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Reaktion Books Paperback English
Eaters of the Dead
Myths and Realities of Cannibal Monsters
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Every culture has monsters that eat us, and every culture recoils in horror when we eat ourselves. From Grendel to Sawney Bean and from the Ghuls of ancient Persia to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, our fear of being consumed is both universal and terrifying. Kevin Wetmore explores 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, considering ancient Greek myths of feeding humans to the gods, sky burial in Tibet and Zoroastrianism and actual cases of cannibalism in modern societies, this book examines those that consume corpses and what they tell us about ourselves and our fears.
Every culture has monsters that eat us, and every culture recoils in horror when we eat ourselves. From Grendel to Sawney Bean and from the Ghuls of ancient Persia to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, our fear of being consumed is both universal and terrifying. Kevin Wetmore explores 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, considering ancient Greek myths of feeding humans to the gods, sky burial in Tibet and Zoroastrianism and actual cases of cannibalism in modern societies, this book examines those that consume corpses and what they tell us about ourselves and our fears.