SAWNEY BEAN AND HIS CANNIBAL FAMILY: BIOGRAPHY AND MURDERS - ARTE - 2025

Alexander Sawney Bean was the head of a clan of 48 people who lived in Scotland around the 16th century. He was known as "The Cannibal of the Hills", because in addition to having committed horrible crimes, he also practiced cannibalism and vampirism, like the rest of his family.

The story of this cannibal and his clan became one of Edinburgh's most famous legends. Because it is such an old story and without too many specific details, many question its veracity.

Alexander "Sawney" Bean.

However, some writings suggest that they did exist. In fact, as it is known, the clan was tried and executed after being discovered. They were accused of murder and cannibalism against more than 1000 people.

Childhood and youth

Little is known of the early years of Sawney Bean's life. The facts place it in the time when James VI of Scotland reigned, which was between the years 1566 and 1625. For this reason, many place his birth sometime at the end of the 16th century. The cannibal was born into a family of farmers in the county of East Lothian, near Edinburgh, Scotland.

It is said that Bean's home life was not too peaceful. The boy was frequently beaten by his father, who accused him of not being a good enough son.

As he grew older, he tried to become the son his father had always wanted. He began to take on duties as an adult and to work. However, his reckless attitude and natural urge to disobey the rules, as well as his deep dislike for work, caused him to fail. His failed attempt to earn an honest living ended up disappointing his father once again.

Wedding with Agnes Douglas

Bean grew tired of struggling to fit in with his family and society, so he put aside his desire to become a productive member of the community. It was then that he met a woman named Agnes Douglas.

The couple married, but very soon had to leave the town, because the natives began to accuse Agnes of being a witch. These alleged that the woman had been involved in human sacrifices and spells with demons.

Journey through the south of Scotland and first crimes

Bean and Douglas decided to travel through the south of Scotland, and on this journey they dedicated themselves to robbing everyone they encountered along the way. Some legends claim that it was during these trips that Bean first tasted human flesh.

Being fugitives, it was risky to enter the villages to sell what they stole or to buy things. Therefore, it is said that in the face of starvation, Agnes convinced her husband that cannibalism was the solution.

But in order not to attract too much attention, they decided to take their precautions. They only did it when it was absolutely necessary and to avoid suspicion they left the bodies in a way that makes it appear that the death had been caused by an attack by animals.

South Ayrshire

But after spending months traveling and hiding, the couple finally decided to settle in one place. The chosen locality was South Ayrshire, near Ballantrae. While they inspected the area in search of potential victims, as well as shelter.

Bean and his wife stumbled upon the entrance to a cave that overlooked the water. They had discovered it at a time when the tide was low, but they soon realized that, from the way it was located, once the water level rose, the inlet would no longer be visible.

The cave was deep and stable, so they saw in it the perfect opportunity not only to hide but also to raise a family.

The legend: life in the cave

Once established in the cave, the pair took their crimes to the next level. They began robbing travelers who ambushed the lonely roads that connected the towns in the area.

But they decided that to maintain their anonymity they could not leave witnesses. So they began to murder the victims and take the entire body to the cave, where they dismembered and preserved it.

Because no one knew them in the area, they began spending their victims' money in the village to buy basic supplies. But they made sure to hide any belongings that were traceable or identifiable in the cave. This is how his life passed for a couple of years: robbing and murdering various travelers.

Sons

At one point, the terrifying couple began having children. In total they had 14, eight males and six females, all of whom were raised as part of this cannibalistic lifestyle.

As the children grew, they got into the routine of the murders. It is said that sometimes they hunted all together and that other times they separated into small groups to cover more ground and get more victims.

Also, incest became a common practice in the cave. Apparently Bean wanted to further expand his family, so he encouraged his children to have relationships with each other, supposedly to build an army. Thus, as a result of the relationships between brothers, father and daughters, and mother and sons, other children were born. The result of that was 18 grandchildren and 14 granddaughters.

Sawney Bean and his clan lived in the cave with this lifestyle for more than 25 years. Although they were able to hide it for half a century, it was almost impossible to keep a carnage on this scale hidden forever. The rumors started and it was then a matter of time for everything to come to light.

Rumors about the disappearances

During that 25-year span, the number of missing people in the area reached over 1,000. Many human remains began to occasionally be found on the coast. This was because the clan used to throw into the sea what they did not consume.

