#  >  > Travellers Tales in Thailand and Asia >  >  > Thailands Travellers Tales >  >  An American Cannibal In Bangkok

## The Gentleman Scamp

An American cannibal in Bangkok
(That's him in my avatar)



*Bunglumpoo: January 2003 around 6pm*

I'm a cannibal", he says casually in the manner of a stranger introducing himself as a teacher or an estate agent.
I continue to chew in an attempt to look unfazed and place my falafel back gently on the plate.
_"But I don't kill people, I only eat the dead, I've only ever killed in self defence"_ He reassures me, and I'm not quite sure what expression I'm supposed to have on my face, much the same as when faced with a naked, gyrating pole dancer, smiling seductively and pouting at me in a _Soi Cowboy_ bar - how is a whump supposed to react?

What had bought me to Bunglumpoo that night is none of your god damned business, but my rumbly-tumbly had lead me to a small soi near Kaosan Road where I had been told there was a small Israeli cafe that was worth a visit. I had chosen a vacant seat outside, opposite this gaunt looking shaven headed figure dressed in a sarong and a tatty old black vest, old tattoos covered his skinny arms and from what I could see his skull had let go of all but three of his teeth.

I suppose many would have taken his introduction as a cue to make that falafel 'to go', but cannibal or not, that would have been rather rude, and to be honest I was curious... I was intrigued as to why anybody would present such a revelation just moments after saying a friendly hello and gesturing that the seat opposite was not taken.

If he thought he could shock me then he would be disappointed, if he was a bullshitter then I would smell it and if he was mad then he could be telling the truth, and judging by his appearance (and I've seen some pretty odd characters over the years) I had no reason to disbelieve him, and besides - it was a new experience for me so I was in no rush to finish my falafel.

Gary Stevenson was born in Texas and had endured a heartbreakingly sad life under this name, and I couldn't help feel a smeg of sympathy as he casually revealed more and more about his childhood and how his wife had treated him and I began to understand just how far the cruelty of our own culture can go and where it can take a man, but to take a man this far out of sanity? To cannibalism? 

Out of a satchel he then produces an old tattered photo of his daughter that appears to have been taken in the late 70's... He also produces a mobile phone which he can't figure out, some human finger bones and a tin cup before going on to tell me cheerfully that he lives in India but he's in Thailand to meet an author who is writing a book about his life.

Nearby a couple of young Thai children play with toy cars. He seems agitated by this and _"Fuck off!"_ at them - clearly this man has done his fair share of drugs in his time.

How he ended up in India is something the son of a bitch never revealed but it was here that he found the cult religion known as aghori and changed his nameto 'Kapalnath', which means 'skull cap'. I have since discovered that aghoris , followers of a radical sect of Hinduism, wander the jungles and cremation grounds of India, some of them eating human flesh and practicing gruesome, cannibalistic rituals. 

As if it were ordinary as socks, he tells me that he is wanted by the FBI in connection with missing backpackers in Hawaii but reassures me that this is just hype and speculation before coughing and shouting again at the children in the street, holding his walking cane, did I forget to mention his cane? ...Holding his cane threateningly above his head.

There are concerned looks from the other tables and from the locals but they soon go back to their falafels and their business and Gary, (Kapalnath), continues his story, showing me photos of himself, a different looking heavily dreadlocked self, holding charred meat over a pile of ash somewhere near the Ganges river. He describes to me how a charred skull cracks open easily and how he juggles the hot globes of the brain between each of his hands until they are cool enough to eat.

I feel that to act surprised at this stage may come over as sarcastic, so instead I ask him what he does for money and he tells me he makes sex movies, which nearly makes me laugh - and if you were sat opposite this man you would understand why this was a rather comical statement to come out with.

He goes on to explain that these are not ordinary sex movies. Hes talking about necrophilia and that one can purchase the body of a dead girl after a road accident for about 6,000 rupees. _Some people are so sick in their head that they buy this stuff._ A couple of Swiss women at a nearby table stand up and leave. 

I struggle to believe that I have heard him right and, again, I cant think of anything to say but he fills the silence by reassuring me that its legal; its not rape neither is it phaedophilia as the body is dead, and by that same rationale, eating a dead body isnt murder. 

