Spook

"Spook for the spook God!"

– Probably this motherfucker, associate of an infamous Slaaneshi warband but also alleged inquisitorial field agent.

Spook is a highly illegal warp-infused psychoactive drug in the Warhammer 40k universe, in most fluff originating in Necromunda, the exact type of substance it is derived from being inconsistent, perhaps because the Orlocks don't want you to know—ranging from decayed corpse starch to a fungus growing, both found deep in the Underhive. The different sources agree on it's ultimate origin being something that harvested (and thus a resource connected to territory controlled by gangs) rather than made from scratch, though. It is often but not always described as addictive, and is as you might expect dangerous due to it's connection with the sea of souls and with chaos.

It can do anything from heighten psychedelic abilities to turn one into a flibertigibbet-thingamajig. It is nonetheless popular, however, both as a recreational drug and a tool for upping a wyrd's powerlevel—it can give a boost to unsanctioned psykers but at the cost of increased chance of things going very wrong. It's also a lucrative smuggled good, and the business apparently going from very low to very high on the Necromundan socioeconomic totem pole.

Depending on which source you're reading it is found as a fungus, lichen, or powder, harvested somehow, and generally described (when it is described at all) as a liquid.

Low doses give users a feeling of connection to the universe, maaaan. Higher more dangerous doses, which do much the same, only more so, and are likely to attract the attention of others, are also sometimes used by rogue psykers going into battle or as a part of cult rituals or generally in search deeper embrace with warpish and chaotic things. This has a tendency to go wrong. Very wrong.

It seems that, while open usage might very well get the Inquisition involved given the risks, every strata of Necromundan society is permeated with the stuff. Lowly scavvies find it in the wild, underhive gangs (particularly those associated with the Orlocks, apparently) cultivate it on an organized basis, crime syndicates distribute it and ship it off world, hedonistic and indolent uphivers enjoy it's dubious pleasures, Chaos cults promote and practice it's use, ordinary Joes seek some distraction from 20 hour workdays and constant violence, and so on down the line. Even House Helmawr, rulers of Hive Primus and the very world itself, are rumored to have a hand in the trade; some go so far as to say the trade may be essential to maintaining their stranglehold on power. Regardless, both on-planet and in the rest of Imperial space, the stuff is in high demand which seems to be met with high volume, and it can present a significant problem where it pops up.

Users

Spook apparently is native to Necromunda but is said to be exported and available throughout the Imperium but it's prevalence very likely varies depending on place and time. This necessarily implies that the amount available on Necromunda is huge, or that it is not, in fact, unique to Necromunda. If the sources which connect it with dead bodies are true, this not only provides a suitably Grimdark explanation for it's fairly easy availability—one reminiscent of Hunter S. Thompson's totally fictional accounts of abusing "adrenochrome"—but a bit of a way towards explaining the connection with the warp: whatever remains of the soul of the source of the starch...

• Spook abusers may be found in all strata of Necromundan society, as it offers an escape from a bleak reality, if only for a little while. One assumes the quality of the spook involved varies from uphive to downhive. Whether this alters the risks of becoming daemon chown, something "spooky" or playing host to a Warp being who lets you explore your newfound powers before raping your soul to death is unclear, but it probably does.

• Various cults, not just Slaaneshi hedonists, but Tzeentch-worshipping sorcerers looking for a power boost, too. Doesn't seem like the kind of thing Khorne (who's too straightforward for trippy shit, plus there's some shit literally named Slaught and too many combat stimms to name) or Nurgle (too apathetic, he's probably more of an obscura type guy.)

• Use in the armed forces of the Imperium is not unheard of, and generally results in summary execution. Needless to say, use during warp travel is likely to have unforeseen consequences.

/tg/-notable Spook enthusiasts

• Dominique, of TTS fame, despite being an inquisitorial scribe, apparently indulged, comparing a surreal situation do "doing the spook."

• Probably Cultist-chan. She wants to hang out and thripp owwt whith yhoo for kay-oss.

Dangers

Spook, however, is pretty serious business as it runs the risk of, as IRL hippies would put it, allowing spiritual entities a way in to spread enlightenment in the hive. There is one story about a down-on-his-luck bounty hunter sent by a powerful ganger to whom he owes money to poison some "scavvy king"—unfortunately for him, the poison is spook, he has to partake, and winds up getting possessed for his trouble. At least he gets to RIP AND TEAR both the degenerate mutants and the gangers who were trying to put the squeeze on him for his trouble. But damn.

Spook IRL

Common storage device for Spook, ca. late M2, Terra.

Spook is generally imagined as a sort of warp infused super-LSD or 'shrooms (both of which have an IRL connection to fungus) or perhaps DMT (which, even more than the other two, can make you feel as if you have warp powers. All three can lead you to act batshit insane on occasion both acutely and chronically. Being distributed by chaos cults is pretty true to real life, except for instead of doing strange Lovecraftian rituals in dark places they typically found dancing to strange music outdoors. Slaanesh would probably still approve though.

Use of these kinds of drugs in real life is probably more common amongst fa/tg/uys than the general population, as among creative types in general, but is not generally considered a topic for general polite discussion in /tg/-related circles.

There is more information about this stuff online than you could ever want to know, most of it overwhelmingly biased in favor of praising it's virtues and downplaying the risks. Caveat emptor.

It is worth noting how edgy talking about drugs even in a fictional sci-fi setting was in 1995. None other than Rick Priestly talks about this here.

See Also

• Drugs
• There are a number of other warp-infused drugs going around, including flects, which play a key plot point in the Ravenor books while the titular inquisitor is running around playing DEA agent for a while, and the similar but distinct and seemingly milder gladstones.

Together with spook, distribution of these drugs, due to their connection with the Warp, are likely to attract the attention of the Arbites and even the Inquisition far quicker than that of more mundane intoxicants such as grinweed or obscura.

• Another rather disturbing another drug harvested on Necromunda is icrotic slime, which is apparently actually some sort of brain eating amoeba that beyond some point of no return will basically reduce you into a zombie, and you'll be too blissed out to unplug. Grimdark.

Better bring a friend to remove the gelatinous blob from your head in time. Apparently up in the Spire there are drugs that can counteract this and let the uphivers go sliming without the risk. Whether this actually has to do directly with chaos is left unsaid but it probably does.