The scourge of rural France, the Beast of Gévaudan tormented the local populace for three full years.
Classification: Mythical Beasts & Cryptids
Temporal Range: 1764 to 1767
Geographic Range: Gévaudan, France
Diet: Carnivorous
Horde: Wild Beasts
The scourge of rural France, the Beast of Gévaudan tormented the local populace for three full years. This creature’s kill count is thought to be at least 113 people, with over 200 attacks in total. Several of those killed were eaten by the beast and the toll on the morale of Gévaudan was immeasurable.
Described as larger than a wolf, with a very long tail and a dark stripe down its back, we still do not know to this day exactly what the Beast of Gévaudan was. This unnatural creature was said to leap huge distances and it was said that it could not be harmed as some claimed to have killed the creature on more than one occasion, only for it to return to attack the people of Gévaudan.
The beast predominantly targeted women and the young but also targeted any men who attempted to hunt it alone. One of the most famous encounters with the beast was that of 19-year-old Marie-Jeanne Vallet, who became known as the Maid of Gévaudan. Marie-Jeanne fought the beast off after it attacked her on a small footbridge. She managed to pierce its chest with a spear and push it into the river before it escaped into the woods. Follow-up investigations confirmed Marie-Jeanne’s story after a blood-tipped spear was found with a trail of gore that led into the trees.
King Louis XV sent wolf hunters to track down the beast and while several wolves were captured and killed, it seems that the Beast of Gévaudan slipped the hunter’s grasp. In 1767, a strange beast was killed by a local man and attacks seemed to stop for a period. Whether this was due to him managing to kill the iconic creature or just coincidence as the Beast of Gévaudan moved on from this area, perhaps having eaten its fill, we will never know.
Needless to say, avoid the woods, don't hunt alone and if you do decide to tackle the creature, we recommend Marie-Jeanne Vallet's tried and tested method of a spear to the chest followed by a dunk in the river.