Aghoris consume human flesh in order to gain the spiritual energy that is found in every human being. They also meditate over bodies in an attempt to control the spirit of the dead person, however necrophilia isn't something that I have found to be connected with this cult, but I did later discover the aghori believe they should embrace what is considered to be repulsive to society, to which 'Kapalnath' had enlightened me.

_"It's just a way of making money, it's sex with meat that's all"_ he says as he places the tin cup under the table and I see him lift his sarong. 
Later I also learn that the religion of aghor is complex with an unknown number of variations. Customs from one individual aghori to another may differ wildly and that, like some other religions, they accept people who have been rejected by society because of bad habits or lifestyles.
With a slight wobble of the wrist he produces the tin cup, full of his own freshly passed urine, and I - still not quite rid of the mental image of him screwing some Indian's dead daughter in front of a camcorder - ask him why he doesn't go back home to his family.

He downs his piss in a couple of glugs and slams the empty mug on the table, wincing, before replying; _"My family don't want to know me".
__"Yeah, funny that",_ I replied as Gary Kapalnath Stevenson stood up and limped toward the toilet looking rather unwell.

***
_Before I left Kapalnath, the fucked up eccentric bugger possibly detected a hint of doubt in my eyes, and I have to admit that it all seemed a little too bizzare, even by Bangkok standards, and that this was surely just some messed up guy whod done too much acid and got lost along the way._

_Google me He said as he shook my hand._

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## Marmite the Dog

That was, err, 'nice'.  :Smile:

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## dirtydog

They have some unusual ppl in BKK, I suppose that's why poolie likes it so much  :Smile:

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## poolcleaner

Good li'l story that Whumpy!

I did Google the guy and he is real, if that's the right word, one site mentions meeting him in Khaosan (was that you?)

You've met a true to life legend, not that you prolly feel at all privelleged by the chance meet, Kapalnath seems to enjoy his notoriety and isn't shy to do his own PR.

Sad cnut in my book......

Did I ever relate the time I met this builder from Jomtien...........

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## marklatham

Sounds like that guy from american psycho.

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## KID

I seen a video of people from this religion. They evn dig up and eat corpses that are old and rotting.

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## attaboy

I agree good story Whump.  Shop it around to some magazines.  It's just the kind of tale which would breathe life into a stale rag like Rolling Stone. The editors would slaver over a story which could convince readers the rag is still edgy.

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## Bwana Brad

l hope he washed his hands before you shook it. Otherwise that would be gross.

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## The Gentleman Scamp

> one site mentions meeting him in Khaosan (was that you?)


No mate, I met him in a dark alley about 5 mins from KSR.




> Sounds like that guy from american psycho.


Book or movie?




> I seen a video of people from this religion. They evn dig up and eat corpses that are old and rotting.


Sad bastards.




> Shop it around to some magazines.


It's the first article I've had published, hopefully not the last.The Phuket Gazette snapped it up which was great because I really needed the cash. It's in the current issue page 25 I think. This morning I have 2,600 in my account but the ATM won't let me have it. :Confused:  




> l hope he washed his hands before you shook it. Otherwise that would be gross.


I blew the germs off my palms when he wasn't looking.

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## username

We toasted New Year's 2004 together drinking Lao Lao from a human skull in his room. I spent a week with him and found him to be a loving and warm human being. Sure he's done some drugs and drank some piss in his time... but who hasn't?

"...smiling seductively and pouting at me..."
Here we go. Hey bone head, you can't smile and pout at the same time... Maybe time to wake up... No?

You've obviously found some sad satisfaction running down Kapalnath when your quite guilty of inflicting your own degrading behaviour on the living. Does that make you feel like a real macho man? Hanging around Thailand paying for sex cause that's the only way a loser like you can get any. Sounds more than a little pathetic to me. My question is where are you in your head when you think that these thais are happy to see you?

It's clear in your feeble egoist attempt to associate yourself to the strangeness of Kapalnath your forgetting one major quality: He is very much for real with the battle scars to prove it. You are a sad and paling comparison. Thailand is easy, everyone knows it. Let's see how big you are after a few years in India.

Your post reads like some kind of egoist pat on the back. Let me know if'n you need someone to kick you in front of a bus.