At that time all kinds of theories began to be established. It was first thought that the rocky terrain could be inhabited by werewolves and even demons. However, this hypothesis was soon discarded, because not only people traveling alone but even groups of five and six people disappeared.

The following theory was more credible, but it was not correct either. Local innkeepers began to be believed to be guilty of robbing and murdering people. This rumor spread so much that innocent people were even pointed out. So much so that several accused were allegedly tortured and executed.

The discovery of his crimes

The end of Sawney Bean and his clan came when they attacked a married couple riding in the area. That day the family had separated into several groups to hunt. One of them saw the couple pass by and thought they were easy targets. But to the surprise of these cannibals, the man was not willing to give up without a fight.

Thus began a battle in the middle of the road. The man was not only armed with a pistol and a sword, he was also well trained. Unfortunately the wife was not so lucky. She was dragged from the horse, killed and partially eaten. It all happened at the same time that the man tried to defend himself from his attackers.

Luckily for the victim, a large group of people who had been traveling the road ran into chaos just in time to save the man from certain death. The combat ceased, upon hearing the group of people approaching, the murderous clan dispersed, managed to hide and later return to the cave they inhabited.

King James I of Scotland enters the scene

After that terrible episode, these people returned to the village to inform the local authorities about what happened. The news quickly reached the ears of King James I of Scotland, who authorized the sending of more than 400 armed men, including himself, along with bloodhounds, to hunt down Sawney Bean and his entire clan.

Thanks to the dogs that followed the trail, they were able to quickly find the entrance to the clan cave. The soldiers entered the place following a zigzag-shaped passageway until they finally found the entire family.

The place was full of dismembered bodies: arms, legs, heads and other parts, as well as jewelry and all kinds of belongings. In total 48 people were found.

Sentence to death of the family

To the soldiers' surprise, all of the clansmen surrendered without a fight. They put chains on them and went to Edinburgh. The King characterized the family members as wild beasts that did not deserve judgment. For this they were sentenced to death, although they first tortured some.

The women and children were hung on stakes and temporarily left alive to watch the men of the clan being slaughtered. These were slowly dismembered and left to bleed to death. The rest were burned alive at the stake and publicly.

It is said that during the execution none of the members of the Bean family showed any signs of fear or remorse for what they had done. All they did was give insults and obscenities to their captors. In fact, according to the story, the head of the clan, Sawney Bean, continually repeated to its end the phrase: "It is not over, it will never end."

Controversy

The story of Sawney Bean and his clan of cannibals is one of the most famous in Scotland. However, today many historians doubt the veracity of this.

The first time there was a written reference to this legend was in The Newgate Calendar, also known as "The bleeding record of the evildoers." This was a very popular work of English literature from the 18th and 19th centuries that compiled different criminal events that occurred in Newgate prison in London.

But this is basically the only reference there is. Nothing was ever found to officially establish the existence of Sawney and his family. Of course, this could be a fairly normal event due to the time when everything happened, but there are no records of the alleged executions.

Myth?

It is for all this that history seems to be nothing more than a myth. In fact, there are scholars who go a little further and have suggested that the Sawney Bean family could have been an invention of the English to discredit Scotland for the Jacobite Uprising, a war that occurred between 1688 and 1746 whose objective was to return the throne James II of England.

In any case, true or false, this story is one of the most important legends of Edinburgh, and without a doubt, one of the main tourist references in the city.

"The Hills Have Eyes", film inspired by Sawney Bean and his clan

Horror and cannibalism stories have always had their place in the world of cinema. It was for this reason that in 1977 the legend of the Sawney Bean family came to the big screen. The film was directed by Wes Craven and was titled "The Hills Have Eyes."

The plot of the story was based on a family who was traveling and was stranded in the Nevada desert. While they were there they began to be attacked and chased by a clan of misshapen cannibals coming from the nearby hills.

In 2006 a remake of this film was released under the same title. The film was directed by Alexandre Aja. In this story the family is stranded in the New Mexico desert. The monsters also come from the hills, but this time they are bloodthirsty mutants that were the product of nuclear tests carried out on site.

And for 2007 the sequel to this story, entitled "The Hills Have Eyes 2", was released. The film was titled "Return of the Damned" in Spanish and was curiously written by Wes Craven, the director of the original 1977 film.