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Some historians believe the Sawney Bean clan legend was simply anti-Jacobite propaganda. What better way to demonize the Scots than to portray them as barbaric, incestuous cannibals, right?
Real or not, the story is part of Scottish folklore. The Edinburgh Dungeon tourist attraction even has a Sawney Bean exhibit.
Sawney Bean was the inspiration for both Wes Craven’s 1977 film ‘The Hills Have Eyes’ and the horror movie 'Wrong Turn' (2003).
Sources: (Historic UK) (BBC) (Ranker) (Listverse) (The Crime Wire)
Legend has it that Elspeth planted a tree. When the clan was captured, Elspeth‘s past came to light, and she was hung from the very same tree she'd planted.
Legend has it that Sawney Bean said the phrase "It isn't over, it will never be over," multiple times, until the moment he died.
Even before they were executed, the clan showed no remorse for their actions, cursing and shouting obscenities at the torturers.
The cave, known as Bennane Cave, became the couple’s home, and where for some 25 years they lived a life of anonymity and terror. Its entrance would flood at high tide, making it the perfect hideout for the couple.
Another legendary Scottish cannibal, with a similar story, is a butcher from Perth named Christie Cleek. The similarities between Cleek and Bean are immense. The former, however, became known as the bogeyman, or bugbear.
A couple was returning from a fair when they were attacked by the clan. Bean and his family managed to kill the woman, but the man fought back and escaped.
The cave was eventually found and the clan arrested. By then, the suspicion was that the clan had murdered at least 1,000 people.
People from nearby towns were starting to miss a number of loved ones, and some of them were washing up ashore, but they had no idea what had happened to them.
Innkeepers were usually blamed for the disappearance of these people. Accused of murder, many left the towns where they were established. Everyone was oblivious to the actions of the Bean clan.
The clan grew and soon 18 grandsons and 14 granddaughters were part of the family. But how did the family grow in such conditions, you may ask? The answer is inbreeding.
The clan is believed to have killed an average of 40 people per year. As mentioned previously, leftover meat was pickled. But not every single body part was kept. Some would be thrown off cliffs.
King James VI of Scotland (James I of England and Ireland) together with 400 soldiers and bloodhounds went looking for the cave of the murderous clan.
Their cave was not very big, but it featured a network of tunnels, which allowed plenty of room for their horrific practices, and space to grow a family.
It is said that one of Sawney Bean’s daughters, Elspeth, escaped the clan during the days they were still active and tried to live a normal life in Girvan.
He did work as a tanner, but soon enough he traded manual labor for a trip across the country with his newfound love: "Black" Agnes Douglas.
Sawney Bean and Black Agnes moved across the southwestern coast of Scotland and settled in a cave between Girvan and Ballantrae.
"Black" Agnes Douglas was accused of being a witch in East Lothian. She reportedly conjured demons and performed human sacrifices.
Bean was born into an honest, hard-working family. His father was a hedger and ditcher, but ditch-digging and hedge-trimming were not for Sawney Bean.
Alexander “Sawney” Bean was born sometime during the 16th century in East Lothian, Scotland.
Sawney Bean and his partner would dismember their victims and eat them. As for leftovers, they would pickle them.
Without a job, Bean came up with a plan to support his family: robbing travelers. He would ambush them on the road and kill them.
The male members of the clan were dismembered and left to die, and the women were burned at the stake as witches. Except for one, but more on that later.
Not long after they moved to the cave, Bean and Douglas started a family. And the family grew indeed. The couple had 14 children: eight sons and six daughters.
The Sawney Bean clan was essentially a group of inbred killers and cannibals who procreated and lived isolated from the world for over two decades.
The man notified others of the location of the cave and an investigation followed. This was the beginning of the end for the Bean clan.
According to Scottish legend, a man named Sawney Bean and his clan murdered over 1,000 people in 25 years. The inbred family, who lived in a cave, not only killed their victims to rob them, but also fed on them. The story is so gruesome that it inspired horror films such as 'The Hills Have Eyes' (1977).
But how much do we know really about this piece of Scottish folklore? Click through the following gallery to find out.
Did this Scottish family really kill over 1,000 people?
Unmasking the chilling tale of Scotland's infamous cannibal clan
LIFESTYLE Legend
According to Scottish legend, a man named Sawney Bean and his clan murdered over 1,000 people in 25 years. The inbred family, who lived in a cave, not only killed their victims to rob them, but also fed on them. The story is so gruesome that it inspired horror films such as 'The Hills Have Eyes' (1977).
But how much do we know really about this piece of Scottish folklore? Click through the following gallery to find out.