Original subtitles

We are here to communicate with you to understand what you are.

Did you hear that?

-Little rumble? -Yes -- something is here.

On this episode of "Expedition X,"

Phil and Heather head deep into the French wilderness

on the hunt for the legendary

and bloodthirsty Beast of Gévaudan.

Do you think it was a werewolf?

I know it sounds crazy

and preposterous, but yeah, it's definitely possible.

A supposed werewolf that has terrorized locals for centuries.

What I have to show you is...

disturbing, to say the least.

-Oh. -Oh, my god.

But as they search ancient lore, they'll discover

France's most famous monster may not be a creature of flesh and blood,

but instead is something so paranormally powerful that

they'll be left howling at the moon.

It's moving that way -- let's go.

OK, guys, "howl's" everybody doing today?

-Werewolves. -That's a good guess.

-How right you are. -Oh, boy.

-All right, enough. -Fine.

But seriously, there's recently been a spate of sightings

of a large wolf-like creature across France.

Some of the witnesses are saying that these creatures are

sometimes standing on two legs.

And there's some history to give this some really fascinating context.

250 years ago, apparently France

was terrorized by this creature known as

the Beast of Gévaudan.

So this is a very famous cryptid story.

This wolf beast supposedly killed more than 100 people

in the 18th century in France.

So you're right, there is a really intriguing history here.

If Bigfoot is America's favorite cryptid,

then the werewolf is most certainly France's.

The lore surrounding this monster

really does date back millennia.

The legend of a violent, shape-shifting beast known

as the werewolf, or loup-garou,

likely began in what is today

France during the fifth century BC.

The ancient Gaul people drew upon Norse and Roman Pagan beliefs,

where animal-human hybrids and shape-shifting

deities were common.

The Gauls believed that with the help of special rituals,

they could perform lycanthropy, transforming themselves into wolves.

The folklore that humans could shapeshift into monster wolves

continued for millennia.

But no single incident cemented the werewolf's place

in French history quite like the so-called Beast of Gévaudan.

From 1764 to 1767, a mysterious wolf-like

creature is said to have terrorized the Gévaudan region,

reportedly killing over 100 people,

mostly women and children.

The King of France, Louis XV, was reportedly so concerned

that he dispatched soldiers and huntsmen to help locals

track down and kill the beast.

The creature's campaign of terror finally came to an end

after a large wolf was killed by a hunter

named Jean Chastel, in 1767.

However, after a brief examination,

its remains were reportedly destroyed,

leaving its true identity impossible to verify.

As time went on, stories of the loup-garou only intensified.

In 1863, the author Sabine Baring-Gould recounted

that the village of Champagny avoided a particular field

at night, certain it was patrolled by a vicious werewolf.

Flash forward to the 21st century.

As incredible as it seems, reports continue across France.

In 2018, the mayor of a town in the French Alps made headlines

after he reported being charged by a ferocious animal

that didn't appear to be a normal dog or wolf.

He could only say that it was a huge beast with enormous teeth.

And today, reports are actually on the rise.

Witnesses in France consistently describe a tall,

bipedal, wolf-like creature with glowing, reflective eyes,

incredible strength, speed,

and seemingly malevolent intelligence --

with some of these sightings taking place

near the Beast of Gévaudan's old killing grounds,

many wonder if this legendary beast is actually back.

OK.

It feels like a legend, this rich combined

with all this recent evidence -- it's a really promising case.

I'm not saying it's a werewolf, obviously, but could there

be some large, aggressive creature

out there waiting to be found?

Absolutely.

I believe that's pronounced "absolument."

But OK, if it's not a werewolf -- what is it?

Well, we had great success just across the English Channel

when we identified the Beast of Britain

as a previously unknown wild cat.

So, could there be something like that here?

OK, a ferocious beast prowling France?

Heather, what do you make of this?

I have to say, I'm really into this story.

Many of these werewolf stories date back to Pagan times,

and a lot of them have a supernatural element.

-So I'm in. -OK, great.

Well, your mission is to head to France,

figure out if this is a historic monster,

a shapeshifting entity,

or something else entirely -- good luck.

