The movie Titanic, directed by James Cameron, is a film that will be remembered for generations. It won 11 Academy Awards and is one of the highest-grossing films of all time.
But behind the scenes of this iconic movie, there’s a story that not many people know about
a night when the entire crew was poisoned, leading to a series of bizarre and unsettling events.
What happened on August 8, 1996, during the filming of Titanic?
It was a regular night on the set of Titanic. The crew was filming a scene, and everything seemed to be going smoothly.
Among the 60 people present were actors Bill Paxton and Suzy Amis, who were on camera. The atmosphere was as normal as any other day on set until suddenly, everything changed.
Out of nowhere, people began to feel strange. Some felt nauseous, others started laughing uncontrollably, and some even broke down in tears.
Bill Paxton later recalled this moment in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. He described it as a sudden rush of anxiety, a feeling so overwhelming that it made him feel like he needed to breathe into a paper bag.
James Cameron, the director, also experienced the effects. He felt dizzy and had to leave the set to vomit. When he returned, he found that everyone had dispersed, leaving the set eerily empty.
The crew members were scattered around the studio, some lying on the ground, others laughing, and some sobbing uncontrollably.
It was as if the entire team had lost control of their emotions and bodies.
A Dangerous Poison
As the situation escalated, it became clear that something was terribly wrong. Emergency services were called, and the entire crew was rushed to the nearest hospital.
Doctors quickly realized that the sudden illness must have been caused by something the crew had eaten.
Their last meal, a fish soup, became the primary suspect.
At first, it was believed that the soup might have contained toxic shellfish, which could have caused the symptoms. However, toxicological analysis revealed something far more sinister.
The food had been laced with PCP, a powerful hallucinogenic drug known for causing extreme anxiety, hallucinations, and even violent behavior.
The effects of the PCP on the Titanic crew were nothing short of chaotic. People were crying, laughing, and experiencing severe anxiety.
James Cameron himself was attacked by a technician who, in a state of delirium, stabbed him in the cheek with a pen.
Cameron later recalled sitting with blood pouring from his face, unable to stop laughing—a terrifying symptom of the drug’s effects.
The crew’s reaction to the PCP was varied. Some were relatively unaffected, while others were completely incapacitated.
The situation was so severe that it led to an immediate investigation by the police. The incident was taken very seriously, as it was clear that someone had deliberately poisoned the crew’s food.
The Investigation
The police launched a thorough investigation to find out who was responsible for this act of poisoning.
They interviewed everyone who had been on set that night and analyzed the blood and stomach contents of those affected.
Despite their efforts, the investigation didn’t lead to any concrete results.
One of the main theories was that a former employee who had been fired the day before might have been responsible.
According to James Cameron, this individual had a dispute with the caterer who provided the food for the set.
It’s believed that the former employee might have poisoned the food to get revenge on the caterer, hoping to damage their reputation and cost them the job.
If this was the case, the plan worked, as the caterer was immediately fired after the incident.
Despite this theory, there was never enough evidence to conclusively prove who was responsible. The police eventually closed the case in 1999, leaving the true identity of the poisoner a mystery.
