Ep 203: The Beast of Gévaudan

“This animal is a monster whose father is a lion; it remains open what the mother is.”

– Dragoon Captain John-Baptiste Boulanger Duhamel, speculating on the origins of La Bête du Gévaudan in January of 1765.

Description:

In the years between 1764 and 1767, a real-life monster had brutally savaged the residents of the former province of Gévaudan in the highland region of south-central France. While the creature's first attack was reportedly unsuccessful in killing its intended victim, it did provide a horrific description of it. Some sort of massive, canine-like creature was stalking the villagers out in their fields of the Margeride mountains. And it would remain as elusive as its killing spree grew nightmarishly effective. In a three-year span, contemporary and modern estimates put the death toll anywhere from around 100 to 500 people, mostly women, and children. To add to the fear and suffering, these were no ordinary large animal predator attacks. Considering that only a small percentage of the victims were found partially consumed, with livestock untouched, the bodies of all were so shockingly mutilated that it could be surmised this abomination of nature was not killing out of hunger but for sport. As news of the relentless slaughter spread throughout France, tens of thousands from every walk of life, peasants, soldiers, and noblemen alike, joined in the hunt to stop this menace. Reports had even reached Versaille, where King Louis XV had placed a large bounty on its head. When survivors and eyewitnesses had given their statements, a puzzling picture of the beast emerged. Although many accounts described this creature as having some features like an abnormally large wolf, or wolf-dog hybrid, other details combined didn't fit any known animal. It was also described as the size of a calf or donkey, with reddish hair and a black stripe down its back, giant, razor-sharp teeth set in the gaping mouth of a pig-like head, a tail with a tuft on its end, and talons on its feet. This being was shot and wounded on several occasions at close range only to escape and kill again, adding a supernatural element to the legend. Many believed then as they do now that this animal must have been a canine mutation of some sort. However, without the descriptor of "werewolf" or "skinwalker" added to the story, saying it was just a vicious, big dog leaves an unsatisfactory conclusion. With no remains or taxonomy to define this murderous freak, the only name that could be given to it then is the one that remains today: The Beast of Gévaudan.

Reference Links:

• “When the Beast of Gévaudan Terrorized France” by Lorraine Boissoneault on SmithsonianMag.com

• Solving the Mystery of the 18th-Century Killer “Beast of Gévaudan” by Karl-Hans Taake on NationalGeographic.org

• Beast of Gévaudan entry on Wikipedia

• Bête du Gévaudan on the French Wikipedia

• “How An Ancient Volcano Helped A Man-Eating Wolf Terrorize 18th Century France” by David Bressan on forbes.com

• PDF: The Fear of Wolves: A Review of Wolf Attacks on Humans from NINA, the Norsk Institutt for Naturforskning

• The Midnight LIbrary’s telling of the English Black Shuck legend, in the episode, “Here Black Shuck!”

• “Marie-Jeanne Valet vs. the Beast of Gevaudan” on Atlas Obscura

• Margeride

• Massif Central

• Mass psychogenic illness

• “Into The Belly of the Beast” by Charles Spratley on HauntedOC.com

• “La bête du Gévaudan” (Français) Broché – 9 juillet 2008, de Jean-Marc Moriceau

• Seven Years’ War

• Wolf, on Wikipedia

• “Wolf Territorial Behavior and Dispersion” on WolfWorlds.com

• Michigan Dogman

• Cynocephaly

• “The Most Deadly Man-Eating Lions In History” – “the Man-Eaters Of Njombe”

• Champawat Tiger

• The Tom Sleman werewolf myth for the Beast of Gévaudan

• “Hunting the Beast of Gevaudan” by Brian Dunning on Skeptoid

• “Just what WAS the Beast of Gévaudan?” by John Knifton

• “THE BEAST OF GÉVAUDAN - WOLF, MAN...OR WOLF-MAN?” by Karl Shuker

• Striped hyena

• Hyaenodon

• Thylacine

• “'LIVING...The Thylacine Dream'“ documentary on YouTube, from the Thylacine Awareness Group of Australia

• “Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of Gevaudan” by Crispin Andrews on HistoryToday.com

• Dragoon

• “La Bête du Gévaudan” channel on YouTube

• The “Lone Wolf” jacket from the TV show, Laverne & Shirley

• The phrase, “As happy as Larry”

• The motion picture, Brotherhood of the Wolf

• The motion picture, The Ghost and the Darkness

• The original Star Trek series episode, The Menagerie

• Definition of menagerie

• Henri Cordier

• Alexander Romance

From the Musée Fantastique de la Bête du Gévaudan

From the Musée Fantastique de la Bête du Gévaudan

“Figure of the Ferocious Beast, one of the first depictions of the Beast, published in November 1764.” From the DAVID BRESSAN article.

“Simplified geological map of the Gévaudan with recorded attacks by the Beast,” by DAVID BRESSAN

Bibliothèque Nationale de France

Illustration showing Jacques Portefaix and his friends fighting off the Beast

Illustration suggestion that the Beast was a hyena

Représentation de la bête du Gévaudan à Saint-Privat-d'Allier, photo by Flaurntine

The battle of Marie-Jeanne Vallet, known as the "Maid of Gévaudan", against the beast. Sculpture by Philippe Kaeppelin, Auvers (Haute-Loire). Auvers, left: catholic church, right: municipality, center: monument of the Gévaudan beast. Photo by Szeder László

English translation of the text: "Drawing of the monster that afflicts Gevaudan. This beast is the size of a young bull. It prefers to attack women and children. It drinks their blood, cuts their head off, and carries them away. 2700 francs are promised to who kills this animal."

“Wearing a wolf skin, a man prepares to release the Beast of Gévaudan on a shepherdess. The canid is covered with a cuirass. Set of statues, Le Malzieu-Ville (photograph by the Hikers of the Fare)”

Engraving of the Beast, from the Gallica Digital Library

18th c. print depicting the Beast, from the Gallica Digital Library

“18th-century engraving of la Bête du Gévaudan, The London Magazine, vol. xxxiv, May 1765 (reprinted in Montague Summers, Werewolf, 1933).”

“François Antoine slaughters the Beast of Gévaudan. Engraving reproduced in François Fabre, La Bête du Gévaudan , Paris, Librairie Floury, 1930.”

“Presentation of the wolf of Chazes at the court of Versailles. Wearing a tricorn, Antoine de Beauterne, younger son of François Antoine, is represented on the left of the engraving. In the center, Louis XV feels the naturalized beast. Queen Marie Leszczynska stands to the right of the sovereign”

“Stele erected in July 1995 in honor of Jean Chastel, Sculpture by Philippe Kaeppelin, village of La Besseyre-Saint-Mary” photo by Χρήστης: Βήσσμα

Location:

The community of Langogne in the former province of Gévaudan, in the Margeride mountain region of south-central France, where the beast attacks first occurred.

Related Books:

Suggested Listening:

Hear Scott and Forrest interviewed by their podcasting buddy Max Kreutzer for his comedy podcast, The Story Of, and visit his website, https://maxkreutzer.com/podcasts

Listen to The Midnight Library’s take on historical British canid beasts in the “Here Black Shuck!” episode, and be sure to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE!

And Nate Hale’s coverage of The Beast on The Conspirators podcast

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Credits:

Episode 203: The Beast of Gévaudan. Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees Wendel. Sound Design by Ryan McCullough; Tess Pfeifle, Producer, and Lead Researcher; Research Support from the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a.k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2021 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.