The Complete Idiot's Guide to Werewolves (14 page)

 

Some papers of the period even tried to say it was some unusual mating between a wolf and a large cat (or some thought a wolf and jackal). Regardless of what the beast actually was, the region of Gevaudan was now completely at its mercy. Unfortunately, it does not seem to have had any. Needless to say, the people of the area avoided the woods that winter and kept their children in the safety of their villages.

 

As winter neared its end, the Beast of Gevaudan had begun attacking people in their own villages. The most incredible attack was upon two children who were in the presence of their parents and a fair-size group of other villagers. The beast pounced upon the children, and the adults came to their aid with pitchforks, knives, rocks, and just about any weapon they could lay their hands on.

 

Unfortunately, their blows did almost nothing to stop the wolf. When the dust had settled, one of the boys lay terribly wounded. The beast managed to sink its enormous fangs into the neck of the other poor child and fled. The parents and villagers stood helpless as the beast dragged the screaming child into the woods. The boy was never seen alive again.

The authorities of Gevaudan seemed powerless to stop the beast that now threatened the people of the region. They decided to send a request for assistance to French Royal Court in Versailles. King Louis the Fifteenth was appalled by what he heard and immediately mobilized an entire unit of cavalry and infantry soldiers. The unit was made up of 57 skilled French
Dragoons
(40 foot-soldiers and 17 cavalry) and was led by a captain by the name of Duhamel, who was briefly seen by some as a legendary wolf-killer for his role. Later, this view would change. Duhamel, after realizing that most of the beast’s victims had been women and children, decided that dressing in drag was the answer to cornering the beast. He ordered a certain number of his Dragoons to dress in women’s clothing as they rode into the area. He had hoped that this trick might lure the beast out into the open since it did not seem to have any fear of humans whatsoever. This ruse, however, did not succeed in causing the beast to attack them.

Once Duhamel and his band of merry, cross-dressing Dragoons reached Gevaudan, he immediately assumed command of just about everything—the magistrates, villagers, livestock, farmers, etc. Whatever he thought he needed to stop the carnage, he took it. Captain Duhamel organized the villagers and armed them with heavy sticks. He placed his horsemen on line behind them and recruited the best of the hunting marksmen from among the local woodsmen. He then moved the entire group across the area. The villagers were put out in front with orders to beat at brush and vegetation with the sticks (and probably also as bait) in order to flush out the beast from any hiding place. The hunters were placed among the villagers, and the armed Dragoons followed in line formation behind them.

 

This plan did produce some results. Sadly, close to about 100 normal wolves are also thought to have been killed that day. However, the beast finally did show itself on multiple occasions during the execution of Duhamel’s bold maneuver. The hunters and soldiers opened fire whenever it appeared. A number of shots were seen hitting the beast in vital areas. Eventually, it ran back into the woods and did not come out again.

A group of local hunters were sent in to track the dying animal down and confirm the kill. However, they were never able to find the beast’s body. Regardless, Duhamel was absolutely certain that no living creature could have survived such obviously fatal wounds. Believing he had succeeded in bringing down the Beast of Gevaudan, Captain Duhamel returned to Versailles like a conquering hero. However, the celebration would be a short one.

 

Only days after Captain Duhamel marched his men out of Gevaudan, the killings resumed. The beast had returned and continued its killing spree with renewed fervor. By the summer of 1765, the beast wrought terror upon the children of Gevaudan. This time, it was not bodies that were found but scattered pieces. Strewn about arms and legs soon became almost a commonplace sight, according to some sources.

 

Captain Duhamel was shamed by the beast’s return. The resumption of the killings made him appear either a fool or a liar. Needless to say, King Louis relieved Duhamel of his position and sought out the greatest known wolf hunters in all of France—the d’Enneval clan. The hunt would now be led by the father-son team of Jean-Charles and Jean-Francois d’Enneval.

While the d’Enneval team had many close encounters with the beast and managed to wound it on several occasions, they never succeeded in capturing or killing it. Jean-Charles was the first to despair and returned home. The younger Jean-Francois remained, however, but to no avail. By early June 1767, near the three-year anniversary of the beast’s first known attack, Jean-Francois d’Enneval was forced to abandon the hunt and return home.

