Saint John of the Cross wrote his darkest mystical poetry while locked in a closet-sized prison cell

A closer look

If you ever complain about writer's block, remember that the 'Dark Night of the Soul' was penned in a literal medieval dungeon. Saint John of the Cross was kidnapped by rival monks who hated his religious reforms, locked in a freezing six-by-ten-foot cell, and beaten weekly. Instead of giving up, he used the tiny sliver of light coming through his wall to compose some of the most beautiful mystical poetry in human history entirely in his head.