What was the Beast of Gévaudan? | Monstrum

Monstrum recently made a video about the Beast of Gévaudan and I wanted to share it here. You cannot beat a real, historical horror story, that has been fascinating me since I watched a TV program about it, some thirty years ago. For your early countdown to Halloween, I hope you enjoy.

Pierre capture le Loup

J'ai toujours aimé les loups et j'ai toujours eu un intérêt pour le grand méchant loup. Enfant, il me faisait peur autant qu'il me fascinait. J'aimais donc beaucoup Pierre et le Loup. Surtout la version en livre-disque du Petit Ménestrel, qui était magnifique. Je partage une de ces illustrations ici. Ce que j'aimais avec Pierre, c'est sa débrouillardise.

The Werewolf and the Train

For today's countdow to Halloween, a post about our visit to the a "Scarecrow Festival",which is held in a nearby village. It is now a family tradition come Halloween. I don't know who had the idea, but one of the scarecrows on display had a spooky train and a werewolf next to it. With pumpkins in the surroundings. In the train, a dino(!) and the Grim Reaper. There's a horror story to be written about it, I`m sure. Either way, this looks so darn cool.

Les loups-garous de Thiercelieux en film

Petite nouvelle ciné française et d'horreur: j'ai appris il y a quelques semaines que le jeu de société Les loups-garous de Thiercelieux a été adapté en film et qu'il est disponible sur Netflix. Je compte le regarder d'ici à l'Halloween. Mais il faudrait vraiment que je m'achète le jeu et que j'y joue un peu. Il est disponible ici, alors je n'ai aucune excuse.

Werewolf Mask

For today's countdown to Halloween post, another post about werewolves. I did some rambling about them in 2018, so I might repeat myself here, sorry if that is the case. Anyway, I saw this werewolf maks (for half the face) in the local toy shop and it kind of inspired me. As an amateur of traditional, classic horror stories and trope, I am surprised that I read fairly little werewolf fiction. Most of the time, I stumbled upon werewolf stories. I will try to find more, partially because I love wolves in general, but also because I might try my hands on a horror story or two featuring lycanthropes. I would like to use elements that we don't see anymore, like people becoming a werewolf through something else than infection after being attacked by one. Although I don't know how to proceed from there. But hey, I think we need more werewolves in spooky stories. Don't you? Let me know in the comments.

The Howling II

 For today's countdown to Halloween reading suggestion, The Howling II. By Gary Grandner. Not the novelization to the sequel to the first film, but the sequel to the original novel that inspired the rather uneven and lacklustre film franchise. The Howling II might have well been titled Karyn Can't Get a Break. Because the heroine/damsel in distress of the first novel, after surviving the horrors of Draco, a village full of werewolves, after being through the trauma of witnessing her then husband turn into a werewolf AND cheat on her has, well, to survive more ordeals. She's now remarried to a widower, she's a stepmother and she's undergoing therapy. Because, you know, the events of the previous book. But it turns out some lycanthropes survived the fire that destroyed Draco. Her (ex)husband Roy, for one, and his new partner, Marcia, who has been wounded by a silver bullet in the head, but not killed, for some reason (Brandner tend to retcon things). Marcia, now turning into a she-wolf/human hybrid every night, is pretty unhappy about it, and she's planning revenge on Karyn. So yeah, it's not very good. The Howling was a flawed, but enjoyable horror story, with plenty of atmosphere and a great setting. Its sequel is more flawed and less enjoyable. Gone is the claustrophobia, the remote environment, all the little details that made the first book work in spite of its flaws. But this one nevertheless has its moments, and remains better than the sequels of the movie franchise. In any case, this is a reading suggestion, not a reading reocmmendation. And we always need some werewoves for Halloween, right?

Pierre et le Loup

Enfant, j'aimais beaucoup Pierre et le Loup. Je ne sais pas trop pourquoi, enfin si, parce que même si j'aime les loups, j'aime quand dans les contes ils sont présentés comme des antagonistes, des bêtes affamées et dangereuses. Enfin bref, le Petit Ménestrel en a fait un livre-disque absolument magnifique. J'ai essayé de trouver cette version sur YouTube afin de la partager, jusqu'ici je n'ai pas eu de succès. Mais d'ici là, voici une image tirée du livre-disque.

La Bête du Gévaudan: un anniversaire

Aujourd'hui, c'est l'anniversaire du'un évènement de sinistre nature, qui a donné des frissons à bien des amateurs d'horreur et en a inspiré beaucoup d'autres. Vous avez deviné de quoi je parle? Il y a 260 ans, le 30 juin 1764, la Bête du Gévaudan faisait sa première victime officielle. Je m'en suis rappelé en regardant cette vidéo sur YouTube hier et je me suis dit que je devais le souligner. Avec l'une de mes images préférées du monstre. La Bête a vraiment besoin de figurer plus souvent dans le patrimoine effrayant mondial. Je songe moi même à m'en inspirer pour écrire une histoire d'horreur quand l'Halloween viendra. Enfin bref...

Lire autochtone

Petite annonce pour les gens du Québec et surtout du Saguenay. J'apprends sur la page Facebook du Salon du Livre du Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean que le mois de juin est le Mois national de l'histoire autochtone. Vous pouvez y participer en vous rendant dans les bibliothèques du Saglac, les détails sur la page facebook du Salon du Livre. J'avoue n'avoir guère lu autochtone moi-même, mais je compte corriger ça un jour.

Signs you are a Werewolf

I found this on one of the many Halloween Facebook pages I am following and found it so funny I had to share it now. Before the next full moon and way before Halloween. It is just so very funny.

