This week Blake Smith and Karen Stollznow are joined by clinical psychologist Dr. Brian A. Sharpless, author of Monsters on the Couch, to discuss cannibalism—what it is, why humans have done it, and how the taboo shows up in archaeology, medicine, psychology, and horror cinema. They cover definitions (endocannibalism vs. survival cannibalism), prion diseases such as Kuru, criminal and paraphilic cases, and pop-culture touchpoints from Ravenous to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, plus legend-tripping at Lovelock Cave and the “giants” folklore around the Mound Builder myth.
Don't forget to grab Karen's latest: Bitch: The Journey of a Word
🔎 Quick Links & References
• Cannibalism (overview) — Wikipedia: Cannibalism
• Kuru & prion diseases — Kuru (Britannica) • Prion
• Survival cannibalism cases — Donner Party • Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571
• Medicinal cannibalism — Mumia (medication) • Hand of Glory
• Criminal/forensic examples — Albert Fish • Jeffrey Dahmer
• Paraphilias mentioned — Vorarephilia • Autosarcophagy (self-cannibalism)
• Films discussed — Ravenous (1999) • The Hills Have Eyes • The Texas Chain Saw Massacre • A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors • Cannibal Holocaust • The Green Inferno (2013)
• Legends & sites — Lovelock Cave • Paiute people • Mound Builder myth • Wendigo🧾 Episode Breakdown
• 🍽️ What counts as cannibalism? Clear definition limited to consumption of human flesh; distinctions from blood drinking and other bodily materials.
• 🗺️ How widespread is it? Cross-cultural evidence, past debates in anthropology, and the modern scholarly consensus that it occurred in multiple contexts (ritual, survival, criminal, etc.). See the overview above.
• 📚 Ten motives framework (from Dr. Sharpless’s work): survival, ritual/endocannibalism, exocannibalism, benign/unwitting, criminal/cover-up, gastronomic preference, medicinal, and more—with historical examples. (See Monsters on the Couch)
• 🧪 Prions & Kuru: funerary cannibalism among the Fore in Papua New Guinea, transmission via neural tissue, and broader prion disease context. See links above.
• 💊 “Medicinal” cannibalism in early‑modern Europe: mummy powders, fat, and other preparations; “hand of glory” magical lore. Folger Shakespeare Library entry on corpse medicine.
• ⚖️ Forensic & clinical angles: overlap with antisocial personality disorder, psychosis in some cases, and how/when behaviors rise to diagnosable paraphilias.
• 🎥 Horror on screen: from Ravenous and The Hills Have Eyes to Texas Chain Saw Massacre, plus genre riffs on “taking the victim’s traits.”
• 🧸 Vorarephilia & internet subcultures: “hard” vs. “soft” vore, online communities, and clinical caution about distress/impairment.
• 🗿 Lovelock Cave & the “giants” stories: local legend‑tripping, Paiute lore about cannibal enemies, and a skeptical look at Mound Builder/“Smithsonian cover‑up” narratives.
• 📖 Reading & viewing: Dr. Sharpless’s Monsters on the Couch; films noted above; folklore touchpoints like Wendigo.
• 📖 Bob Burns Disambiguation: Texas Chainsaw Bob (Robert A. Burns) and Tracy the Gorilla Bob (Bob Burns III)📚 Books Mentioned
• Brian A. Sharpless, Monsters on the Couch
• Richard J. Dewhurst, The Ancient Giants Who Ruled America (decidedly NOT skeptical)
• Jason Colavito, The Mound Builder Myth: Fake History and the Hunt for a "Lost White Race"
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