CHAPTER 186: BEAST OF GÉVAUDAN – FRANCE’S MAN-EATING MONSTER

ORIGIN: France

The The Beast of Gévaudan is one of France's most infamous urban legends that terrorized the rural region of Gévaudan (now part of modern-day Lozère) from 1764 to 1767. 

It is a giant, wolf-like creature with reddish fur, a massive head, and the ability to easily dodge being captured.

The Beast was blamed for the deaths of over 100 people, mostly women and children.

The attacks began in June 1764, when a young woman tending cattle near Langogne was attacked by the Beast. 

Luckily for her, her herd managed to scare it away;

But soon after, bodies began turning up— horribly mauled with their throats ripped out. 

Eyewitnesses said the creature was too large to be a normal wolf, moved with incredible speed, and even seemed to be completely immune to the muskets of fire they threw at it.

Finally, King Louis XV sent professional hunters and soldiers to kill the Beast. 

In 1767, a local hunter named Jean Chastel killed it with silver bullets, which increased the rumours that the creature was a supernatural being— 

Maybe a werewolf or demon.

Some believe the Beast was a hybrid wolf-dog, a trained killer animal, or even a human serial killer disguised as a beast. 

But its true nature remains one of history's great mysteries.