Alexander "Sawney" Bean was born in the later part of the fourteenth century in East Lothian, Scotland. Bean was raised in an agricultural community and came from a rather poor family of laborers. The home life of Bean was said to be, at best, a horrible upbringing. Often being beat by his father for never quite being a good enough son.

As Alexander got older he attempted to become the son his father had always wanted, by taking on the duties of adulthood and joining the workforce. Due to his reckless attitude, a natural born urge to disobey the rules, and a deep hatred for actual work, Alexander completely failed in his attempts at earning an honest living, once again disappointing his father.

Eventually Bean tired of trying to fit in with his peers and stopped all attempts at being a productive member of his community. It was at this point that he took up a relationship with a woman by the name of Agnes Douglas. This relationship would soon lead to both Agnes and Alexander fleeing from their homeland after locals began to make accusations of Agnes being a witch, claiming she had been involved in human sacrifices and conjuring demons. From that point on she was known as Black Agnes Douglas the dark witch of Lothian.