As Halloween approaches, stories of witches and their potions resurface, often featuring eerie plants like belladonna, mandrake, and mugwort. These botanicals, steeped in myth and folklore, have long been linked to spells and sorcery. Yet behind their spooky reputations lies a fascinating pharmacological history, and in some cases, ongoing medical relevance. Belladonna Belladonna ( Atropa belladonna ), also known as deadly nightshade, has a long and contradictory history as both poison and