Vampires & Werewolves & Others [information]

La bete du Gevaudan [Beast of Gévaudan]

It is hunted the whole night but no contact could be made. As it was believed to be dead, the search for its remains was postponed. In the morning, 200 well-armed men explored all the bushes, opening the branches, digging the piles of dead leaves until it was learned that two women thinking the Beast was dead, saw it hobbling in the fields. Two days later, three miles away, a young man from Rimeize was found bleeding, scalped and his side open. The same day, a child from Fontan was bitten to her cheek and to her arm; one also found, in a field nearby the house of Mr de Morangiès, the corpse in rags of a 21-year-old girl whose parents forced to milk the cows. Hopeless case! Of the 10 000 hunters, all estimated that the attempts were deemed to be useless; the Gevaudan should resign and suffer with a pious patience this mysterious and cruel plague.

It was sure now that the Beast was not a wolf. Too many people had seen it and gave the same description: it was a fantastic animal, sized like a calf or a donkey; it had reddish hair, a large head similar to a pig, the mouth always gaping, short and perched ears, white and large breast, a long and white tip. Some said that its hind legs wore hooves of a horse.

It seemed the Beast could be everywhere at once; in the same day it was in places separated by 6 to 7 miles. It liked to stand up and do some clowning, looking like it was “happy as a Larry” and seemed to have no viciousness. If it was in a hurry, the Beast would cross the rivers in two or three jumps and it was seen walking on the water without getting wet. Someone assured that he heard the Beast laugh and speak. Usually, a mother would scold and threaten her child with the Beast and this would lay unexpectedly its hooks on the windowsill, gazing arrogantly the sought-after baby. Moreover, it rarely devoured the corpse of its victims, contenting itself with tearing it, sucking its blood, scalping its head and taking away the heart, the liver and the intestines.

The disaster that hit the Gevaudan moved the whole kingdom; the news was now in the Parisian newspapers and the Beast was in all conversations.

The king Louis XV, himself, even though having other concerns, wanted to sympathise with his subjects and his minister commanded to use the troops

In accordance to his instructions, the captain Duhamel installed his headquarter in Saint-Chély; he gathered with the most reputable gunmen of the county: Mr de Saint-Laurent and Lavigne. Then he made out a tactic that consisted of eight beats; a reward of two thousand then six thousand pounds were promised to the one who would kill the Beast; all parishes informed the peasants during the sermon and they were comforted. Unless it came from hell, the monster had to succumb for sure and one would learn its death sooner or later. To make sure the Beast had been slaughtered, the lords of the Languedoc ordered that the remains of the Beast should be exposed to the public.

The eight beats were performed from November 20 to 27: they gave no result. As soon as the troops had returned to their billet, one learned the Beast had gone to Sainte-Colombe, killing 5 girls, a woman and 4 children… The terror intensified: the bishop of Mende consecrated a pastoral for this public devastation and prayers were said all around the diocese to give rise to another Saint Georges. Whereas the people were praying, the Beast kidnapped a mother in the daylight: Delphine Courtiol from Saint-Méry. It was its 60th victim and no count was made of the unfortunates it had wounded or crippled within the last 6 months.

In January 1765, an incident moved the whole county: the 12th, a shepherd from Chanaleilles, a twelve-year-old boy named Portefaix was looking after cattle in the mountains. He was accompanied by four friends and by two little girls: fearing the Beast these children had armed themselves with sticks bearing iron points. One of the little girls shouted: the Beast had appeared suddenly from a bush next to her.

Jacques Portefaix gathers the band: the stronger in front to protect the rest of the troop; the monster rounds them, its mouth frothing. The courageous children, huddled together, cross and defend themselves with their sticks: nevertheless, the Beast dashes forward, grabs the 8-year-old Panafieux by the throat and takes him away. Portefaix gives it a try, stabbing it repeatedly, forcing it to drop its pray; the cheek of Joseph Panafieux is teared off and the Beast eats it. Excited, it now attacks again the horrified group, knocks over one of the misses with its horrible snout, bites one of the boys to his lips – his name was Jean Veyrier – grabs his arm and takes him away.