#loup garou

Car, même si ta présence est lointaine, Lune, tes faisceaux m’atteignent sans mal. Ta montée en flèche brise mes chaînes Et, du firmament, perce le gris voile.

Ta parole d’argent vaut plus que l’or Aux loups-garous et sorciers qu’elle appelle. Au son de ta voix, les marées au port Retournent tel mon regard vers le ciel.

Née de débris et vêtue de cratères, Avec fierté ton visage tu montres. Pourtant, en orbite autour de la Terre, Tu ne brilles que des rayons de l’Autre.

Lune! Qui connaît ta face cachée? Des paupières, j’ai fermé les fenêtres. Lune! Le clair de lune est-il l’archer Qui des vérités si pures pénètre?

Ah, Mère! Tu possèdes la beauté De l’auréole et des lys de la Vierge. Me nettoyant, le venin est ôté, Mais le Serpent rampe parmi tes cierges.

Can't believe I drew this comic in 2023 (before SMT V Vengeance was ever announced), then completely forgot to post it 💀

Though neither of these are actually diegetic terms and most wolfmen/loup-garous would probably just call themselves werewolves, in Eureka rules text a “werewolf” is a much older folkloric version of the werewolf, while a “wolfman” or “loup-garou” is based on the Hollywood adaptation which is completely different but is what most people think of as a “werewolf” today.

A Eureka “werewolf” is basically just a witch who occasionally transforms into a relatively normal wolf on purpose. No loss of control, no special strengths or weaknesses or immunity to non-silver weapons, etc.

A Eureka “wolfman” or “loup-garou” is a Hollywood werewolf. They are affected by the full moon, they transform into a gigantic and/or anthropomorphic wolf, and they lose control and rampage around sometimes. They can also transform willingly without losing control, and are vulnerable to silver but at least partially invulnerable to most other things.

You can find all this in Chapter 8 of the Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy rulebook.

Gilles Garnier (1873) - French werewolf

Gilles Garnier, also known as "the hermit of St. Bonnot," was an ugly recluse shunned by others. He lived with his wife, Apolline, in an inaccessible, turf-roofed, and rudely constructed hovel near Amanges, France.

In autumn 1873 a werewolf was said to have carried off several small children in the area of Dole. The court parliament at Dole issued a proclamation authorizing the peasants to hunt the creature down.

Initially, Garnier was not a suspect, despite his odd appearance and manner. He had bushy eyebrows that met, a pale face with livid complexion, a long gray beard, and a stooping walk. He seldom spoke to others.

On November 8, 1873, a girl was attacked by a wolf. Her screams attracted some of the peasants. When they reached her, they saw a ferocious wolf and the wounded girl trying to defend herself. The appearance of the peasants frightened off the wolf, who ran into the forest. Several peasants said they thought they had recognized the features of the hermit in the creature.

A few days later, on November 14, a 10-year-old boy went missing. Garnier was arrested and put on trial. Both he and his wife confessed to his being a werewolf, and their testimony was corroborated by witnesses.

Garnier confessed to taking the form of a wolf and attacking and slaying a number of children. On the last day of Michelmas, he attacked and killed a 12-year-old girl. He carted her body into the woods, stripped off her clothing, and gnawed her arms and legs. He thought the flesh so tasty that he took some of it home to his wife for her enjoyment.

Eight days later, he seized another girl but did not kill her, for he was surprised by three persons, and he fled. But soon he attacked a 10-year-old boy and strangled him to death. He ate the arms and legs, tearing one leg completely off with his fangs, and also ate most of the boy's belly.

Garnier's next victim was a boy of 12 or 13, whom he seized and killed. He intended to take the body into the woods to eat, but once again the appearance of peasants frightened him off. Those men testified at Garnier's trial that they had seen him in human form and not a wolf form.

Garnier was convicted and sentenced to be dragged to the place of public execution, where he was burned alive.

Text from The Encyclopedia of Vampires, Werewolves, and Other Monsters (Checkmark Books, 2005) by Rosemary Guiley