Loup Garou

The French have a legend of a particularly virulent curse that once ravaged their lands.

It was said that if a wolf bit you beneath the full moon, you would be cursed to become the loup garou - literally, the one who becomes a wolf.

Most legends claim it was the full moon itself that triggered the first change, but others say the curse kicked in every night, when the moon rose. And when it did, you would rise, changing form to become a monstrous beast over 2 metres tall, covered in hair, with sharp teeth, claws and a taste for vengeance.

But not against the wolf that bit you.

Let's face it: if a wolf bit you in medieval France, you probably turned it into a rug before your first transformation.

No, no: you’d seek vengeance against all those who had wronged you as a human - those you were powerless against under the sun.

But the moon changed everything.

Unlike modern werewolves, when you became a loup garou, you didn’t become mindless. You remembered everything.

And that meant you remembered exactly who you were angry at.

Your senses reached heights that even natural animals couldn’t reach. You could run faster and jump higher than any creature alive. Some believed they transformed fully into a wolf, just larger and more agile. Others say they retained humanoid form, with the head of a wolf - more like the modern idea of a werewolf.

Whatever form they took, one thing stayed true: while some werewolf legends claim the way to break the curse is to kill the wolf (or werewolf) that bit you, for loup garous, that made no difference.

Breaking the curse wasn't easy. If you could find a powerful priest—or, in older tellings, a shaman—they might be able to lift it during the first full moon after the wolf that cursed you died. Miss your chance, and you'd have to wait another month.

Or, you could simply never mention it - not the original encounter with the wolf, not your nocturnal activities, nothing about werewolves at all - to another living soul for one hundred and one days. Then the curse would run its course and leave naturally, like nothing ever happened.

Much easier than risking a priest, right?

So who wouldn’t want to be a loup garou?

Your neighbours, probably. People lived in fear of these creatures because one never knew if they’d done something worthy of a loup garou’s vengeance. And their vengeance often meant becoming a loup garou themselves: some believe that this variety of loup garou was almost as hell-bent on spreading the curse as they were on punishing those who’d wronged them.

When the French (and French-influenced) came to the Americas, they brought the story of the loup garou with them.

As often happens when legends cross oceans, the story changed.

In America, the legend blended with Native American legends and loup garous transformed from the shadow of vengeance to guardian angels. Protectors of the good-hearted from all who might do them wrong.

These “American loup garous” were different from the original French legends: for them, transformation was entirely voluntary, not triggered by the moon - and there was no way to break the curse.

The only thing that would happen if you told someone you were a loup garou is they’d either come after you with pitchforks and torches, or they would become your absolute bestie in the hopes that you’d protect them from evil.

Either way, probably best to not talk about it, right?

The other interesting distinction was that American loup garous weren’t always wolves. Sometimes, they could take the form of other animals - dogs, horses, bears, etc.

Now, you might have noticed that “loup garou” looks and sounds a lot like “rougarou” - that notorious werewolf from New Orleans.

Well, that’s because the legend of the loup garou arrived in New Orleans (and Louisiana in general) via French and French Canadian immigrants in the early 1800s, where the already hybrid legend was blended further with Creole beliefs - and the rougarou was born.

Which is why in the south, they talk about the rougarou, but in the north, in Canada, and across France/Germany? It’s still the loup garou - whatever form that might take.

And while the legends dipped around the early 18th century in Europe, they never disappeared completely.

These days, most people know the werewolf.

But in quiet corners of France... and parts of Canada... people still whisper about the loup garou.

And if you've ever wondered why some stories insist you should never, ever admit you've seen one...

Well.

Now you know.