Cannibalism - #10: Blood

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TRANSCRIPT OF EPISODE: Cannibalism (munching) “could you eat a whole human being? (more munching) With the help of a doctor, a scientist and a chef, I set out to see if it’s possible. Cannibalism: part ten – blood”. (burp)

Supposedly, vampires sustain their immortality by drinking human blood. But what about cannibals?

From 1977 and 1978, Richard Chase, the spree killer, cannibal and necrophile nicknamed the ‘Vampire of Sacramento’ ate his victims’ remains and drank their blood. As a sadist, he raped their corpses, cut off nipples and (on at least one occasion) stuffed dog faeces down their throats. With blood spattered up the walls, floor, fridge, cups and cutlery – like a vampire – he said his motive was the belief that his organs were crumbling to powder, and the only way to restore his health was to drink their blood.

But did he? And if so, how much?

Blood is a fluid which delivers oxygen and nutrients to our cells and transports metabolic waste away. Comprising of 55% plasma (which carries platelets, cells and antibodies), 44% red blood cells (carrying oxygen) and 1% white blood cells and platelets (to help fight infection, disease and control bleeding), we make 2 million new red blood cells a second, with roughly 3 to 5 million in a single drop of blood.

With plasma made up of 90% water and 10% proteins, electrolytes, vitamins and nutrients like glucose and amino acids, it makes sense why someone would consider drinking blood as a life-giving fluid.

Across countless war zones are tales of soldiers drinking the blood of their foes, like the Croation death camps of the Ustasha fascists who (it is claimed) drank from the slashed throats of prisoners, and among the Colombian paramilitary who drank blood believing it would make them better killers.

From Steve, our average UK male, with blood making up 8% of his body mass, a cannibal could syphon off 9 pints. According to both the Red Cross and the Mayo Clinic, each pint of blood contains roughly 625 calories per pint, which at a total of 5625 calories, it could keep you alive for just over 2 days.

But it won’t. It’ll kill you.

Having shot Teresa Wallin, it was said that Richard Chase the ‘Vampire of Sacramento’ had severed her carotid artery and using a yoghurt pot, he had drunk her blood. But it’s uncertain how much blood.

It’s odd, as although it envelops almost every part of our bodies, even our own blood is toxic to us.
But it’s not the diseases or pathogens found in our blood which is the problem, as our stomach acids can destroy almost every form of bacteria, with the exception of e-Coli and Salmonella which adapt.

The biggest risk is the nutrients it carries, as just a milliliter of blood contains 0.5 milligrams of iron, and while iron is necessary for life, high doses can cause haemochromatosis resulting liver damage, fluid in the lungs, vomiting, dehydration, and even death. And although 1000s of people claim they drink blood regularly as the oxygen-rich fluid gives them energy, even if it is pathogen free, scientists state that its unsafe to swallow anything more than a few teaspoons, or roughly 20 millilitres of blood,

The reason why other mammals like the leaf-nosed bat (also known as the vampire bat) drink blood is because they need a huge intake of iron, so during each feed which requires them to drink almost 1 ½ times their mass in blood, when ingested, a mucous membrane prevents too much iron from getting into their bloodstreams. Blood is toxic to every mammal, but as humans, when eating meat, we get around that by draining it first then cooking it.

At the turn of World War Two, Leonarda Cianciulli, the Italian serial killer who turned her victim’s fat into soap needed a way to disguise the metallic taste of blood, caused by the hemoglobin in red blood cells. She said “I waited until it had coagulated, dried it in the oven, ground it and mixed it with flour, sugar, chocolate, milk and eggs, as well as a bit of margarine. I made lots of crunchy tea cakes and served them to the ladies who visited. Giuseppe and I also ate them. They were really sweet”.

Many cultures use animal blood in food, especially in black pudding also known as blood sausage, and with it consisting of 1 part blood to 4 parts water, given that Steve our average UK male has roughly 9 pints of blood at ½ kilo per pint, he’d make 90 kilos of black pudding, and with the quality stuff selling for £15 per 1 ¼ kilos, a cash conscious cannibal could earn themselves £1080 for a few hours work.

In truth, biology proves it’s unlikely that many serial killers who claim to have drunk blood, actually did it, or if they did, it was quite possibly a few teaspoons, but it definitely wasn’t a pint, especially as when expressed from an artery and exposed to air, blood coagulates within two to eight minutes.

It’s more likely that (being sad and damaged) either to gain a reputation, for a deluded religious belief, owing to psychosis, or simply to plead insanity in countries where the death sentence exists, that the drinking of blood is more often a ploy, but one which the press happily regurgitates to sell newspapers.

On 8th of May 1979, with his defense hinged on mental illness, Richard Chase was found guilty of six counts of first-degree murder, the jury rejected his insanity plea, and he was executed by gas chamber.

Join me tomorrow to uncover what are the best parts of a human body to eat.