We have all heard of Sawney Bean, the notorious Scottish murderer who was thought to murder and cannibalise travellers. How much of this is truth and how much is folklore or a propaganda plot to denigrate the Scottish, we shall never know. But a less well known tale is the horrible history of Lye Waste. If you have lived in or around Lye for a while, you probably think you know the area well. I thought I did. That is, until I attended a few talks by the Lye Historical Society and started to hear a bit about Lye Waste, only a bit, mind, as no one really seemed to want to talk about it. This aroused my interest and started me looking at the horrible history of Lye Waste. Is this a conspiracy by the people of Lye to hide their less than pleasant history? As a Wooldridge by birth, I know this unpleasant history no doubt is my history too. Before I start, I should point out there is no cannibalism (that we know of) in this tale. So, let's find out more about the very horrible history of Lye Waste.