Eaters of the Dead: Myths and Realities of Cannibal Monsters

Description

Spanning myth, history, and contemporary culture, a terrifying and illuminating excavation of the meaning of cannibalism.   Every culture has monsters that eat us, and every culture repels in horror when we eat ourselves. From Grendel to medieval Scottish cannibal Sawney Bean, and from the Ghuls of ancient Persia to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, tales of being consumed are both universal and universally terrifying. In this book, Kevin J. Wetmore Jr. explores the full range of monsters that eat the dead: ghouls, cannibals, wendigos, and other beings that feast on human flesh. Moving from myth through history to contemporary popular culture, Wetmore considers everything from ancient Greek myths of feeding humans to the gods, through sky burial in Tibet and Zoroastrianism, to actual cases of cannibalism in modern societies. By examining these seemingly inhuman acts, Eaters of the Dead reveals that those who consume corpses can teach us a great deal about human nature—and our deepest human fears. Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Introduction: The Fear of Being Eaten One: Sky Burial, Cyclops and the Conqueror Worm Two: Eating the Gods, Gods Eating Men Three: Grendel and the Ogres Four: Ghuls and Ghouls Five: Asian and Oceanian Flesh-eaters and Corpse-devourers Six: Wendigo Seven: Human Cannibals Eight: Flesh-eating in Popular Culture and Contemporary Reality Conclusion: We Can’t Stop Eating References Bibliography Acknowledgements Photo Acknowledgements Index