In the mid-18th century, a terrifying shadow fell over Southern France. The kingdom, already exhausted from the Seven Years' War, found itself facing a different kind of terror. This was not the scourge of famine or pestilence, but a monstrous creature whose bloodlust was so insatiable that many came to believe it was a divine punishment sent by God for the country's sins. This is the story of the Beast of Gévaudan, a legend that gripped an entire nation for over three years.
A Land of Wolves and Werewolves
The people of France were no strangers to wolves. Witchcraft trials in the 15th to 17th centuries often linked individuals to the ability to shapeshift into wolves, and there were documented cases of man-eating wolves in the 16th and 17th centuries. In the 1400s, a massive pack of wolves besieged Paris, even attacking on the steps of Notre Dame Cathedral in a desperate showdown that left many dead on both sides. However, the Beast of Gévaudan would prove to be in a league of its own.
The First Wave of Attacks
The terror began on a warm spring morning in April 1764, when a young woman tending her cows was attacked by a creature described as a wolf, yet not a wolf. She was saved by her protective herd, but her good fortune would not be shared. Just two months later, in late June, a 14-year-old shepherdess named Jean Boulay was mauled and killed in the hills east of Gévaudan. The creature’s attacks grew deadlier throughout the year, claiming four more lives in September, including its first adult victim.
As the killings escalated, the people of Gévaudan realized they were not dealing with a lone wolf. Militias and search parties combed the area, but the beast, described by survivors as being unusually large, even "as big as a cow," and with a dappled or striped coat, continued to evade them. The Bishop of Mende, seeing the atrocities, declared the beast to be a "scourge of God" sent to punish the people for their sins, quoting Deuteronomy in his proclamation to the parishes.
The Rise of Heroes
The Beast's reign of terror soon caught the attention of King Louis XV himself. The King, motivated by national shame and public outcry, mobilized a royal hunt to capture or kill the creature. While the first hunts led by Jean-Charles and Jean-Francois proved unsuccessful, the story produced a number of local heroes.
In January 1765, a group of children, armed with makeshift spears, were stalked by the beast. Jacques Portefeuille, aged 10 to 12, took command of the group, and they fought the creature for nearly an hour before it fled. Word of his bravery reached the King, who awarded the boy 350 livres, an additional 300 livres for himself, and an offer for a private education. Jacques later became an artillery officer, a gentleman, and a legend.
Not to be outdone, a 16-year-old boy named Pierre Tanneville, whose aunt had been killed by the monster just months before, also managed to wound the beast with an improvised spear. But perhaps the most famous local hero was Marie-Jeanne Vallée, a young woman who fought the beast with an old military bayonet tied to a stick. After a battle that some accounts claim lasted for hours, she plunged the bayonet into the creature, sending it whimpering into a nearby river. Her bravery earned her the title "Maid of Gévaudan" from the King's own gun bearer, Francois Antoine, and a statue in her village.
The Fall of the First Beast
The royal hunt, now under the command of Francois Antoine, was relentless. He organized villagers into beating parties and proved to be an accomplished hunter. After a tip, Antoine and his men tracked a massive wolf to Pommier Woods. As the beast charged, Antoine fired an overcharged musket, striking the creature in the eye. To the astonishment of all present, the wolf struggled to its feet and began to charge again. A second shot from Antoine's cousin, Richard, finally brought it down. The creature was six feet long and weighed nearly 140 pounds. It was embalmed and sent to the king, and was declared to be the one and only beast. With its reign of terror seemingly over, the price above his head went up and up, and Antoine was awarded 10,000 livres.
The Return
Just when the citizens of France believed the terror had ended, the attacks began once more. In early December 1765, two boys were attacked by a large wolf, and over the next two years, the killings escalated to a level even more devastating than before. The king, convinced the matter was settled, ignored the pleas for help, and the villagers were left to fend for themselves.
The second beast was finally slain on June 19, 1767. A local farmer named Jean Chastel, on a hunt with the Marquis du Absher, came face to face with the creature. Legend states that Chastel had cast his own silver bullet from a Virgin Mary medallion. He shot the beast, and an examination of the carcass revealed it had indeed been shot before, but had survived. The wolf was sent to Paris, where a naturalist deemed it to be nothing more than a large wolf. After its body began to rot and smell, it was buried in the grounds of a private home, its exact location lost to history. With the final beast slain, the attacks ended. The legend of the Beast of Gévaudan, a creature of both this world and the divine, was finally laid to rest.