 

King Louis now replaced d’Enneval with his chief gunner, a man named Antoine de Beauterne (who had learned much about hunting from his friends, the d’Enneval family). Beauterne very quickly succeeded in killing a gigantic wolf that was recorded as being over 6 feet long. Much like Duhamel, Beauterne returned to Versailles and reported that he had killed the Beast of Gevaudan. Also like Duhamel, however, it proved not to be the case. The wolf he killed, while abnormally large, was not the beast he sought. The killings continued.

Some locals now believed that only God could save them, and many made pilgrimages to the holy site of Notre-Dame. One such person was local hermit Jean Chastel, who took with him to the cathedral a rifle and three bullets. According to the legend, while there he had these armaments properly blessed.

Enraged at having been made to look foolish, Beauterne now took drastic measures. He recruited some of the best hunters of France and returned to Gevaudan, where they were joined by scores of local hunters. In total, it is recorded that the hunting party consisted of approximately 300 men. The enormous group now relentlessly combed the countryside for the beast.

 

On June 19, 1767, as the sun descended into the horizon, the beast charged toward a group of hunters. Among these men was Jean Chastel, with his blessed rifle and bullets. He took aim at the beast and fired. The beast went down and stayed down. Apparently, Jean later told people that the bullets were more than just blessed—they were made of silver.

 

In order to confirm that this was the beast, Beauterne had the animal’s belly cut open. Human remains were found inside of it. This was the man-eating terror known as the Beast of Gevaudan. The reign of terror had ended. This time, the killings did not resume.

In the end, the beast took the lives of 60 people and wounded countless others. The hunt for the creature had cost the French government a small fortune. So perhaps it is not surprising that the beast’s corpse was hung up at night and paraded through the streets during the day. When it began to give off the stench of decomposition, however, it was buried.

On a dark and stormy night in 1502, French peasant Pierre Burgot was desperately trying to corral his loose sheep. They were frightened by the lightning and thunder, making Burgot’s job even more difficult. Suddenly, Burgot looked up to see three dark figures on horseback, each cloaked in black. The lead horseman addressed Burgot and told him that he would be happy to offer the poor man a guarantee of future protection for his sheep. The man also offered Burgot a handful of shiny coins, a considerable sum at the time (especially to Burgot, a man of meager means).

 

Burgot asked what he must do in order to receive these gifts. The dark horseman said that, for the moment, all Burgot would be required to do was worship him as a god. Then the horseman explained that he would come to Burgot soon, and they would then discuss the rest of the deal. Soon the man came to Burgot as promised. He now explained that, in order to continue receiving these blessings of protection, Burgot would have to denounce all aspects of Christianity (basically, he would have to sacrifice his soul). Not the sharpest tool in the shed, Burgot happily agreed and immediately fulfilled these terms of the deal.

 

Months passed, and Burgot began to feel like he’d gotten a raw deal. After all, he’d given up his immortal soul. And for what? Some safe sheep and a handful of coins? Burgot began to consider going back to the church and forgetting about this deal altogether. Then a visitor came calling—Michel Verdun.

 

Verdun, a man from the same area, explained to Burgot that he was a servant of the dark master with whom Burgot had made his pact. He brought Burgot to the woods for a witch’s Sabbath and told him to take off his clothes. Burgot did so, and Verdun applied a magic salve to his skin. As he did so, Burgot’s shape changed into that of a wolf. He looked up to see that Verdun had also turned into a wolf. The pair then took a wild run through the woods and committed the most horrifying of crimes together.

 

When they came upon a boy of only seven, they fell upon the lad, tore him limb from limb, and devoured his flesh. They later did the same to a local woman. Another time, they snatched a four-year-old little boy and stole him away to the woods, where they strangled him and ate his f lesh.

 

When Pierre Burgot was eventually caught and brought before the church court, he told them all of the aforementioned details. Michel Verdun was then arrested and convicted alongside Burgot. The two were sentenced to death and executed. After their executions, a reproduction was commissioned and hung on the wall of the local church as a warning to churchgoers of the evils that men do when they give in to the devil’s charms.