The Legend of Sawney Bean | Special

About this episode

This episode explores the legend, origin, and impact of the folktale about the terrifying Sawney Bean clan in Scotland.

“The Legend of Sawney Bean" explores the legend, the origin, and impact of the folktale about the terrifying clan that haunted the west coast of Scotland in the late medieval period. *SOURCES AND INFO* 🌐 Website: https://defraggedhistory.com/ 📖 Sources: Holmes, Roland, The Legend of Sawney Bean, 1975, The Anchor Press Ltd Hobbs, Sandy; Cornwell, David (1997). Pardoe, Blaine L., Sawney Bean, Dissecting the Leged of the Scottish Cannibal, 2015, Fronthill. Thomas, Sean (April 2005). "In Search of Sawney Bean". Fortean Times. Archived from the original on 19 May 2008. Retrieved October 2025. Alexander "Sawney" Bean: Biography on Undiscovered Scotland: https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usbiography/b/alexanderbean.html Sawney Bean: Cannibal, Progaganda or Bogeyman? - The Haunted Palace Blog, Lenora, April 24, 2013: https://hauntedpalaceblog.com/2013/04/24/sawney-bean-cannibal-progaganda-or-bogeyman/ BBC Scotland - The Grisly Deeds of Alexander Bean: https://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/sawney_bean.shtml?mediaset1=2 "Sawney Bean, the Scottish Cannibal". Folklore. 108: 49–54. ISSN 0015-587X.Why do we enjoy horror? Associate Professor Haiyang…

People in this episode

Host: Defragged History

Topics covered

• folklore
• Scottish history
• cannibalism
• legends
• medieval period
• horror

Keywords

• Sawney Bean
• Scottish folklore
• cannibal legend
• medieval Scotland
• horror stories
• folktales

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Epidemic Sound

Books & works: The Legend of Sawney Bean, In Search of Sawney Bean, Sawney Bean, Dissecting the Legend of the Scottish Cannibal, Sawney Bean: Cannibal, Propaganda or Bogeyman?, The Grisly Deeds of Alexander Bean, Sawney Bean, the Scottish Cannibal

Places: Scotland

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