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## flash

^^what??






please don't eat me

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## stroller

No chance, you're not dead yet.

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## potato

You will notice the man referred to as "Kapalnath" sitting to my right! lol

On the boat, we discussed many topicsl from the obvious flesh eating (photos shown to me) drinking your own piss, Scottish heritage and distant relations to R L Stevenson.

He also pulled a knife on me when I got typically cheeky....

What a man - nice guy but a tad fucked up! lololololol

Potato

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## mrsquirrel

Can you post a bigger photo potato

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## Rigger

> We toasted New Year's 2004 together drinking Lao Lao from a human skull in his room.


Thats god dam sick how can you drink that stuff




> I spent a week with him and found him to be a loving and warm human being.


Yeh right pulling a knife on someone and eat dead people as well as filming dead people getting fok sounds like a warm human being. I dont know the guys full story but sure seems to me he has major mental problems

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## Spin

> seems to me he has major mental problems


Thailand attracts them by the 747 load.

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## potato

> Can you post a bigger photo potato


I dont know how to.....

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## Frankenstein

Can you please invite him to the next Teak Door soiree?

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## potato

Dear Mr or Mrs,

Whos quote are you referring to exactly?

Is it a generic thing or is it specifically aimed?

Seems like you had a good time anyway.... and thats good.

Lets see yer photos pal and show us all your proof of meeting the great axxhole eater de la Texas! lol

X X X




> We toasted New Year's 2004 together drinking Lao Lao from a human skull in his room. I spent a week with him and found him to be a loving and warm human being. Sure he's done some drugs and drank some piss in his time... but who hasn't?
> 
> "...smiling seductively and pouting at me..."
> Here we go. Hey bone head, you can't smile and pout at the same time... Maybe time to wake up... No?
> 
> You've obviously found some sad satisfaction running down Kapalnath when your quite guilty of inflicting your own degrading behaviour on the living. Does that make you feel like a real macho man? Hanging around Thailand paying for sex cause that's the only way a loser like you can get any. Sounds more than a little pathetic to me. My question is where are you in your head when you think that these thais are happy to see you?
> 
> It's clear in your feeble egoist attempt to associate yourself to the strangeness of Kapalnath your forgetting one major quality: He is very much for real with the battle scars to prove it. You are a sad and paling comparison. Thailand is easy, everyone knows it. Let's see how big you are after a few years in India.
> 
> Your post reads like some kind of egoist pat on the back. Let me know if'n you need someone to kick you in front of a bus.

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## potato

Im afraid I do not run this site and have no ability to increase the size of this photo even though it is THE ONLY PHOTO on here with The Man in Question with that memorable day he spent with ME.

Please accept my apologies but if u wanna zoom in like a voyeaur then goto Start -  PROGRAMS - ACCESSORIES - MAGNIFIER and zoom in to yer hearts ****ent!

PS - Who are these people that come out with unsubstantiated stories! Id rather read some barbara Cartland lollololololololol






> You will notice the man referred to as "Kapalnath" sitting to my right! lol
> 
> On the boat, we discussed many topicsl from the obvious flesh eating (photos shown to me) drinking your own piss, Scottish heritage and distant relations to R L Stevenson.
> 
> He also pulled a knife on me when I got typically cheeky....
> 
> What a man - nice guy but a tad fucked up! lololololol
> 
> Potato

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## Hootad Binky

> He is very much for real with the battle scars to prove it.


Just because someone is a creep and covered with tattoos doesn't make them inherently interesting. Not to me anyway.

The oldish, sagging backpacker covered in ink with sagging ear lobes waddling through the guest house patio smelling of piss in a sarong dragging his didgeridoo behind him is a cliche, and a vain one at that. 

They're a dime a dozen in Goa, Bali, Khao San.

But I enjoyed the reading, GS!  :Wink:

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## potato

Good comment darling. What makes you so judgemental? 

Do you eat charred human remains on a daily diet when your on the banks of the Ganges? I dont but do you? Or are you likely to become a "seasoned" traveller? lolololol






> Originally Posted by username
> 
> 
> He is very much for real with the battle scars to prove it.
> 
> 
> Just because someone is a creep and covered with tattoos doesn't make them inherently interesting. Not to me anyway.
> 
> The oldish, sagging backpacker covered in ink with sagging ear lobes waddling through the guest house patio smelling of piss in a sarong dragging his didgeridoo behind him is a cliche, and a vain one at that. 
> ...

