#french folklore

But I just learne today that no, it is not Albania... It is Albany. The Duchy of Albany. In Scotland.

La Velue: The Shaggy Terror of the Huisne La Velue — “The Hairy One”, sometimes called La Peluda or the Shaggy Beast — occupies a strange and unsettling corner of French medieval folklore. Rooted in the region around La Ferté‑Bernard, a fortified town in the Sarthe department, this creature was said to haunt the banks of the Huisne River, whose source rises near Pervenchères. Its legend blends dragon‑lore, chthonic symbolism, and the anxieties of rural medieval life into a single monstrous figure that feels both ancient and eerily plausible.

Origins of the Hairy One According to tradition, La Velue was not a typical dragon but a primordial beast that survived the biblical Flood. It was described as a hulking creature covered entirely in long, matted hair — hair so thick and coarse that no weapon could pierce it. This impenetrable coat gave rise to its name and to its reputation as an unstoppable predator. Medieval chroniclers and storytellers framed it as a remnant of a pre‑Christian world, a being older than humanity, lurking in the liminal spaces between forest, river, and marsh. Its presence near the Huisne tied it to the watery underworld, a common theme in European folklore where rivers often serve as thresholds to danger or the supernatural.

Anatomy of a Medieval Nightmare Descriptions of La Velue vary, but most accounts agree on its grotesque hybridity. It possessed the body of a massive ox or boar, the claws of a bear, and a long, serpentine tail tipped with a venomous stinger. This tail was said to be its most dangerous weapon, capable of killing with a single strike or sweeping entire groups of people into the river. The creature’s head was often depicted as vaguely draconic, with glowing eyes and a maw capable of swallowing livestock whole. Its shaggy coat was not merely protective but symbolic — a wild, untamed force of nature that defied human order and control.

Terror Along the Huisne La Velue’s lair was said to be a cavern or burrow near the riverbank, from which it emerged to ravage the countryside. It devoured crops, trampled fields, and carried off sheep, cattle, and occasionally people. The Huisne itself became a site of dread; villagers whispered that the beast could churn the waters into deadly whirlpools or poison the river with its tail. In some versions, it even caused catastrophic floods, reinforcing its role as a creature tied to destructive natural forces. The people of La Ferté‑Bernard lived in constant fear, unable to kill or even wound the monster due to its invulnerable fur.

The Legend of the Maiden The most famous tale associated with La Velue concerns the death of a young woman named Émeline, daughter of a local noble. According to the story, she was seized by the beast while crossing the river and dragged beneath the waters. Her tragic death galvanized the townspeople, who vowed to end the creature’s reign of terror. This narrative — a monstrous abduction followed by communal vengeance — echoes many European dragon‑slaying myths, where the death of a maiden becomes the catalyst for heroic action.

The Slaying of La Velue Despite its invulnerable coat, La Velue possessed one fatal weakness: the tip of its tail. A local hero — sometimes named, sometimes anonymous — confronted the beast and managed to sever this vulnerable appendage. Deprived of its stinger, La Velue finally succumbed to the villagers’ weapons. Its death marked the end of its terror, and its body was said to have been displayed as proof that the nightmare was real. The motif of a single weak point hidden within an otherwise invincible monster is a recurring theme in medieval storytelling, symbolizing the triumph of human ingenuity over chaos.

I thought of making this post because, in a previous one I checked Françoise Lebrun's Book of Easter and she speaks a bit of the belief in Easter bells.

If you wonder why the heck French people believe it is bells out of all things that lay the eggs, it is simple. Due to the Holy Week being a celebration of when Jesus died, the bells remain silent to commemorate his death and can only ring again when he is resurrected. Sorrow and joy, mourning and happiness, you know, the usual stuff. This specific silent was woven with the egg-tradition into the child-told belief that the church bells (which were obviously the village bells and town bells too) actually flew to Rome during the days they remained "silent" and returned from Easter - with the whole imagery of the bells growing wings and, upon returning, dropping the Easter eggs into the gardens.

