Devil Books and Murder Ballads: The Myth of the Arch-Killer

Historical Blindness

In my last episode of October, I consider the legends of 16th-century arch-killers, or what we might consider serial killers today, cave-dwelling highway robbers who were also said to be cannibals and sorcerers, like Sawney Bean and Christman Genipperteinga, whose kill count reached the thousands according to the cheap and lurid chapbooks and ballads that spread their tales to terrified readers. But how much of their stories was pure folklore?

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Some music on this episode was licensed under a Blue Dot Sessions blanket license at the time of this episode's publication. Tracks include "Black Ballots," "Game Lands," "Invernen," "Winter in Black," and "Cicle Gerano."

Other music is copyright Alex Kish. Visit alexkishmusic.com to contact him for musical compositions.

Additional music, including "Remedy for Melancholy," is by Kai Engel, licensed under Creative Commons.

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