Sawney Bean. The story appears in The Newgate Calendar, a crime catalogue of the notorious Newgate Prison in London.
While historians tend to believe that Sawney Bean never existed or that his story has been greatly exaggerated, his story has passed into local folklore and is part of the Edinburgh tourism industry. Legend[edit] According to The Newgate Calendar, Alexander Bean was born in East Lothian during the 1500s.[1] His father was a ditch digger and hedge trimmer, and Bean tried to take up the family trade but quickly realised that he had little taste for honest labour. He left home with a vicious woman who apparently shared his inclinations. The couple ended up at a coastal cave in Bennane Head between Girvan and Ballantrae where they lived undiscovered for some twenty-five years.
The couple eventually produced eight sons, six daughters, eighteen grandsons and fourteen granddaughters. Sources and veracity[edit] Overview of Alexander 'Sawney' Bean. The infamous cannibal Sawney Bean. Sawney Bean was a legendary cannibal, who along with his clan is supposed to have murdered and eaten hundreds of people before he was caught and executed.
It is an apocryphal tale and most likely created as a piece of entertaining fiction used to scare travellers. Different sources place him at various points in history, perhaps during the reign of James I, perhaps later during the reign of James VI but there is no hard evidence that he ever existed at all. His crimes do not appear in any official sources and we can conclude he is definitely a fictional character. The Legend of Sawney Bean. The story of Sawney Bean is one of the most gruesome Scottish legends, the plot of which would not look out of place in any modern horror/slasher movie.
Evidence suggests the tale dates to the early 18th century. Alexander Sawney Bean was - legend tells - the head of an incestuous cannibalistic family, who oversaw a 25-year reign of murder and robbery from a hidden sea cave on the Ayrshire/Galloway coast in the 15th century. The cave most readily associated with Sawney and his nefarious clan is close to Ballantrae on Bennane head in Ayrshire, although other sea caves along the Ayrshire and Galloway coast have also been associated with the story. Sawney Bean and his Family. Sawney Bean: most prolific serial killer of all time.
The Newgate Calendar: Sawney Bean. An incredible Monster who, with his Wife, lived by Murder and Cannibalism in a Cave.
Executed at Leith with his whole Family in the Reign of James I THE following account, though as well attested as any historical fact can be, is almost incredible; for the monstrous and unparalleled barbarities that it relates; there being nothing that we ever heard of, with the same degree of certainty, that may be compared with it, or that shews how far a brutal temper, untamed by education, may carry a man in such glaring and horrible colours. Sawney Bean was born in the county of East Lothian, about eight or nine miles eastward of the city of Edinburgh, some time in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, whilst King James I. governed only in Scotland.
His parents worked at hedging and ditching for their livelihood, and brought up their son to the same occupation. How was it possible they should be detected, when not one that saw them ever saw anybody else afterwards? Sawney Bean - A Scottish Horror Story. A great thing about a Vacation Scotland tour is that it takes you to corners of the country that perhaps you would never venture to otherwise.
As well as scenery and history, what I love as much as anything are the local tales and folklore – and no tale is more bizarre, indeed more gruesome than the one encountered upon taking a trip to Ayrshire and the southwest. The Horrible Tale of Sawney Bean. Sources: from a collection of historical tales and folklore connected with the south of Scotland.
Originally printed in a "broadsheet" sold on English and Scottish street corners, (like modern tabloids) round the year c.1660. Foreward: The following account, though as well attested as any historical fact can be, is almost incredible, for the monstrous and unparalleled barbarities that it relates; there being nothing we ever heard of, with the same degree of certainty, that may be compared with it, or that shows how far a brutal temper, untamed by education, and knowledge of the world, may carry a man in such glaring and horrible colours.
Legacies - Myths and Legends - Scotland - South-West Scotland - Sawney Bean: Scotland's Hannibal Lecter - Article Page 1. Knowledge Base - Sawney Bean. FW Horror: Selections from the Vault. The Tale of the Sawney Beanes posted to soc.culture.celtic [from "The People Eaters," in The Worlds Strangest Crimes, by C.E.
Maine] From time to time in the course of human history natural depravity plumbs new depths—and not only during wars. Sawney Bean: Scotland's Cannibal. Posted in Weird Beliefs > Local Legends | 0 Comments Stories of a cave-dwelling, psychopathic tribe of cannibals continues to draw visitors to this remote corner of Galloway to see the cave in which Alexander "Sawney" Bean and his incestuous, murderous family are said to have lived.
Said to have been born sometime in the early 1500s and the son of a ditch digger, the young Bean soon discovered that honest toil and labour was not for him and he left home to take up a life less ordinary. Falling in with a woman with similar tastes and proclivities, he took up residence in a cave near Ballantrae where they would spend the next 25 years committing countless atrocities. The couple soon began to breed, eventually having eight sons, six daughters, eighteen grandsons and fourteen granddaughters. Sawney Bean, the caveman cannibal - News. FORGET Silence of the Lambs or Friday The Thirteenth.
If you are born in Scotland you grow up inured to stories of madmen and murderers. Sawney Bean’s clan of cannibals. According to most accounts, Alexander ‘Sawney’ Bean was a Scottish farm labourer born in about 1530 in Galloway.
