Sawney Beane

Alexander "Sawney" Beane was the legendary head of a cannibalistic family in Scotland during the 15th century. It is claimed that Sawney, his wife, and their 46 children and grandchildren murdered and ate over a thousand people before they were captured and executed. However some historians believe that Sawney Beane and his family of cannibals never really existed.

Legend has it that Beane and his wife started off supporting themselves by murdering travellers, stealing their money and valuables. The pair allegedly produced a large family, their grandchildren being the product of incest. The family consisted of Beane and his wife, 8 sons, 6 daughters, 18 grandsons and 14 granddaughters. Desperate for food, the family turned to crime. They would work together to trap single people or small groups at night, which was easy since there were so many of them. Rather than waste these murderer bodies, Beane and his family started to feed on them.

From then on, their victims were corner and killed then brought back to their cave, where they were robbed of their possessions, dismembered and cannibalised. Soon the family had captured and killed so many that there was too much food, and they threw unwanted body parts into the ocean, where they later washed up on nearby beaches. The local villagers were noticing these body parts, as well as the missing people, but no one knew who was responsible.

The town was desperate to catch the killer, and even took to lynching innocent strangers. But the disappearances continued. After 25 years of terrorising the village, Sawney Beane and his family were discovered. One night they had attempted to catch a couple, but there was a struggle, and their identity was revealed. The Beane family ran, and a massive hunt was launched. King James I led a team of 400 men and many bloodhounds as they hunted down the family of cannibals. The cave in which they lived was discovered, and it was a grizzly sight. The floors and walls were horribly bloodstained, having seen years of murder. There were bones and human remains everywhere.

The family were taken alive to the Tolbooth Jail in Edinburgh. The children were the first to go. They were taken and executed without a trial. The men of the Beane family had their hands and feet cut off, and were left to bleed to death. After watching the men die, the women and remaining children were burned alive.