playing into the legend.
The Orange Man’s Origins
The origin of the Orange Man urban legend, as far as I can tell, seems to be Dr. Duke Fisher, once a psychiatrist at UCLA’s Center for the Health Sciences. As is often the case, cautionary legends about drugs are spread at drug-awareness courses and conferences for teachers, police, and public officials, and this is no exception. It was at a conference at the San Francisco Hilton in October 1966 that Fisher first told an audience of police officials and teachers about the man who thought he was an orange. However, Fisher states that the man’s delusion occurred only after he had given up the drug.
However, it was an explosive article in the Saturday Evening Post published on 12 August 1967 that the Orange Man came to public awareness. The article, titled ‘The Hidden Dangers of LSD’, included an interview with Dr. Fisher who used the Orange Man as an example of the perils of the drug. Fisher claimed the Orange Man was from LA and had taken LSD seven times before becoming convinced he was an orange. ‘He locked himself in his room and refused to leave it for fear that if someone touched him, he’d turn into orange juice.’ In this version of the story, Fisher does not mention the detail that the man thought he’d turned into an orange long after he had given up taking drugs.
Fisher said the man refused his offers to treat him and remained forever trapped in his delusion. The local hippy community, Fisher added, brought him food and otherwise took care of his needs as he was incapable of doing anything for himself.
When people retell urban legends, they often try to make them appear more plausible by saying the events happened to a ‘friend of a friend’ or ‘my sister’s classmate’s uncle’, and perhaps that’s what Fisher did. He heard the legend circulating in 1966 and decided to use it in his crusade against the dangers of LSD, adapting the legend to include his frustrated attempts to help the psychotic individual. Fisher was to testify in front of the US Senate on the evils of acid and his testimony played a role in the shaping of drug policy at the time.
The tragic tale of the Orange Man plays into the fear of insanity, and perhaps a fear that many people have had on a bad trip – that it will never end and that they will forever lose their grip on reality. The surreal and comical image of a man believing himself to be an orange – or a glass of orange juice – adds to the story’s appeal.
The connection between LSD and oranges may have been fueled by popular but unfounded beliefs among drug users that drinking orange juice will enhance the effect of the drug, or that conversely, orange juice will help mitigate the strength of an acid trip.
In any case, the legend of the Orange Man sitting in his lonely room terrified of being split or peeled is still going around and shows no signs of running out of juice.
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