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## Hootad Binky

> Good comment darling. What makes you so judgemental?


Because people like this want attention, want to tell their life story to you, and are constantly interested in drawing attention to themselves. It's always about _them_. Problem is, they're wearing a uniform and look exactly like the last one that went by. They're not unique in the slightest.




> Do you eat charred human remains on a daily diet when your on the banks of the Ganges? I dont but do you? Or are you likely to become a "seasoned" traveller? lolololol


I eat meat, yes!

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## Panda

Eating dead people could be a good way to increase protein in the diets of poor people. Would also reduce the costs of cremations and burials, except for all the old bones that might be left lying around the back of the house after grandmar passes away.

People need to be more positive on this subject instead of raising irrational cultural taboos as an excuse to condemn the practice. Be more positive and look at the plus side of things. A lot of people currently raising dogs for the table could be more efficiently employed caring for the elderly and sick. The dogs would appreciate it I am sure.

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## Clockwork Orange

Anybody who eats dead people belongs in the nuthouse.

Anybody who thinks it's cool to have a photo taken with them is a complete dickhead & probably belongs in the nuthouse, too.

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## stroller

> I eat meat, yes!


What kind of meat?




> A lot of people currently raising dogs for the table could be more efficiently employed caring for the elderly and sick. The dogs would appreciate it I am sure.


Dog-meat is also a great source of protein, not only for the poor. Much appreciated in some parts of the world, in contrast to humans, eating man-flesh is almost universally shunned these days.

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## The Ghost Of The Moog

^Can humans eat dog food?

As a child I always thought 'Pedigree Chum' looked nice.

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## stroller

> Can humans eat dog food?


That's not what I meant, but yeah, why not?
Doesn't taste very good, and you'd be put off if you knew what's in it - but you don't want to know what goes into sausages, either.

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## Panda

http://images.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/graphics/eating_babies2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t37170.html&h=534&w=400&sz=27&hl=en&start=5&sig2=D  CklRHUh6xDt34r2sHM1bQ&um=1&tbnid=epm76ZjKX-cHXM:&tbnh=132&tbnw=99&ei=qi4ZR-SlCYaUiwGuhfH7Bg&prev=/images%3Fq%3Deat%2Bbaby%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl  %3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG

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## Clockwork Orange

^

That has got to be fake. Disgusting.

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## blackgang

*First TV Interview With German Cannibal: 'Human Flesh Tastes Like Pork' - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News*

*'Human Flesh Tastes Like Pork'*

In his first television interview, German cannibal Armin Meiwes describes the taste of human flesh, provides a decent recipe for steak, explains his fascination with the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel -- and insists that he's a normal person.



 

DDPArmin Meiwes, serving a life sentence for killing a man and eating more than 20 kilos of him, insists he is a normal guy.


Armin Meiwes, the German cannibal serving a life sentence (more...) for killing and eating a man who begged to be devoured, has described how the meat tasted of pork and how he prepared an elaborate meal of human steak in a green pepper sauce with croquettes and Brussels sprouts. 
In his first television interview, broadcast on Monday night on the RTL channel, Meiwes, 46, looked relaxed and healthy as he spoke about his decades-long yearning to consume another man.
The case came to light in December 2002, and the grisly details made world headlines. Meiwes filmed himself killing, disembowelling and cutting up the corpse of computer engineer Bernd Brandes, 42, whom he had met after posting messages in Internet chatrooms seeking "men for slaughter."
"Yes, people who can't think their way into this find it monstrous. But in principle I'm a normal human being," he told his interviewer G&#252;nter Stampf, who has written a book, "Interview with a Cannibal," based on 30 meetings with Meiwes in jail. The interviews were approved by the Frankfurt district court that convicted him.
"I sauteed the steak of Bernd, with salt, pepper, garlic and nutmeg. I had it with Princess croquettes, Brussels sprouts and a green pepper sauce," said Meiwes. He said the meat was a little tough. He froze meal-sized portions of Brandes, some in the form of minced meat, and ate more than 20 kilograms of it in the months following the March 2001 killing. 
*Lifelong Fantasies* 
During his two trials in 2004 and 2006, Meiwes said he had always dreamt of having a younger brother -- "someone to be part of me" -- and had become fascinated with cannibalism as a way to fulfil that obsession. His desires were fuelled by the Internet, where he had contact with around 400 men interested in cannibalism.
He found a perfect match in Brandes, who was obsessed with being eaten. "The first bite was of course a peculiar, indefinable feeling at first because I had yearned for that for 30 years, that this inner connection would be made perfect through this flesh," Meiwes said in the interview.

