Monster of Gevaudan was real !

Creatures scary, demonic, whose simple name is able to arouse horror myths are found in most of the world. Yet, what happened in eighteenth-century France is not a myth. More than a hundred victims, mostly women and children, are proof that 'Beast of Gevaudan' existed in reality.

It all started in June 1764, close to Langogne, a small village in the former French region Gevaudan, Lozere department today, when the first of what would be a long series of attacks take place in the forest Mercoire. The victim, a young woman in shock declare an animal unknown, like a wolf, but much larger, while attacking their cattle grazed nearby. She miraculously escaped with his life thanks to a bull who managed to escape the scary creature. The story it was going to shock the villagers and in no time you travel round France. In its statements, the beast that attacked seemed kind of monster with a huge head, ears like horns, a tail and claws huge lion little as three human hands. Animal move in jumps of several meters, as confirmed by traces at the battle, and terrible noises.

Although at first there were skeptics who do not give credence younger words, the coming months will bring the village Langogne a wave of terror that leaves nothing of any doubt. Beast of Gevaudan, as it was called, exist in reality. The victims, most of them women and children, were beginning to be discovered increasingly often. Their bodies were decapitated and partially devoured. The few people who had escaped with his life after the attacks had lapsed into insanity and not reporting the same events.

Panic will include surrounding villages and people started to talk about werewolves, dragons or even the devil. It seems that it is not a single animal but with so many more as unexplained killings took place simultaneously in places considerable distance from each other. The weapons seemed to have no effect on the monster, as they had to declare two hunters who had had on him only a few steps. The beast collapsed because a few moments later to get up and lose in padure.Urmele blood after they had made people believe that this was seriously injured and he had to lose their lives in the coming days. To their horror, however, many people had to be killed just days after the incident.

Locals unite into one of the largest ever conducted hunting expeditions. Led by a certain Captain Duhamel and 57 of its soldiers, the villagers who could carry a gun will go in search of the beast. This will prove untraceable but even if people, in desperation, had come to dress in dresses so you can cheat. The hunt would last for a month, during which hunters from all over France joined intrepid expeditions, but without any success. Hundreds of wolves had been killed, but none of them seemed to be mysterious killer.

Only a few days after the end of the hunt, the attacks had to restart with unspeakable ferocity. People discovered with horror even three victims in one day. The death of two children would be drop to fill the cup. Himself King Louis XV would personally call him Jean-Charles d'Enneval, the most famous hunter of wolves in Normandy, leading an expedition to capture the monster. Jean Charles, accompanied by his brother Jean Francois, will spend several months hunting Gevaudan no less than 1,200 wolves. None of them, however, was not looking at. Meanwhile, attacks continued to do and more victims.

King will make another attempt, it demitandu D'Enneval and appointing him instead Francois Antoine, Royal Gunsmiths and head hunters in France. On September 20, 1765, Francois personally have to break a giant sized wolf you will IMPA and will send it to Versailles. The animal was about two feet long, 80 inches tall and about 65 pounds. Considering that killed the beast that terrorized the region for over a year, head hunters will return to Paris, where it will be received as a hero. King would reward him with Antoine Francois huge sum of money at the same time prohibiting longer talk about the monster ucigas.Lunile to come will bring relative quiet. Authorities no notes and no beast attacks the victim is no longer registered. But reality was different. The attacks continued despite royal decree not to mention the Beast of Gevaudan about, more crimes come to the ears of Louis XV.

Two years later, on 19 June 1767 it had to end as mysteriously as begun. A local hunter Jean Chastel, had to kill the beast in a way that will give rise to much speculation. During a new hunting, eyewitness reports as Chastel, approaching an unusually calm such a situation, he sat under a tree where he began reading the Bible. Almost immediately, the beast appeared only a few feet away but without drawing any sign of threat. Chastel would have finished the prayer and then would have raised the gun a few silver bullets were prepared specifically for this occasion. It took only two shots for everything to end. Beast gone.

It would be stuffed and walk all Gevaudan region so that people can see. Although no one has made any sketch, it appeared that the beast was a wolf huge size, higher than in 1765. killed by Francois Antoine Louis XV Chasel summon the monster Versailles to present the entire court, but such methods had been stuffed some primitive hunter may not offer king than a rotting corpse. Disgusted, the monarch will require immediate burial beast while on Chasel cast him in the palace without giving any reward.

Only a week after the first animal hunting, another giant wolf, this time a female, will be killed by Jean Teri, a local hunter. It seems that this pair was the monster. With the death of the two beasts, no other attack was not reported.
Theories about the nature of the beast of Gevaudan


Most experts believe that the monster who terrorized France in the eighteenth century was a giant wolf. However, they can not explain atypical behavior of the creature who seems to prefer to attack people rather than cattle. We know that wolves are animals generally avoid contact with humans and attack not only extremely rarely. Moreover, how to kill the beast has nothing in common with the way he breaks wolves prey.

Instead, the theory that the monster was actually a hyena escaped from some menagerie seems to fit better on their profile. Indeed, it is known that hyenas can achieve impressive stature, and how that attack people, especially in the facial looks similar to the beast. Instead, they can not perform jumps, the more some few meters, which seems to contradict the statements of eyewitnesses. Also, there was no evidence as to any wild animal would be able to escape from a menagerie of time.

Another theory is that of a trained animal, most likely a giant-sized dog fight. The idea took shape a beast trained since 1765 when several people have reported that the monster would have been in the company of a man. The way they behaved beast in his presence Chastel ii justified many to believe that he was the one who had everything to.

It is believed that the Beast of Gevaudan was a lion of the Atlas Mountains, the largest species of lion extinct in the early twentieth century. The theory seems to be but only one that you folklore, is hard to believe that people could not recognize such an animal, even if it does not exist in Europe for thousands of years.