Warning: This article contains content some readers may find disturbing
A 'real-life Hannibal Lecter' has described the spine-chilling moment he ate a stranger at his own house.
42-year-old Armin Meiwes, who later became known as Der Metzgermeister (the Master Butcher), lured his victim into his residence and went on to murder and devour the man after having sex with him.
The German cannibal opened up about the horrifying incident in the new Channel 5 documentary which aired last night (26 April) and - heads up - the story is extremely gruesome.
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Back in March 2001, Meiwes cajoled victim Bernd Brandes, who he found on an internet forum, to his remote farmhouse in Rotenburg, rural Germany.
The former computer technician, now 61, posted a very disturbing advert and new footage from the doc, The Cannibal Next Door, reveals exactly what happened before 'The Master Butcher' ate 43-year-old Brandes.
The official synopsis for the brand-new Channel 5 series reads: "The shocking story of Armin Meiwes, one of the world's most notorious cannibals."
The channel has been granted unique access to Meiwes who has since confessed to just what on earth went down that fateful day in March a whole 22 years ago now.
According to the advert posted online, the killer had his sights set on a 'young, well-built man who wanted to be eaten'.
The ad went on to ask for someone who was willing to be 'slaughtered then consumed'.
Meiwes went on to claim that Brandes responded to the call-out before he brought him to the isolated farmhouse location and got started on exactly what he had previously mapped out in the advert.
And he filmed the entire thing - all four hours of it.
The harrowing footage has been declared 'too disturbing to show', leaving just 19 minutes of the four-hour video in the documentary.
Speaking from behind bars, Meiwes recalled the bone-rattling moment that he first locked eyes with the man who he would eventually kill and eat, saying: "I was nervous and excited."
After the pair had sex, Brandes allegedly told Meiwes that he still wasn't satisfied.
The killer claimed: "He wanted to be eaten alive."
Brandes then overdosed on 20 sleeping tablets before Meiwes got to work - starting by chopping off his penis.
The cannibal noted that he did so 'with his agreement' and sautéed the member in salt, pepper, garlic and nutmeg.
As if completely normal, Meiwes then ran a bath for the man and passed the time reading a Star Trek novel of all things.
Some hours later, Meiwes finally killed Brandes by stabbing him in the neck, before cutting the corpse into chunks to fit in the freezer.
He also buried the skull in his back garden.
He told the interviewers: "I decorated the table with nice candles. I took out my best dinner service, and fried a piece of rump steak – a piece from his back – made what I call princess potatoes, and sprouts.
"After I prepared my meal, I ate it."
Meiwes went on to say that the 'first bite' was 'very strange'.
"It was a feeling I can’t really describe," he said, "I’d spent over 40 years longing for it, dreaming about it.
"And now I was getting the feeling that I was actually achieving this perfect inner connection through his flesh. The flesh tastes like pork but stronger."
Meiwes went on to make history after becoming the first person ever in Germany to be charged with 'murder for sexual satisfaction' or, what is also referred to as, 'love cannibalism'.
The Cannibal Next Door is available to stream on Channel 5 now.
Topics: Crime, True Crime, Channel 5, Documentaries
Rhiannon Ingle