Soon after his marriage, and for reasons unknown, Sawney and his wife moved to live in the Bennane Cave. This cavern is over 200 metres deep and the entrance is covered by the sea at high tide. From this lair Bean ventured out to ambush, murder and rob unwary travellers. Sawney Bean. The son of a hedger and ditcher, Alexander Bean was said to have been lazy and dishonest and married to a woman with a similar reputation.
The couple were forced out of their native area and settled eventually in a cave near Ballantrae in Ayrshire. It is said they had many children and eventually through incest, their family increased in size to almost fifty. The rocky and inaccessible coastline where they lived meant that there existence went almost unnoticed. Cannibals - Sawney Bean - Scotland - Murder UK. Legend of fact, we will probably never know! Sawney Bean the cannibal – all a product of English propaganda - News. HIS dishes were fresh, organic and served with a novel twist that would unsettle the stomach of even the hardiest bon viveur. The tale of Sawney Bean, the culinary cannibal, may have done more damage to Scots cuisine than the deep-fried Mars Bar, but in fact he was an English invention designed to portray the Scots as depraved savages unable to distinguish between la carte and the awful and illegal.
It was believed that Bean, a forerunner of Gordon Ramsay when it came to an aggressive attitude in the kitchen – or cave as it was then – was said to be the head of a large family of cannibals who perused the highways of the Ayrshire coast, as we would the aisles of a supermarket, in search of Sunday lunch. The story has gone on to inspire movies such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes, which both involve cannibalistic families in quiet rural settings. In Search of Sawney Bean. I am standing on a grey slate star, embedded in the pavement of Edinburgh's Royal Mile. Today, this spot looks like any other bit of Heritage Britain, only with extra shortcake. Five hundred years ago, if legends are to be believed, it was very different: this was the site where Britain's first and greatest mass murderer was imprisoned; a man so evil his entire family was burned alive, alongside the psychopathic paterfamilias.
This notorious fellow was Alexander 'Sawney' Bean. Gazing down at the sidewalk star, I think back to where I first encountered him. I was ten years old, and thumbing through my Christmas present – a copy of the 1973 Guinness Book of Records. Sawney Bean – fact or fiction? SAWNEY Bean the infamous Scottish cannibal lived in a cave just outside the South Ayrshire village of Girvan where my Mum was born. His gruesome murder and robbery happened mere miles from the area my family has lived for centuries.
Come to think of it, my ancestors may have known or been one of Sawney Bean’s victims. Better still, maybe they were part of the local mob that hunted down this murderous clan. All this depends, of course, whether Sawney Bean actually existed and is not just an elaborate bogeyman story. I’m heading for Scotland this Christmas. Legacies - Myths and Legends - Scotland - South-West Scotland - Sawney Bean: Scotland's Hannibal Lecter. Sawney Bean. Sawney Bean: Myth or Myth. Sawney Bean - girvan-online.net. Welcome the new Girvan-Online Since 1999 this is the third site that has been created.
As with the previous sites this site is not just for the locals, but it is the local site for the 'greater' Girvan area. Where there are new websites, we will link to them rather than re-produce their content here. That way the best and most up-to-date information will always be available. Information Girvan Girvan Online has been re-fitted and relaunched in August 2012 with a new look and a new focus on making it the best possible site to represent this vibrant South Ayrshire community. The site has news, events details, features, forum and photos to appeal to Girvan residents, workers, visitors and tourists alike.
GIRVAN-ONLINE.net Calor Scottish. Sawney Bean's Cave. Cannibals Cave Tour of Sawney Beans cave Stranraer scottish accent. Sawney Bean's Cave. Lord of Darkness (2012. How 'Sawney' Bean went from an Ayrshire cave to global infamy. THIS 16th century monster set up home in a cave near Ballantrae, Ayrshire, with Agnes Douglas and their murderous clan and for 25 years the incestuous family robbed hundreds of travellers, then killed and ate them. Home. Director Ricky Wood discusses David Hayman-starring horror Sawney: Flesh of Man. Sawney Bean set for the silver screen - Local Headlines - Carrick Gazette. FROM local legend to festival favourite, Bennane’s most famous resident is set for the silver screen. Who was Sawney Bean? Ballad of Sawney Bean. The little known tale of Sawney Bean’s daughter - Lifestyle - Carrick Gazette. When I write these articles I am conscious of the fact that, in Girvan, there are a lot of inhabitants who are very familiar with the local history of the area.
I look for tales that perhaps have not been fully appreciated and I bring out and exploit parts which may have been overlooked, but could be of significant interest. Sawney Bean at The Edinburgh Dungeon. Well done! You've found the Bean Family. Unfortunately, it's been a while since they last ate and you look delicious. Sawney Beans Restaurant.
For an informal and relaxed place to eat in Dumfries, the Sawney Bean's Grill & Bar offers a great menu to suit all. Choose from a range of tasty starters, mains & desserts and enjoy a great value meal out. Located in the town centre is offers an ideal locations for all to come and drinks and some great food in Dumfries! SPECIAL OFFER!