The Beast Of Gevaudan

dear readers

I have written about the strange sightings of werewolves in Wisconsin, but the most sightings were of the the beast of Gevaudan. join us as we try to figure to figured it out...


The creature known as the beast of Gevaudan was first sighted in the tiny mountain providence of Gévaudan (Lozère), France. it was described as being a wolflike creature the size of a cow, with a wide chest, a long sinuous tail with a lion-like tuft of fur on the end, and a greyhound-like head with small straight ears and large protruding fangs. the creature killed a large amount of people mainly women and children A young woman was attacked by a large, wolf-like monster in the Forêt de Merçoire near Langogne. She was one of the few people who survived an encounter with la Bête, a creature which was, peculiarly, referred to in the feminine.

In October of that year, two hunters came across the Beast and shot at it from close range. The Beast was hit a total of four times, but it seemed relatively untouched. A Capt. Duhamel, who commanded nearly 60 soldiers, began his own hunt for La Bête, and on several occasions wounded it--but it was still not killed.

In 1765, King Louis XV himself sent an experienced wolf-hunter named Denneval to Gévaudan to kill the Beast. Before Denneval himself managed to track down the Beast, a man named de la Chaumette saw the Beast near his home, near St.-Chely. He and his two brothers went out to a pasture in hopes of killing the Beast. They shot it twice, but it still didn't die.

In June, 1765, Denneval gave up his hunt. The previous month, King Louis sent out his chief gun-carrier, Antoine de Beauterne. On September 21, he launched a hunt in the Béal Ravine, near Pommier. He shot what he believed was the Beast. It was an extremely large wolf, 6 feet long. De Beauterne's kill was preserved up until this century in the Museum of Natural History in Paris.

But the killings still continued. In the summer of 1767, hundreds of peasants made pilgrimages to Notre-Dame de Beaulieu Cathedral near Mount Chauvet to pray for deliverance from the creature, which was widely believed to be either punishment sent by God, or possibly a loup-garou (werewolf). One of the peasants who went to the cathedral was a hermit named Jean Chastel. He had his rifle and three bullets blessed.

On June 19, 1767, an area noble organized a huge hunt, with more than 300 participants. Chastel, at the Sogne d'Aubert, waited for the Beast to appear, praying all the while. When it appeared, he shot it. Finally, it died.

Many theories abounded as what was it. a new species, was it a werewolf? My personally favorite theory comes from a chance discovery of the creature's remains in Paris. the creature's remains were examined and it was believed to a Hyena! this raises a interesting question. How did a hyena end up in France? it can be explained by the royalty's habit of having a Menagerie or a private collection of animals. maybe a hyena was imported from Africa and it escaped and to survive start to kill whatever prey it could catch and this turn out to be innocent women and children. but what of the beast supposedly being bulletproof. why did a bullet blessed by a priest was the only bullet that killed it? was the beast a werewolves or a wayward hyena? the world may never know...

love and peace

Alex these who fight by my side will be my brother Stallwitz

http://www.fortunecity.com/roswell/siren/552/eur_la_bete.html