Cannibalism in Scotland: Legend of Sawney Bean

According to legend, Sawney Bean and Agnes "Black" Douglas raised a clan of cannibals in a remote Scottish cave. They killed and ate unlucky travellers on lonely roads. This went on for decades with more than a thousand perishing. Who invented this gruesome story? Why? And why has Sawney Bean become a kind of cult hero in Scotland itself?

Cat Byers is our guest today, a writer and historian based in Paris currently finishing a PhD on the Paris Morgue.

Edited and produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code AFTERDARK sign up at https://historyhit/subscription/ 

You can take part in our listener survey here.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards. Click here to place your vote! Thank you! https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/voting

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.