*NEWSLETTER*

Sign up for Spiegel Online's daily newsletter and get the best of Der Spiegel's and Spiegel Online's international coverage in your In-Box everyday.

 



"The flesh tastes like pork, a little bit more bitter, stronger. It tastes quite good," he said. 
He said that when he was a child, he had enjoyed his mother reading him the fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel," about a witch who traps two children and prepares to eat the boy. "The bit where Hansel is to be eaten was interesting. You wouldn't believe how many Hansels are whizzing around the Internet."
Police estimate that around 10,000 people in Germany alone share Meiwes' fascination with cannibalism -- either eating human flesh or being eaten.
Meiwes, serving his sentence in a prison in Kassel, central Germany, could be eligible for parole after serving a mandatory 15 years in jail. A psychiatric examination conducted ahead of his trials concluded that he is not insane but has a "severely disturbed soul." 
"I want to undergo therapy, I know I need that and I hope it will be done at some point," said Meiwes.
_cro_

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## Clockwork Orange

> In his first television interview, German cannibal Armin Meiwes describes the taste of human flesh, provides a decent recipe for steak, explains his fascination with the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel -- and insists that he's a normal person.
> 
> Armin Meiwes, serving a life sentence for killing a man and eating more than 20 kilos of him, insists he is a normal guy


He would, wouldn't he? 

What a freak.

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## baldrick

> A psychiatric examination conducted ahead of his trials concluded that he is not insane but has a "severely disturbed soul."


I hope that is just newspaper flam , what sort of psychiatric term is 
"severely disturbed soul."

there was a turkish bloke recently that killed and ate his victims

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## blackgang

^ I think that term in laymans lingo is "A Very fuked up Dude"

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## obsidian

a very moving thread.

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## Frankenstein

Is it not more strange to want to be eaten than wanting to eat somebody else? 

Once you're dead you're dead, why would it matter if somebody ate you or not afterwards?

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## chinthee

> Is it not more strange to want to be eaten than wanting to eat somebody else? 
> 
> Once you're dead you're dead, why would it matter if somebody ate you or not afterwards?


Guess it gives organ donation a new meaning.  liver and onions anyone?

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## stroller

> Is it not more strange to want to be eaten than wanting to eat somebody else?


It is, but unfortunately the subject no longer resides within reach of the courts and psychiatrists.

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## India or bust

> An American cannibal in Bangkok
> (That's him in my avatar)
> 
> 
> *Bunglumpoo: January 2003 around 6pm*
> 
> I'm a cannibal", he says casually in the manner of a stranger introducing himself as a teacher or an estate agent.
> I continue to chew in an attempt to look unfazed and place my falafel back gently on the plate.
> _"But I don't kill people, I only eat the dead, I've only ever killed in self defence"_ He reassures me, and I'm not quite sure what expression I'm supposed to have on my face, much the same as when faced with a naked, gyrating pole dancer, smiling seductively and pouting at me in a _Soi Cowboy_ bar - how is a whump supposed to react?
> ...


He was a real cannibal -- I can confirm.  By the time you met him, his life had long since reached apogee.  He was returning to earth and is now dead.

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## misskit

Interesting

*American Aghori*

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/american-v13n10

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## VocalNeal

^ All tattoos and wallet chain, I see!

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## Neverna

Well, that bump revealed an interesting thread.

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## GracelessFawn

Ugh!  .... puking sound.  That's all my dinner gone!

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## wasabi

I watch his videos on YouTube , it's the sort of stuff teenage boys watch.

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