One of my most abiding interests is the gothick in literature, in art, and in the cinema. It may seem a long way from petticoat discipline, but I suppose I am interested in arcane Victorian culture, and these are two facets of it.

And you will not get more gothick than Sawney Bean, a Scotchman of the 1600s. Despite his surname, he was not a vegetarian. But unlike the cannibalistic murderers of more recent times, he did not act alone. His good and faithful wife, and his children, stood by him all the way.

So look under the bed, make sure all the lights are blazing, and read on...

This month we take a look at a 17th century version of Hannibal Lecter who, with his female accomplice, lived by murder and cannibalism in a cave in Galloway.

These two took up their habitation in a deep cave at Bennane Head, near Ballantrae (South Ayrshire; although then Galloway), where they lived for the next 25 years. They rarely visited the nearby villages, and thus there existence was effectively unknown. During this time they had a great number of children and grandchildren, whom they brought up after their own manner, without any notions of humanity or civilization. They never kept any company but among themselves, and supported themselves wholly by robbing; being, moreover, so very cruel, that they never robbed anyone whom they did not viciously murder. Travellers began to go missing and, while the authorities accused and even executed several innkeepers and vagrants, the problem persisted, with possibly several hundred disappearances in the area. Not a few innkeepers, who lived on the Western Road of Scotland, left off their business, for fear of being made examples of, and decided to follow other employment.

 Sometimes the gang would attack four, five or six persons together, but never more than two if they were on horseback. Having robbed their victims, the family members would drag the corpses back to their cave on the seashore where they were eaten, or their flesh smoked to preserve it for future consumption. Not surprisingly, the local villagers became alarmed when body parts began washing up on local beaches. The Beans had apparently thrown the remains of the carcasses into the sea.

Eventually, by sheer bad luck, retribution was fast catching up. A husband and his wife were returning from a fair one-day, with both of them riding the same horse, when a wild looking creature leapt out from behind a tree and grabbed the horse’s bridle. The husband took out his pistol and fired at the attacker. Suddenly the couple were surrounded by a horde of the creatures. The husband unsheathed his sword and started to fend off the dreadful mob. His wife was pulled from the horse and had her throat instantly cut. The husband was also pulled to the ground but managed to keep his attackers at bay with his blade.

At that moment it happened that a crowd of about thirty villagers, returning from the same fair, happened upon the scene. The attackers had by this time, disembowelled the unfortunate woman. The crowd charged and the attackers ran off. The wife was dead but the husband was the first person to survive assault by the gang for almost a quarter of a century.

The reports were so horrific that it was King James I himself who led a troop of 400 soldiers, with several bloodhounds, to undertake a systematic search. The search began, and soon led to the seashore. This was in an area of high sea cliffs, so they waited until the tide had gone out and then rode along the beach. After a while they noticed a cave in the cliffs. They sent for some torches and, when they arrived, the troops clambered up and entered the cave. Later it was found when the tide came in, that the sea went for near two hundred yards into this subterraneous burrow, which stretched for almost a mile underground. It was hardly surprising that the lair of Sawney and his murderous flesh-eating family had escaped detection.

After following the narrow passage for some way, it suddenly opened out into a large cavern. There, huddled in the shadows were the remaining family members, dazzled by the guttering light of the torches. Resembling a nightmare scene from hell were preserved human body parts hanging from the ceiling of the cavern.  Scattered here and there were piles of money and jewellery that had been looted from their victims. The creatures were trapped and desperately attempted to fight their way out. Overcome eventually by sheer weight of numbers, forty-eight of the creatures were rounded-up and dragged cursing and swearing from the cave.

The Beans, who had become utterly accustomed to their life of cannibalism, the children having known nothing else, could not see the error of their ways. The leader of the gang was determined to be Sawney Bean who, twenty-five years earlier, had run away with a woman and lived in the cave ever since. She had born him eight sons and six daughters and these, in turn, had produced eighteen grandsons and fourteen daughters, all of them the product of incest. The entire family were taken to Edinburgh in chains, where they were kept in the Tolbooth jail, before being taken to Leith to be executed. It was 'thought needless to try such creatures who were professed enemies to mankind' so they were executed without the bother of a trial.

Their execution was a particularly gruesome affair. The womenfolk were forced to watch while their men folk had their hands and feet hacked off and allowed to slowly bleed to death. After this grisly spectacle the women and children, were thrown alive into three large fires – their screaming and cursing rending the air as they were forced back into the consuming flames…

The cave where the hideous family lived still exists although it is seldom visited. If you are ever in the neighbourhood of Galloway on holiday, perhaps a visit to the scene of these ghastly happenings will add interest to your stay.

Saffron
October 2001

The whole story is similar to two notorious horror films of the 1970s: 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre', and 'The Hills Have Eyes'. But I had better leave it at that. One day I might publish a gothick site, full of ruined castles, dark shadows, and vampire bats, but for the present 'Petticoat Discipline Monthly' still has a great future, and it is a sunny and happy site.