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The Beast of Gevauden




One day in June 1764 in a region of southeastern France called Gevauden, a young woman was tending cows. Suddenly, she looked up to see a horrible beast the size of a donkey bearing down on her. The terrible beast frightened the dogs off, but the cattle charged the beast and eventually it fled. The young woman was more fortunate than other victims.

Soon, the mutillated corpses of shepherd men, women and especially children littered the landscape. The first victim was a small girl who was found with her heart ripped out. The killings increased in late August and by this point the beast was attacking large groups of men. The terrified peoples were certain that a loup-garou (a werewolf) was responsible for the terrible killings. The rumors were gaining more and more popularity when reports of individuals who had actually shot or stabbed the beast said the beast was immune to human weaponry

On October 8th, two hunters pumped several rifle balls into the beast from a distance of approximately 10 paces. The creature then limped off and was assumed to have died from its severe wounds. But, within two days the beast was killing again.

The Paris Gazette summarized witnesses' descriptions of the terrible beast. It was said that it was much higher than a wolf, with large clawed feet, red hair with black streaks down its back and a very large head with a mouth full of long, sharp teeth.

An appeal was sent to the Royal Court in Versailles and King Louis XV dispatched a cavalry under the direction of Captain Duhamel to the area where the beast was seen. Despite the fact that the soldiers saw the beast many times, it always got away at the last second. The slaughters seemed to have stopped for a while, so Duhamel and his soldiers departed from the area. But soon, the beast was killing again and killing more frequently than before.

A very large ammount of money was offered for the slaying of the beast. This in turn brought many hunters, trappers, and even soldiers to the area. In this time, over 100 wolves were killed. Still, the beast continued killing. A few hunters claimed to have wounded the beast badly, but still, it continued to kill. Actually, the killings increased. The summer of 1765 was the worst: Children were viscously slaughtered even as attempts to destroy the creature raged on. It all seemed so futile.

Soon, entire villages were abandoned. Residents claimed to have seen the beast looking through their windows at them. And those who dared to venture out into the dark streets were savagely attacked and mutillated. Several times the creature presented itself as an open target, but peasents were too scared to shoot or run.

Events reached a climax in 1767 the Marquis d'Apcher, who lived in the area of Gevauden at the time, decided enough was enough. He formed a huge party of soldiers and hunters and trappers and fanned them out into smaller parties. Then, on the evening of June 19th 1767, the beast was spotted and it charged the members of one band. Jean Chastel --a member of the group-- had taken the precaution of loading his pistol with silver bullets in case the beast was in fact a loup-garou. He fired on the beast quickly. The first shot missed the beast, but the second shot hit it in the heart. The beast then collapsed to the ground like a log. The beast was gutted, and the collar bone of a young girl that was killed recently was found in its stomach.

By the time of its death, it had killed over 60 people. The state expended over 29,000 livres (which was a fortune for in that time) in its efforts to stop the beast.


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