Werewolf or Royal Cover-up? The Beast of Gévaudan Pt. 1

In the mid-18th century, the Gévaudan region of France was terrorized by a mysterious and vicious creature that unleashed a reign of terror among the villagers.

In 1764, reports emerged of a mysterious and ferocious creature stalking the Gévaudan region of France, attacking and killing villagers, often young women and children

In the summer of 1764, rural France was haunted by a wolf-like creature that began a series of brutal and savage attacks on the locals. The beast mutilated and decapitated peasants, with its victims often being young women and children. It became notorious for its ghastly attacks, which were carried out brazenly in broad daylight.

The first documented attack was on a 13-year-old girl herding oxen, who narrowly escaped the creature's grasp

One of the earliest encounters was a narrow escape by a 13-year-old girl who was tending to oxen. The creature caught hold of her clothes, but fortunately, the oxen intervened, forming a protective barrier between her and the beast, allowing her to escape unharmed.

Over the following months, the Beast continued its deadly rampage, striking in broad daylight and targeting an increasing number of victims, including women and farmhands

The savagery of the Beast escalated swiftly. In the ensuing few months, more violent encounters occurred. Jeanne Boulet, another 13-year-old girl, was found dead in the fields, becoming one of the first known fatalities of the Beast’s attacks, and her death marked the first written mention of the creature. By August 1764, the Beast took the lives of two teenage girls and a boy, all of whom had been working alone in the fields, and by September, it had even ventured into populated areas, attacking a 36-year-old woman within her own garden.

These appalling events signified an alarming shift in the creature’s behavior, exhibiting a growing boldness in its choice of targets.

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As the Beast of Gévaudan continued to elude capture and inflict terror, French authorities escalated their attempts to hunt down the mysterious creature, albeit with spirited yet fruitless results.

Captain Jean-Baptiste Duamel and his troops of French soldiers were called in to hunt the Beast, but were repeatedly thwarted by harsh weather conditions and the creature's elusiveness

Captain Jean-Baptiste Duamel and his troops were summoned to track and capture the Beast after local search parties proved unsuccessful. Duamel, who commanded 50 of the French Armed Forces' finest, set off for Gévaudan but faced immediate setbacks as heavy snow extended their journey to a fortnight. During this time, the Beast claimed yet another victim, decapitating a woman. The soldiers only made it to town on October 31st, only to have their first hunt canceled due to yet another snowstorm. It took until November 15th before Duamel's men could begin their hunt in earnest.

Duamel resorted to increasingly desperate measures, such as using the victims' remains as bait, but the Beast avoided all their traps and ambushes

In a chilling strategy, Duamel laid out the remains of the Beast's victims hoping to lure the creature into a trap. Despite these grim efforts, the Beast proved too cunning, avoiding all forms of ambush and entrapment laid out by the military men. A particularly stinging blow came when 12-year-old Portfay managed to defend himself successfully against the Beast, an act that cast doubt on Duamel's capabilities and undermined his standing with both his superiors and local residents.

The soldiers only came close to the Beast once, but even then, the creature made a clean escape without a single shot being fired by Duamel's men. This encounter, or lack thereof, marked a significant failure for the Captain, who was then engulfed in humiliation and soon lost favor.

The Dénévall father-son duo, renowned wolf hunters, were later brought in but also failed to track down and kill the Beast despite their best efforts

In a subsequent attempt, the King's advisors dispatched the Denevalls—a father and son pair celebrated for their success in dispatching predatory wolves—to dispose o ...

The Beast of Gévaudan evolved from a regional terror into an international media obsession, with sensationalist reports exacerbating public concern and contributing to the legend surrounding the creature.

As the attacks continued unabated, the Beast of Gévaudan became a media sensation, with sensationalized reports fueling public fear and speculation

With the number of brutal encounters with the Beast increasing during November and December, the regional newspaper Courrier d'Avignon was amongst the first to publish accounts. They approached the story with a sensationalist lens that would set the stage for future true crime journalism. The Beast quickly became the paper's crown jewel, and in the French language, the creature was assigned a feminine gender due to 'beast' being a feminine noun. Their priority was not factual accuracy, but rather weaving captivating tales.

Newspapers like the Courrier d'Avignon anthropomorphized the Beast, referring to it with feminine pronouns and embellishing the gory details of its attacks

The Courrier d'Avignon's embellishments fueled the legend, and as other newspapers began reporting on the Beast, the creature's notoriety spread internationally. Stories reached as far as Paris and London, focusing on the lurid details of the attacks.

Rumors spread of the Beast possessing supernatural abilities, such as the ability to speak and an immunity to bullets, further adding to the creature's mythic status

Public speculation and fear were further stoked by reports of the Beast possessing supernatural traits. Some people claimed the Beast could stare through their windows at night, salivating at the sight of their babies, while others stated th ...

Francois Antoine's quest to eliminate the Beast of Gévaudan, under King Louis XV's commission, culminated in a gripping encounter that brought an end to the creature that had terrorized the region.

Francois Antoine, the King's personal gun-bearer, was tasked with leading the royal hunt and ultimately tracking down and killing the Beast

Despite the pressing danger to local lives and the intense pressure to succeed, Francois Antoine, at the age of 71, journeyed to Gévaudan as the King's most trusted hunter. With his son and a team of royal gamekeepers, Antoine took over the hunt after dismissing the ineffectual Dénévalls. His reputation as an experienced tracker and expert marksman precedes him in this formidable assignment.

After months of fruitless searching, Antoine finally encountered the Beast in the woods and managed to wound it with a gunshot to the eye, though the creature continued to fight

Antoine and his hunting party, having faced initial difficulty due to inclement weather and the Beast's evasive instincts, eventually had their long-awaited confrontation. Antoine accurately fired at the Beast's face, injuring it in the eye and wounding its side with shrapnel. Despite the debilitating shots, the creature displayed its fierce resilience by trying to advance on Antoine once more.

With the help of his hunting party, Antoine was able to deliver the fatal blows, killing the Beast and presenting its body to the royal court in Versailles

In an intense moment, as the Beast, recognized by its razor teeth and steaming breath, moved towards a wounded Antoine, he managed to reload and call for backup. His nephew and another hunter emerged. Their timely intervention and additional shots brought the Beast down, causing shudders, an attempted escape, and ultimately, its death. Francois' son carried the victory forward by presenting the slai ...