As the late Samuel Johnson once wrote, When a man is tired of conspiracy theories, he is tired of life. Ok, maybe thats not strictly what he said, but it could have been, were he around today to observe the wacky and wonderful conspiracy theories that circulate. From the multilayered to the mundane, from the frivolous to the fantastic, theres seemingly a conspiracy theory out there to explain anything and everything. Even our favourite writers cant escape the paranoid musings of those most ardent of conspiracy theorists. For example, did you know that JK Rowling in fact does not exist? Or that Stephen King assassinated John Lennon? Both true, or at least according to some. But what about when the conspiracy theorists are proved right? Watergate was a conspiracy, after all. And Operation Mockingbird turned out to be very much real. Then again we can probably discount the theory that the British royal family belong to a race of intergalactic, devil-worshipping aliens. Because the issue with conspiracy theories is knowing what to believe and what to discount as the deluded ramblings of the perpetually paranoid. So while some of the following may sound far-fetched, bizarre, downright crazy in fact, that doesnt necessarily make them wrong. As a wise man once said, just because youre paranoid, doesnt mean they arent after you... So let us sit back, relax, and regale ourselves with some of those most bizarre literary conspiracy theories out there.
