Episode 4872: Dark Enigma - When the Beast of Gévaudan Terrorized France

Please be aware the stories, theories, re-enactments and language in this podcast are of an adult nature and can be considered disturbing, frightening and in some cases even offensive.  Listener Discretion is therefore advised.  Welcome heathens welcome to the world of the weird and unexplained.  I’m your host, Nicole Delacroix and together, we will be investigating stories about the things that go bump in the night, frighteningly imagined creatures, supernatural beings and even some unsolved mysteries but I promise, all sorts of weirdness.  So, sit back, grab your favorite drink, and prepare to be transported to today's dark Enigma....  And on today’s Dark enigma well, we have another listener suggestion; it’s a quickie!  So, with that said, we will still be playing our drinking game and as you know, the drinking game is only for those of us that are at home and have nowhere else to go tonight.  The choice of libation, as always my darlings, is yours, so choose your poison accordingly… Alright, now for the game part how about every time I say Gévaudan that will be a single shot and every time I say France, that will be a double shot.  Now that the business end is out of the way we can jump headfirst into today’s dark enigma… so don you best beret, grab your best bottle of wine and some stinky cheese as we dive deep into today’s offering of When the Beast of Gévaudan Terrorized France From June 30, 1764 to June 19, 1767, between 82 and 124 people were victims of the Beast of Gevaudan! These attacks took place in a vast territory which today covers the French areas of Lozère, Cantal and Haute-Loire. From the outset, these events will take on a considerable scale due to international media coverage without equal at the time! Engravings of the Beast are published everywhere, from Paris to San Francisco! This territory does not play a major role in the economic life of the Kingdom of France, so why such an impact? Gévaudan is a fairly poor breeding ground. The north of Gévaudan where the Beast rages is separated between the Aubrac plateau and the Margeride Mountains. Far from being as wooded as today, this vast territory is made up of moors and grazing meadows punctuated by groves and a few thin forests. This rough country fueled the imagination of the chroniclers of the time. But it is the press that explains the scope of this case.