Feasting on Flesh: A Case Report and Literature Review of Cannibalistic Ideation in Children & Adolescents

Human cannibalism is an extremely rare and violent act that is poorly understood in the modern era, and pediatric cannibalism is even less understood. This is due to methodological hurdles when investigating the topic, including a lack of data from the sheer rarity of the act as well as bias in case analysis. Here, we will detail a case of an adolescent with cannibalistic ideation. This 14-year-old male presented to the ED due to ego-syntonic thoughts of cannibalism and was promptly admitted for an inpatient psychiatric stay for four days. Through this case report, we aim to improve medical providers’ understanding of pediatric cannibalism and cannibalistic ideation and provide psychodynamic context.