Wolf-like Cryptid

 Something caught my attention in the local news recently: a dead "wold-like" creature was discovered in Henley. Now, as usual, I am very skeptical about this news. For all I know, there may not even be a corpse available to prove it. The article remains very shady about it in any case. In fact, a lot of it is just a reminiscence of sighting of other creatures, some of which I blogged about back in August 2023. It seems that the local press enjoys its cryptids. I might sound sarcastic, but I found the news entertaining all the same. I actually love a bit of cryptozoology, if only as a sort of speculative fiction mixed with legends. And I love wolves, so the more wolf-like critters, real or imagined, the better.

A Werewolf Game

 For today's countdown to Halloween post, a finding and maybe a call for help from my readers. I was at the Windsor's Waterstones a few weeks ago when I saw this game on sales: One Night Ultimate Werewolf. I did not buy it, although I was very tempted. But it looked a tad too much like a rip off from another werewolf game. But hey, maybe the more the merrier. I always thought werewolves were the most neglected critters of horror fiction. My opinion on the matter in this 2022 post and this one from 2018. I think there is a lot to do with a werewolf as a horror character, both protagonist and antagonist. What do you think? And if any of you played that game, what did you think of it? Is it any good?

The Wolf Man

 Here's my second countdown to Halloween post of the day. Because I have a lot to cover this year and I have been preparing for months. I bought this decorationa couple of months ago. It is meant to represent the Wolf Man, the Universal one. But frankly, and I am happy about it, he looks far scarier than in the movie, with an longer face and leaner body, much more wolf-like. He looks like a true werewolf and not a cuddly teddy bear. I say this and nevertheless I love the film, it's one of my favourite black and white movies. I thought our home and our Halloween display needed a werewolf. This one is just perfect.

Les yeux du loup

Ma cousine Amy l'artiste photographe est allée avec sa famille au Zoo de Falardeau. Et elle a pris des photos, dont celle-ci. C'est pas moi qui pourrait en prendre une comme ça. Elle est vraiment magnifique.

Santon loup-garou

 Photo trouvée sur la page Facebook sur les Santons de Charlevoix. C'est LE Santon que je veux avoir en priorité. Ex aequo avec celui du Bonhomme Sept-Heures. Et je le veux pour donner une touche québécoise aux Halloweens que je passe ici. Il y a d'autres santons conçus pour l'Halloween, mais celui-ci est celui que je trouve le plus réussi. Il est à la fois effrayant et ragique: on voit que le loup-garou est l'objet d'une malédiction, regardez comme il essaie de couvrir son visage avec son manteau, dans une expression à la fois de honte bien humaine et néanmoins bestiale. Oh et il a les bras velus et des griffes en plus. Il est vraiment très réussi.

The Werewolves' New Moon

 I blogged back in 2017 about The Werewolves of Miller's Hollow, a card game/board game and borderline role-playing game about, well, werewolves. So it is a horror game of sorts. I bought one formy  brother Andrew in its original French version,then years later I bought the localised version for Blonde Tickler. But never for myself. Then, to my great surprise, I stumbled upon its first expansion, called New Moon, in a toy shop in Wallingford. Now how cool is that? I am very tempted to buy it next time, and get my hands on the original, so I can play it during my countdown to Halloween. This seems to be the perfect game when the season of the witch comes.

Loup errant

 Photo qui date et que j'ai retrouvée dans mes archives. Un loup qui errait sur les terres de mes oncles. Je ne crois pas l'avoir partagé avant aujourd'hui.

About Werewolves

For today's countdown to Halloween post, let's talk about a critter that might need a bit more love: the werewolf. Well, maybe it's just me, but I feel like it hasn't been as popular as other horror creatures and maybe has not always been used to its full potential. A few years ago, I read The Howling by Gary Brandner. The rather uneven (but enjoyable) movie adaptation is now far more famous, but I preferred the original novel, although I found it flawed. My full review and recommendation in this post from 2017. Be that as it may, while I recognised novel's shortcomings, I liked it enough to buy its sequel, simply (and rather dumbly) called The Howling II. It had even more shortcomings, but I must confess, I still enjoyed it. There is just something about these bloodthirsty beasts and their relationship to men and civilisation that I find endearing. I find it sad that The Howling's film franchise went stupidly down the drain after each installment and that the original novels are all but forgotten. Brandner I thought had managed to bring the werewolf into a modern setting and give it a certain relevance, but keeping its menace. There is so much to do with werewolves depending on how you develop them: is their condition a curse or do they embrace it, what causes it, how do they deal with mankind, and so on. Werewolves deserve their own series of novels, something Brandner had started, but never quite finished. Anyway, I am rambling, but what do you think about werewolves? Are there any stories featuring them you would recommend? And how would you make them original?

P'tit Loup pour les vacances

Je me prépare aux vacances en famille, alors j'ai acheté pour mon petit loup... Le cahier d'activités de P'tit Loup. C'est pleins de petits jeux amusants pour quand il tombera en vacances. Peut-être que nous allons l'emmener avec nous pour les vacances, afin de passer le temps en soirée, mais il beaucoup des activités ont besoin de crayons de couleur et d'autres trucs du genre, alors je ne suis pas certain que ce soit une bonne idée. Cela dit, je suis heureux qu'il ait un autre livre de P'tit Loup et qu'il soit déjà vraiment heureux de son cadeau de vacances.

Woodlands and Forests Folklore

 The treasures you find in the local bookshop, sometimes literally.When I went a few months ago, I bought Treasury of Folklore: Woodlands and Forests. It says on the cover that it has Wild Gods, World Trees and Werewolves. And the cover features Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. This cover would have been enough to convince meto buy it, because I am ascinated by the tale so much. I already have two books from the collection, the sea one (present from my wife, which I am reading at the moment) and the Treasury of British Folklore (read it, loved it). But since woodlands are forests are my favourite setting for fairy tales and legends, I want to read this one even more than the other two.