New Psychedelic Variant Discovered at Springer’s Point; Expert Claims “Mind-Garbling”

As of last Friday, March 29th, traveling mushroom hunter and esteemed psychedelic therapist Dr. Benjamin Schruman made the discovery that would alter minds – and alter Ocracoke life as we know it. 

While venturing the friendly paths of Springer’s Point for a charismatic sunset vista, Schruman encountered a snake slithering before him into a patch of undergrowth. 

“I’m not a snake guy,” Schruman laughs, commenting on his fated evening walk. “I watched him ‘til he was out of sight, and that’s when I saw it, behind this shrubbery – a cluster of mushrooms.” 

The local fungi are nearly identical to traditional variants of psilocybe cubensis, save the bluish gills beneath them.

“It wasn’t difficult to tell that these were psychedelics – I could feel that. What was remarkable was the color, when I really inspected them. It’s like somewhere down the line somebody, or some force of nature, created a hybrid with lactarius indigo – the edible and famously blue-gilled mushroom – and psilocybe cubensis, and the result is this beautiful, utterly mind-garbling creation.”

Schruman’s revolutionary discovery has allowed him to empathize profoundly with the island’s cult following, or those who habitually find themselves sinking below sea-level into the hypnotic obliviousness affectionately coined the “Ocracoma.” “Fungi speak a transcendental sort of language. And if you’re around them enough, you start to pick up on it. Subconsciously, that calls to you,” Schruman reflected. “I’ve no doubt that there's an inevitable correlation between Ocracoke’s flourishing popularity and the existence of these ‘Gi. It’s its own kind of magnetism, really. The human mind can’t easily combat it. That’s not natural. It seeks fluency between kingdoms, always.” 

According to expert Schruman, Ocracoke’s characteristic climate conditions are to thank for this very special strand of life. “It’s all because of the climate here – the year-round humidity, the gale-force winds, the frequent rain – special conditions have special consequences. And I have a sneaking feeling, the more I interact with eccentric locals, that these consequences haven’t gone entirely unknown.” 

Schruman would not provide a comment regarding which characters in particular led him to arrive at this estimate, but sources say he’s been spotted wandering Howard Street with Phillip Howard in company.

Schruman believes that the oncoming widespread awareness of the Springer’s Point mushrooms could potentially put an undesired spotlight on the small community, and he warns that “the moths who flock to the flame of this sort of limelight aren’t necessarily the crowd Ocracoke traditionally attracts.” The thirty-nine-year-old doctor has expressed regret for revealing this psychedelic secret – which he suspects various community members and the long twisting branches of Ocracoke royalty have kept well-hidden for as long as the island’s been inhabited – but he feels it is his purpose as both a recreational forager and as a distinguished trailblazer in the field of psychedelic therapy to be transparent about his findings. “I had to tell my colleagues, and of course I had to speak about it with various islanders. There will be loads of visiting mycologists in the months to come. There’s just no tip-toeing around it, not when it becomes this great breakthrough in science.” Schruman expects to receive his fair share of contempt from islanders, especially from those he has referred to as “spiritually blinded and deaf-minded.” 

“I hate to be the one to let the cat out of the bag, but my morals have weighed heavier on the side of science. After all, the cat is this possibly life-changing curiosity – I can’t just pack up, go home and pretend I never saw what I saw.”

Schruman has collected spores from the discovery to take back to his lab in Stulti, New Mexico. He has advised via email the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust – the organization that maintains Springer’s Point Nature Preserve – to handle the situation with care. “It’s a unique thing they have at their disposal, now. They decide whether or not to try and block it off, to eradicate it – which I’ve asked them especially not to do,” Schruman stated soberly. “I know there are hundreds – maybe thousands – more clusters out there, and around the island, and if people get ahold of the spores, they may try and grow some of their own. So there’s a lot at risk – the complex legislation behind it and all that liability, all the implications that accompany psychedelic use these days, and of course the sheer accessibility. That’s where it can get complicated, when there’s such abundance. Handle it the wrong way, and you’ve got a counterculture on your hands. And I’m willing to bet Ocracoke doesn’t really crave that.” 

Schruman has proposed that the mushroom be named psilocybe wokokon as an ode to both the fungus’ psilocybin content and its place of origin. However, Schruman has little influence over the official classification name. “That gets passed to the suits over in Iocus, in Arizona. I’m just the guy getting his hands dirty – literally.”

Despite the guilt that has plagued Schruman since unleashing this well-contained information, he is proud of the fruits of his exploration. “I mean, I feel a bit like Christopher Columbus, if I were to put it harshly. I can’t say I’m not glad for the discovery – I really am. I don’t know what’s going to come of it, how we might incorporate it into our therapeutic practices, or if it’s too potent for our work anyhow – all I know is Ocracoke’s going to have one hell of a time with it,” the doctor admitted. When inquired as to what exactly the island was due for, Schruman added: “I would expect more of the casual havoc, only amplified, blown out of all proportions with the very wide-eyed lens of new-age beach psychedelia. I’m sure it will be fun.”

When asked if he sampled the mushroom himself, Schruman laughed. Cryptically, he suggested “it’s all in the name.”