Brynblaidd Cannibals

The Brynblaidd Cannibals were a group of cannibals who lived in the village of Brynblaidd, in the BBC sci-fi/crime series Torchwood. The village of Brynblaidd, located in the Brecon Beacons, had a tradition of "harvesting" humans every ten years; killing them and cannibalising the bodies.

The Cannibals
The cannibals were led by a man called Evan Sherman. Sherman had the entire village involved, every generation. When asked why he did what he did upon his capture, he simply stated "it made me happy". When Torchwood got involved, Sherman maintained the pretence that aliens were involved for a while, and even then made it seem that the villagers were not involved. Sherman's nephew, Huw, masqueraded as a policeman in order to round up survivors without provoking suspicion.

Background
The police, prior to Torchwood's involvement, had learned of seventeen disappearances within the month, all within a thirty mile radius of the Brynblaidd village. They had discovered no obvious patterns in age, sex or race. The last victim was Ellie Johnson. The police had a witness that said she was making a phonecall, when the signal was cut off mid-call. She was driving home, when she stopped for a body in the road. However, when she saw it was a dummy, it was too late. The killers had slashed her tyres and cut off her signal, leaving her helpless.

Arrival
The special forces team, known as Torchwood, became involved in the investigation when they suspected alien involvement. Concerned that the Cardiff Rift was spreading, Torchwood went to the Brecon Beacons themselves. They made camp, but were distracted when they discovered a body in the forest. This turned out to be a decoy, and their SUV was stolen by the cannibals. Toshiko suspected a trap, but nevertheless the team pursued their SUV. When they arrived at the Brynblaidd Village, the team split up, Toshiko and Ianto went after the SUV, while Captain Jack, Owen and Gwen investigated the village.

The events
Captain Jack, Owen and Gwen found a survivor of the murders in one of the houses. Upon learning that the cannibals were likely to return, Jack, Owen, Gwen and the boy barricaded themselves in the pub. Toshiko and Ianto were captured during their search for the SUV, and brought to the Sherman household. Evan Sherman's wife, Helen, tricked them into revealing that their friends were in the village. Sherman said this was "not a problem".

The cannibals cut off the power in the inn where Captain Jack was trapped with Owen, Gwen and the boy. The boy was captured by the men in the cellar, but Jack managed to hit one of them with his revolver. Owen and Gwen followed the killers, trying to rescue the boy and meet up with Tosh and Ianto. On their way they encountered a police car, where a young policeman, Huw, caught up with them. Tosh escaped from the Sherman house, and was pursued through the woods by Evan Sherman. Sherman caught her, and was strangling her, when Owen and Gwen turned up, accompanied by Huw. Gwen told Huw to arrest Sherman, but he did not. Instead, he pointed a gun at Owen, and with that, four of the five members of the Torchwood team were captured.

Capture of the cannibals
Captain Jack, however, had not followed them out the pub. He caught one of the cannibals injured in the cellar of the inn. Jack tortured the man into revealing the location of the Sherman house, which Huw described as "an unofficial village hall"

Ianto was about to be bled with a meat cleaver, but Captain Jack crashed into the wall of the Sherman house with a tractor, and opened fire on the cannibals, overpowering the whole village. Jack pointed the gun at Sherman, declaring that "these people don't deserve warnings" wanting to kill him. However, Gwen persuaded him to let the cannibals live.

All the villagers of Brynblaidd were arrested and sent to prison.