Valley of Fear

Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Valley of Fear. Book-of-the-Month Club, New York. 1994. 

Doyle, A. C. The valley of fear, in The Complete Sherlock Holmes, p. 779, Doubleday, New York (undated isbn 0-385-00689-6). 

Somehow he had known their report would take priority over Sund s medical condition, let alone the mysterious portrait. The APC had pulled to an abrupt halt in a valley road in one of the abandoned quarters of the city and for a moment even the Doctor had feared the prospect of a summary execution. But the account of what they had seen and overheard at the railyard had attracted all the right sort of attention from the vehicle s commander, whereupon he had declared his intention to send for De Schalles, then had his men shepherd the Doctor and Sund down mould-encrusted stone stairs into the best available waiting room a crumbling basement that had once served as a wine cellar. Dust clouded the air and damp oozed from every crack in the walls, broken bottles jutted from the racks and dark glass shards crunched under every step. The rank stench of... 

I have found them (Psilocybe subaerusinosa - Southcott) growing in flatbottomed valleys and on gentle slopes. They thrive in moist, grassy soil and can range in size from a quarter of an inch up to two or three inches in diametre. In regard to an overdose of these mushrooms, this user feels that it is not really an accurate term for this condition. It is more an extreme fear of certain things or people... 

---