Alexander "Sawney" Bean is one of the greatest murderers and a cannibal in the 16th century Scotland. Though it is not known, wether he has actually lived, there are sure reports on him in The Newgate's Calender
Legend
The legend of Sawney Bean goes, that he was a peasant's son, who, at the beginning, tried to follow into the footsteps of his father and take over his job, but soon grew tired and discovered he actually had likeness for the life outside the law. So he left with a woman as wicked as himself. They settled in a cave, but were not found for a very long time, since the caves entrance was flooded in the time of the high tide - and noone believed that there could actually be humans living.
Sawney lived there for 25 years along with his clan - his wife, vchildren and grandchildren, who were all born in incest. They had no connection to other people - no visitors, no friends. And they only came out at night.
Actually, there WERE some "visitors", only they were never alive - the clan lived from ambushing, robbing and killing unwitting travelers at night. After that, the dead bodies were always taken back to the cave, where they were cut in parts, pickled, smoked and eaten afterwards. Sometimes, there were bones, hands and legs found on the banks of rivers at the local village.
This went on for 25 years, but the local people soon started to feel that there was something weird going on, but they had no idea on who did it all - and even less idea, where they lived. They organised many search parties, which all ended up in linching some innocent people, but the attacks and disappearances continued.
The legend tells, that the Sawney Bean's clan was finally discovered when they attacked a husband and wife, who were coming back from a fair riding on the same horse. They were ambushed, and the wife was killed - she fell off the horse, the women of the clan cut her throat and drunk her blood like vine, after that they cut her stomach open - and the following you can imagine. The husband survived only because of two things - he was well skilled in fight with sword and gun and was able to stand his ground, and, at the moment, when the clan was ready to finish with him once and for all, a group of twenty men came from the same fair, and the murderers ran off into the forest.
After this, the tales of this clan finally reached the ears of King James VI of Scotland, and he organised a grand search party of 400 men and several bloodhounds. They were shown by the man, who survived the Sawney's clans attack, where exactly it had occured, and started the search. After several days, they finally succeeded and found the cave. It is said, that by this time, Sawney Bean and his clan had murdered about thousand people. The cave was full of bones and even human flesh.
The cannibals were taken to prison and executed without a trial - the men had their hands, legs and genitalies severed and were left to blood till death, and the women and children were burned alive after wathing the men die. This was, however, a very common kind of execution for traitors - man having their hands, legs severed, and women being burned - and the cannibals were treated as traitors of the mankind.
History and origins
Today, many historians believe, that no Alexander "Sawney" Bean actually existed, because they can find no trial record on him. Let's look at it other way - the 16th century was a time, when robbers, murderers and other dark people roamed the country side. Since the king and the court only learned of very little murderers - and they actually gave a very little care of the problems in small villages - it is possibly, that this name simply wanished in the history. And it is said in the tale, that Sayney Bean's clan WERE EXECUTED WITHOUT A TRIAL. In this case, it is possible indeed, that the canibal clan really existed.
Considering the simple folk's lust for bloody tales in all times, it is also possible, that some murder or even canibal called Sawney Bean really lived and did his dark deeds - only the storytellers would make his story more exciting and thrilling by adding more details like the whole clan of murderers and canibals, the cave and the number of their victims.
Fiction/Popular culture
- In The Hills have Eyes: the Beginning - a graphic novel, it is said, that the descandants of the Sawney Bean's clan have moved to America long time ago and formed their clan there - the murderous mutants, who hunt on people.
- In the penny blood novel Sweeney Todd: String of Pearls there is a slight remark on the Sawney Bean's clan.