34. The Scottish Cannibal
Sawney Bean (flourished 16th century), Scotland’s most famous cannibal, is believed to have been born in East Lothian, Scotland. The son of a hedge trimmer and ditch digger, Sawney took a stab at going into his father’s line of work, but discovered that honest work was not for him. Little else is known of his early life.
More is known of the second part of his wife, after he met and married a vicious woman named Agnes Douglas, who was accused of being a witch. Soon after their marriage, Sawney and Agnes moved to the other side of Scotland, and settled in a coastal cave on Bennane Head, near Ballantrae in Ayrshire. Things then got… interesting.