Cannibal Killers: Monsters with an Appetite for Murder and a Taste for Human Flesh

by Chloe Castleden

Cannibalism is perhaps the most repugnant of all crimes against human beings. It has long been a taboo subject, with even the tabloid press shying away from publishing precise details of cannibal crimes. When Albert Fish kidnapped, killed, and consumed ten-year-old Grace Budd in New York in 1928, he went to great pains to assure her parents, in a letter he wrote six years later that brought about his arrest, that he had not sexually assaulted her. But at the time, the court portrayed Fish as a sexually motivated criminal rather than as a cannibal.

Yet, sexual depravity and cannibalism are far from being mutually exclusive. Andrei Chikatilo, the Butcher of Rostov, is proof of that, having eaten parts of the sexual organs of some of his fifty-six victims. Tsutomu Miyazaki, the Japanese Dracula, murdered little girls, molested their corpses, and drank their blood. These and many other cases, including those of Jeffrey Dahmer, Edmund Kemper, Joachim Kroll (the Duisburg Man Eater), and Daniel Rakowitz—who murdered his roommate and made soup from her brains—are studied in chilling detail.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published November 10, 2010

Reviews

[Stephanie Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love true crime and serial killers. I had not heard of a lot of people talked about in this book. I found it fascinating.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

While portions of this book are informative, the majority of it focuses on already well-documented cannibal serial killers and barely gives mention to those less known to the public. There are a vast amount of grammatical errors throughout the book. So many that I was almost tempted to pull out a red pen, edit, and send it back to Chloe Castleden for a re-edit.

All this said, it was quite an easy read because, like earlier mentioned, I was familiar with the majority of what was written.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this book is rife with typographical and formatting errors. It also contains several instances of severely incorrect information.
I also had to question some of the ideas presented after Ed Kemper's interviews under "truth serum" was presented without interrogation from the author. If something that has been so frequently disproven is presented as a guarantee of honesty, what other elements of these murders were fabricated but presented as truth in this book?

Interesting enough to finish, but ultimately disappointing. I would recommend other true crime books over this one.

CW: [graphic:] cannibalism, child death, murder, child abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, torture, violence, body horror, sexual assault, sexual violence, rape, pedophilia, self-harm, injury descriptions, kidnapping, classism, confinement, [moderate:] animal death, animal cruelty, racism, homophobia

[Estelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's quite a horrifying read. It give details of how these cannibals prepare their feasts. I think there should put in some photos, at leasr show me how these cannibals look like.

[Shahrizal Ide · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chikatilo !

[Konfused · Rating 5 out of 5]

i re read this alot, love how its written

[Dami · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was actually a little good. Took a while to finish but it worth reading. sort of lol.

[Lozzi Counsell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book, including a wide variety of different cannibals. The author researched into their lives thoroughly, including information about their childhoods and also the end of their lives (obviously apart from those still alive.) However, I have lowered my rating, as some stories were a lot more detailed then others and there were no female cannibals. I don't know whether this is just because there are genuinely no female cannibals or the male ones have more famous stories.

[Matt Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just couldn't put it down... Well written and great facts. It's crazy how many sick people there are in this world. It also gives you a good look in how serial killers think. But no matter what anyone says I don't understand how anyone could do such horrifying things. There were just born different I guess...

[Fairy Fairuz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gruesome read, I had to pause a numerous times & ponder why did I read this in the first place.Could be categorised as "light reading", it's like reading a compiled crime reports.However, do not let your imagination run wild.I had to think of happy thoughts, just to let it out of system.

Noticed a couple of spelling errors.

I guess the title caught me.

[Fm226 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this book but could have been better if the book double check their typo before publishing. Nonetheless, still a great read.

[Chloe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found a few spelling and grammar mistakes in this book and felt that it wasn't written well however it was easy enough to follow and I didn't feel too bogged down with facts and dates.

[Charlie Nolan · Rating 2 out of 5]

To many errors that should have been corrected in a proof reading.

[Sharon Heathfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

was a good read..gave a good Insight into the minds of serial killers. would have liked to have seen some pictures in a weird sort of way but enjoyed reading it