This is interesting, because at the age of nine, I honestly didn't believe any of it. None at all. I assumed the entire thing was fantasy from start to finish. I was actually quite shocked later in life to learn the Thuggees had some basis in fact. But I never believed Indians ate monkey brains or little snakes for one second. I assumed these people ate these things because they were all under the evil Kali blood spell (again, which I knew was fantasy).