The Beast of Le Gévaudan

In 1764 an area of France was experiencing a rash of murders among sheep herders who worked in the desolate mountain pastures. Rumors began to surface about the "loup-garou". Witnesses claimed to have seen a creature with short red fur and a pig-like snout. The king of France sent soldiers to the area to kill the creature. Once there, the soldiers encountered and shot the beast. The wounded beast retreated into the heavy brush, and for a few months the killings stopped. Later that year the killings started again. A hunting party was formed to try to rid the area of this terror. One of the hunters, Jean Chastel, loaded his gun with silver bullets. He caught sight of the beast and shot it twice. The party then took the dead beast down to the town for display. It was buried in the town and Jean's gun is still on display in a local church.