Eaters of the Dead

Kevin Wetmore’s Eaters of the Dead shares Luckhurst’s global perspective as well as his fascination with Lovecraft, but it focuses on a single, unnerving element. Any book on corpse-eating is likely to be replete with nauseating details, and Eaters of the Dead does not disappoint. * TLS *
Spanning myth, history, and contemporary culture, a terrifying and illuminating excavation of the meaning of cannibalism . . . 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. * New Books Network *
Human consumption of human flesh has fascinated people in all places and in every age, including the present. This book explores this persistent obsession by surveying the history and imaginative treatment of cannibalistic beings such as ogres, ghouls, the wendigo, and the aswang. Discussions of creatures that typically exist outside of or on the fringes of human society provide a foundation for considering human cannibals and notorious historical and contemporary incidents of cannibalism, including survival cannibalism and the atrocities serial killers commit. Each chapter summarizes the evolution of cannibals in art, literature, and film, amplifying the idea that cannibalism continues to have a visceral appeal for audiences. This study provides a thorough analysis of cannibalism fables and facts, but the early chapters on fantastic cannibalistic beings are particularly absorbing as are the introductory discussions of the age-old fear of being eaten and Tibetan and Zoroastrian corpse disposal practices. Generously illustrated, this book is clearly written and suitable for nonspecialists and scholarly audiences alike. It features excellent notes, and the production is tasteful, despite the unsavory topic. Highly recommended. * Choice *
I loved discovering all the myths, beliefs and rituals from other cultures, and this book is a trove of fun facts, no doubt about it. Wetmore’s pleasant conversational style is anything but dry and dusty. * Ginger Nuts of Horror *
Kevin Wetmore has written a fascinating history of the ultimate recycling – cannibalism. The taboo history of the eating of one’s own genus is a car-wreck you can neither turn away from nor erase from your mind. The book is two-fold, investigating not only the innate fear of being eaten but the nightmare of becoming a cannibal ourselves. It is a banquet of repulsion that needs to be devoured, a dissertation of disquietude. * Del Howison, award-winning editor, and owner of Dark Delicacies *
Kevin J. Wetmore Jr’s Eaters of the Dead is all-consuming . . . you’ll discover things you never knew you needed to know and some you may never forget . . . and if you get hungry while you’re reading this? See a therapist right away! A very readable, beautifully researched and written reference work that I’ll keep at the forefront of my library for many years to come. * John Palisano, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Ghost Heart *
Kevin Wetmore cuts to the bone with Eaters of the Dead, and serves up a wonderfully creepy insight into a shocking variety of cannibals, human and otherwise. Creepy, brilliant, and delicious! * Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of 'Relentless' and 'Ink' *