Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 ravenloftlover347 Apr 01, 2008 15:45:24	I just got done watching Sweeney Todd and the meat pies in it made me think of Ravenloft. My question is: Is it the act of eating human-flesh in and of itself, or is it the intent behind it? I'm pretty sure it's the intent and the purpose behind it, because otherwise anyone who frequents a butcher using people-flesh would become a ghoul lord upon death.
#2 highpriestmikhal Apr 01, 2008 16:24:43	Intent is the biggest factor. A person who unknowingly eats human flesh isn't going to turn into a ghoul (lord) after death; the person who served it might if they know what's really in the meat and/or they were the one's who knowingly butchered humans to serve to other humans. According to Van Richten's Guide to the Walking Dead, cannibals that eat their deceased loved ones who also believed in cannibalism and wanted their remains to be eaten wouldn't turn into ghouls or ghoul lords. In that case it's an act of love and respect, not desecration. A similar case could be made for those dying of starvation; it's not that they want to eat other humans, it's that they have to in order to survive. If said people were to develop a taste for human flesh, they'd only turn into ghouls if they continued their cannibalistic diet under normal circumstances. In pretty much any other case the eater is bound for ghoul lord-hood. EDIT: Having just finished Sweeney Todd, I'd say Mrs. Lovett and others like her are pretty much going to become ghoul lords, but not the unwitting customers. Not that anyone else in that movie was much better.