Beast of Gevaudan

Alright, I am excited to write about a real legend. Though many of my posts are just myths, the Beast of Gevaudan was a real "wolf-like creature" that terrorized the region of Gevaudan, France from 1764 to 1767. Eye witnesses describe it as having reddish fur, huge teeth, and a foul odor. Almost all witnesses describe the creature as being similar to a huge wolf. Some associate it with werewolves, but this was a real creature. There are actually several other very minor wolf stories such as "the wolf of Ansbach," and "the wolf of Soissons," and stories about wolf attacks in Benias and Vivarias (oddly all these attacks occurred over a period lasting roughly 4 years), but these cannot hold a candle to the shear terror and destruction inflicted by the beast of Gevaudan. One estimate claims that the beast attacked 210 people, killing 113 and wounding 49. It is said that 98 of these kills were found partially eaten. The conservative estimate says that 25 women, 68 children, and six men were killed while more than 30 people were injured. At very least, 60 can be confirmed, but most estimates are 100 or more killed. Some speculators say that it had to be more than one beast. Regardless an army of people were organized just to hunt it because it was so dangerous.

Perhaps the most horrifying thing about this beast was it almost always went for the kill, attacking the face and throat. The attacks of the beast were so vicious and devastating that they caught the attention of King Louis the XV, who took a personal interest in the matter sending hunters to kill the beast. The first hunters, spent three months killing wolves and yet...the attacks continued. After the failure of these hunters, King Louis sent his a man named Antoine and his own lieutenant of the hunt. In September 1765 these two killed a wolf almost 3 feet high and 6 feet long. It weighed 130 pounds and carried scars said to be made by its thrashing victims. Survivors claimed that this was indeed the beast. It was stuffed and sent to the Palace of Versailles.

Now this should be the end of the story, but in December of 1765, the beast struck again. It injured two children and as time continued many other deaths occurred. Rumor has it that the King wanted things kept quiet this time. He didn't want terror to spread or have people know that not even the king could stop it. This "second" beast was eventually slain by a man named Jean Chastel. Family legend said that he was in a hunting party and sat to read his Bible and pray when the beast approached him. He then finished his prayer before shooting and killing the beast. (note: this defies the normal behavior patterns of the beast as it always attacked immediately. not waiting for people to pray). Now, some of the villagers claim that it was actually Jean Chastel who trained the beast. No one really knows for sure whether or not that is true. However, upon cutting open the stomach of the last beast, they found human body parts. The highly exaggerated version of the Beast of Gevaudan can be seen in the movie Brotherhood of the Wolf.

Stats:
Easily as large as a lion and terribly vicious, the beast of Gevaudan was able to take down full grown men. It was known not only for its size, but also its extraordinarily long teeth and tail as well as its reddish fur. Many speculate it could have been a wolf crossbred with a dog or some odd subspecies. One speculation is that it was a prehistoric animal, a mesonychid or other wolf-like species, that survived in France. No one really knows what it was. Due to size and strength, it seems the beast was able to survive numerous wounds. Many of the villagers claimed to have shot it, cut it, or otherwise injured it. Some thought it was a demon because it was so tough. This is not unheard of. When Lewis and Clark traveled west they had to shoot grizzly bears dozens of times to kill them. Strong, fast, and apparently intelligent enough to avoid legions of hunters, the beast was a terrifying killing machine.

Transformation:
Uhh, its an animal. There is no transformation involved.

Alignment:
Normally animals are just animals, but I am going with evil on the Beast of Gevaudan. It seemed to specifically target humans and it caused many deaths. The thought occurs to me that it could have been trained or it could have been possessed, but it should be noted that these are simply possibilities that I thought up. Most likely it was just a very wild, particularly malevolent, beast.

Weaknesses and Slaying:
Well it was only after Jean Chastel killed it that stories of him using a silver bullet sprang up. In the actual history, Chastel and Antoine killed both beasts with regular bullets. Like any bear or wolf, it would have been vulnerable to any conventional weapon be it gun, sword, or cannon. It was simply hard to kill, not supernaturally invincible.