The Legend of Sawney Beane

"Go ye not by Gallowa
Come bide a while, my frein
I'll tell ye o the dangers there
Beware o Sawney Beane."

Notes on the life and times of VerSache the Barbarian :
Ex libris necessarius VerSache obscurus barbarus :
This extraordinary collection offers striking insight into the historical VerSache the Barbarian.
Compiled, Photographed, Edited, Rebound and Translated by Marjorie Chillblaine :
Today the most ancient of the original documents exist beginning with 600 leaves (or folios) made from hemp, Some folios are of single sheets, most are twice the width, then folded to accommodate 2 pages of text, The decorated pages often occurred on single sheets. The folios had lines drawn for the text, sometimes on both sides. Prick marks and guide lines can still be seen on some pages. The hemp is of high quality, although the folios have an uneven thickness, with some being almost leather, while others are so thin as to be almost translucent. Food, beer and coffee stains abound throughout ...

Sometime in the early 15th century, during the reign of James I of Scotland (1406-37), or as some accounts assert, under the rule of James IV (1488-1513) Alexander 'Sawney' Beane was born in East Lothian near Edinburgh, little is mentioned of his youth save he was said to be lazy, cunning, vicious, and resentful of authority of any kind. To avoid earning an honest living on the family farm, he ran off to seek his fortune, taking his woman (quaintly named 'Black' Agnes Douglas by one account) with him. The two of them soon set up camp in a deep cave which was situated close to Ballantrae, on what is now the Ayrshire coast, near Galloway.
This cave was said to penetrate more than 2 kilometres into the earth, with many twisting passageways, and unexplored tunnels leading off into Stygian depths. Twice a day at high tide several hundred metres of the cave's entrance passage was flooded, which formed a natural deterrent to unwanted intruders. For some time the pair made their living as bandits, slaying all their victims. As folk in that part of Scotland were not wont to carry great sums of coin on their persons and meals being scarce, the couple decided that they need not buy meat at all, choosing rather to consume the evidence of their grisly crimes. After dissection the limbs and edible cuts were dried, salted and pickled, and hung on improvised hooks around the walls of the cave (the bones were stacked in another part of the cave system), creating a larder of human meat on which they were to survive, indeed thrive, for more than a quarter of a century.
As you do, Sawney and 'Black' Agnes starting procreating, producing fourteen children in all, who in turn gave rise to a second generation of eight grandsons and fourteen granddaughters, by incestuous means. This inbred horde murdered travellers on lonely roads by day or night, yet members of the Beane clan were never suspected when they ventured from their Lair into nearby towns and hamlets. The children reached adulthood, growing well-versed in the art of ambush, murder, and cannibalistic butchery. For years they continued, growing older, more savage, and less human in most respects.
Twenty-five years passed, with scarcely a clue—other than an occasional piece of dodgy pickled human flesh, being found on the sea-strand or elsewhere—as to what was going on. Cannibalism was at last suspected, and searches of the countryside were made. Many were wrongly accused of the crimes and suspicion especially fell on local innkeepers, since they were often the last to see many of the missing men and women alive. It has been estimated that over a thousand people died at the hands of Beane and his family. Finally, their descent into depravity was revealed.
One night a band of Beanes waylaid a man and woman who were passing near their domain. The Beane females fell upon the unfortunate woman like animals, cutting her throat and sucking at the bloody wound even as she died. They also disemboweled her on the spot and began to feast upon her organs before the eyes of her embattled and horrified husband who, as it happened, proved to be a surprisingly effective opponent, managing to hold off the entire family for quite some time with nothing but his sword and deft control of his horse. The sudden appearance of a band of twenty or more riders coming home from the local fair frightened the Beanes away and so the husband escaped their clutches. They had attempted to drag his wife's body toward their lair, but had abandoned it some distance away, and the man showed this to the riders and told his tale. He was taken to Glasgow where he made his report to the authorities, and after a few days the King himself arrived on the scene, accompanied by four hundred soldiers.
At first the company passed by the low-entranced cave, searching for tracks along the strand; but the numerous bloodhounds they'd brought along had a different idea, and set to howling and barking at the cavern entrance. The soldiers fetched torches and entered the black den. As they descended, they beheld a horrid spectacle that could have come from the most hellish myth: the bodies of men, women, and children, dismembered and hung up to cure; their limbs pickled and in stacks; and a tremendous amount of stolen wealth, a treasure-trove accumulated over the years. Eventually they came into the living quarters of the Beanes themselves. There was a standoff, but at last the cannibals surrendered and were taken captive.
The king had them marched in chains to Edinburgh, but they had no trial. They were then taken to Leith for execution. The men were dismembered, their arms and legs cut off while they were still alive and conscious, and they were left to bleed to death, watched by their women. The women were burned in great fires, by all accounts screaming curses and blasphemies to the very end.