Now, the interesting question that Françoise Lebrun raises in her book is: why exactly do the bells go to Rome?

We are always told the bells go to Rome... But the reason why changes from region to region. The simplest and most popular answer is "They just go seek the eggs for the kids". More traditionally and logically, they are said to go see the Pope. But why? In Franche-Comté, they are merely celebrating Easter in Rome early. In Bresse and Flandres they go to be specifically blessed by the pope. But in Metz they go visit the Pope in person and they have... lunch with him. The most poetic one however is the Isère version, where the bells go to be confessed and absolved by the pope. Which raises the question: what type of sin can a bell ever commit?

There's also a bit weirder takes, like how in Hautes-Alpes and Ardèches they are seeking in Rome specific type of food - sausages and cheese respectively. Françoise Lebrun even quotes a folktale that turned the bells' trip to Rome into some epic saga, where they go to be blessed by "the last Pope to have entered Heaven", who comes back on earth just for them (also implies not all popes go to heaven...) and on the return journey they must be careful of the armies of the devil, all sorts of demons sent to try to maim, trick or destroy them - because the angels are all too busy mourning Jesus, meaning hell is free to do as it wants...

Lebrun connects this to the common folk-belief that the bells actually are alive, or rather have some sort of soul. After all, they each had their unique sound referred to as a "voice" ; they "sang" for the most important moments of the community's life (births and deaths, fires and wars) ; they had names, and they were even baptized. So obviously, it meant they had a soul.

In fact, in the Haute-Alpes region, they conciled the "bells go to Rome" tale with the fact the bells remained still in their tower (kids were advised throughout France to not look up at the church bells during the days the bells "went away") by explaining that this journey was... an astral projection. That only the souls of the bells went to Rome whereas their body remained behind as empty husks... And anybody who dared to hit one of these souless bells would be committing a serious sin.

French folklore presents faeries as ancient beings closely tied to specific regions, landscapes, and histories. Areas such as Brittany, the forest of Brocéliande, and parts of Alsace are associated with lingering enchantment, where fae are said to inhabit stones, woods, vineyards, and mountain paths. These beings are not merely decorative spirits but guardians of memory and place, often connected to legends of lost time, hidden realms, and unseen boundaries between the human and supernatural worlds.

After the western corner of the country, let's move a bit to the East...

When you check books such as "Fêtes de Noël et du Nouvel An autour du monde" (Sophie Lounguine) or "Dictionnaire des fées et du peuple invisible dans l'occident païen" (at Brepols) you get mentions that, in eastern regions of France, winter witches are roaming by Christmas time...

In the Haute-Saône, these witches (unless they are but one witch - as with the "bogeyman/bogeymen" the exact singularity of these entities is unclear) are called "Trotte-Vieille". The Trotte-Vieille seems to have originally been an ogress, described as a horned hag who devoured children unless you left for her a pot of porridge by the threshold of the house. However through time they became more of a "Mother Christmas" figure, now bringing gifts to nice children... While nasty chldren were thrown by her (or them) into the nearby river as a punishment.

The Trotte-Vieille is considered to be of the same family, if not the same entity as the Chauche-Vieille (or les chauche-vieilles) and the chauche-pailles (or la Chauche-Paille) (punish those Christmas mass) whom, in areas like Doubs or Jura, act as "Mother Christmas" figures bringing gifts, but also as Christmas "bogeywomen", notably devouring those that did not go to the Christmas mass. In French-speaking Switzerland, the Chauche-Vieille was explicitely identified with the German Frau Holle.

What is very interesting with "chauche-vieille", however, is that she has a full on existence outside of her Christmas duty. In a reversal of the Père Fouettard figure (originally a Christmas-only figure that became a bogeyman by default), the name "chauche-vieille" was originally a generic folklore term to designate... a nightmare. In the folkloric sense, the supernatural entity-nightmare. A nightmare is a "cauchemar" in France, and "chauche-vieille" is an oral deformation of it - alternatively called Chausse-Vieille, Chouche-Vieille, Chauco-Vieillo), she is the French "night hag" by excellence, present in areas like Bresse, Forez or Savoie as an ugly and wicked old woman who sits on the stomach of sleepers to smother them. It was deemed, in typical Christianization fashion, that she attacked those that forgot to pray before going to sleep or read "pagan books" - in turn the chauche-vieille could be banished by prayers or a rosary... But older traditions remain, such as the superstition according to which the chauche-vieille was only banished if you spill a bowl of grain at her arrival, forcing her to count every grain (just like vampires and certain types of ghosts - in fact the "mare", "mara" of nightmare has been interprete as meaning not just "witch" but also "ghost" or "spirit").

And she became associated with Christmas, seemingly, because it became commonly told the chauchevieille would come smother you if you did not go to the Christmas mass - as a punishment for those sleeping instead of celebrating... In the vaudois area of Switzerland, for example, she exists as the gift-giver of Christmas (whereas "Le Bon Enfant", "The Good Child", a variation of the Christkindl, acted as the gift-giver of New Year). As Tsousevilhe or Tschautzevilha she offered children food - originally nuts, but today oranges, chocolates and candies. It also seems, with time, that she was associated in language with the figure of "Père Chalande" (the New Years gift-giver/Father New Year figure), down to being considered by some the "wife" or "female companion" of Père Chalande.

And all of these frightening-yet-sweet witches of winter, all frequenting Germanic-influences areas of France, or French areas of Germanic countries, culminate within one specific figure. One of the most famous regional gift-givers of France. Tante Arie (Aunt Arie). Considered both a witch and a fairy, present in areas like Doubs, Jura or Franche-Comté (but her tradition most active by Montbéliard), it is commonly agreed that she is another incarnation or avatar of the Germanic figure that gave birth to Frau Holle/Holda and Frau Perchta (for, just like Perchta, she is sometimes said to have iron teeth ; just like Holda, she is said to cause snowfall by ripping her white shirt ; and like both of them she seems to have been connected to the motif of the Wld Hunt during winter storms).

Tante Arie is depicted as a gift-giver coming to town either on Christmas night or during the Epiphany. Riding a donkey (sometimes named Marion, revealed it is a female donkey), she usually goes in the house either down by the chimney or through a window left open for her (though variations mention her slipping under the door). To nice kids, she leaves sweets in their shoes - and they can hear the bell of her donkey (for whom hay must be left). To naughty children, however, she leaves birch branches so they parent could beat or whip them. And to disobedient or lazy kids, she leaves dunce caps.

Tante Arie also acts as a "household fairy", who blesses the houses she visits and likes (helping children go to sleep, helping work be done in the field - in general, anybody encountering good luck or a fortuitous good event thought it was the doing of Tante Arie). Just like the divine Germanic figures, she also was connected to weaving and spinning - when she discovers hard-working spinsters and weavers (especially if they are poor girls, or shepherdesses) she helps them and bless their work ; but if she discovers lazy girls, she will mix their threads and damage their work in an unrepairable way. Her connection to threads also makes her a figure connected to fishermen, that she can torment by making knots in their lines or unhooking every fish they catch. (She also seemingly checks the quality of the bread of bread-makers?)

A Montbéliard legend claims that Tante Arie is just the mythification of an historical figure, the comtess Henriette d'Orbe-Montfaucon, who was so kind to the people of the 15th century that the Doubs inhabitants turned her into a benevolent spirit watching over their life, into a good fairy. ("Arie" would be a diminutive of "Henriette"). However, as we said, she clearly seems much more "mythical" than this... Especially given that she is sometimes said to have goose feet instead of human feet, which connects her to the Pédauques fairies and queens that populate the culture and legends of France since the Middle-Ages...