Merci beaucoup. Au revoir.

It's about an eight-hour flight from New York to Lyon, France.

From there, Heather and Phil head two hours west

into the forested foothills of a dormant volcano

known as Puy-de-Dome.

Vive la France!

It sure doesn't look like Paris down here.

Did you know the myth that werewolves can only be killed

by silver bullets came from France?

-Really? -Yes!

The Beast of Gévaudan was killed with a silver bullet.

Wow.

OK, so what's your escape plan if we do run into a werewolf?

I mean, I know you've got a bad ankle.

Philip.

Philip Torres, I'm your escape plan?

Listen, life or death -- sure.

-I'm not gonna say I would push you over, -You're a terrible partner.

but I would run faster than you.

You're a terrible partner.

-What do you want me to do? -I can't believe you.

Climb a tree -- I was gonna climb a tree.

And just like that, this is deep forest.

Yeah, it is.

OK, OK.

So he said he'd be meeting us around here.

There, they're there. See 'em?

Yeah.

Let's see what these guys have to say.

Waiting for us in the remote French woods

are three eyewitnesses who were all certain they saw

the impossible -- a werewolf.

Virgil Candeil is a local researcher who's been

documenting werewolf encounters in this region for years.

He's brought with him two of the most

compelling witnesses he's uncovered.

Why did you want us to meet you out here?

become a big hotspot

for loup-garou or werewolf sightings over the past few years.

I started gathering research and documenting reports

and sightings ever since I had my own encounter.

I was driving at night along a stretch of rural highway

just south of here.

I saw a huge, dark creature crouching on the side of the road.

And it was eating pieces of roadkill with its hands.

Then, when it stood up, this thing was well over six feet tall,

dark black with yellow eyes.

I stayed in my car, so I felt protected, but I didn't stick

around for long.

Wow -- and this encounter changed you.

You've -- you've now been researching and collecting

other stories across France that are similar.

I have now documented over 80 credible sightings and bizarre

events in just the last few years.

If you guys have stories to share, we'd love to hear them.

I am a trained biologist.

And a couple of years ago, I was hiking in this area taking photos.

I saw a pretty orchid, so I crouched down to get

a good shot, then all of a sudden, I hear a deep grunt,

and I could sense something creeping up behind me.

This forest felt dead silent, no animal noises at all.

I turned, and what I saw looked like

a very large canine-like creature,

maybe 30 feet away.

It was extremely muscular, yellow eyes, long black arms.

Every time I tried to move, it would start growling at me.

Finally, after about 30 minutes, I think it got bored,

because it went deeper back into the forest.

What are the chances this is just a particularly large wolf?

Wolves are making a comeback here,

but no chance this was a wolf.

My sighting is actually very similar while I was driving.

And I saw a big black mass crouched down like a boulder.

I'm still traumatized by it.

Talking about it now just freaks me out.

Do you think there's something about this specific region,

this Puy-de-Dome, that makes it a better habitat for whatever

it is you're describing?

forest is densely populated

with all kinds of prey animals,

making it a prime feeding ground for any

top-of-the-food-chain predator.

Plus, it's a volcanic landscape, with deep caves

and grottoes scattered throughout, which could allow

the beast to stay relatively hidden.

Caves? Sounds promising.

If we wanted to track this creature down,

what would you suggest?

To be honest, it's a crazy thing to go in here

tonight and investigate -- please be careful.

With multiple terrifying werewolf sightings

to investigate in this wilderness, tonight's plan

is to conduct a stakeout.

We're still in the forest, but for the animals that live here,

every little bit makes a difference.

This spot looks great.

While Phil gets to work on the hunting blind,

I establish a tripwire perimeter using motion detector lights.

So these are motion-activated lights,

and they actually go on the ground.

So if anything gets close, they'll go off,

and we'll see it.

They will illuminate the area with a red light,

alerting us immediately.

It is so dark out there now.

I mean, I don't know what's out there.

-Everything that lives in this forest... -Knows we're here.

So that's why I'm convinced our best bet is just to sit still

and hope we get lucky that something could come by.

Remember, there are deer out here, there's boar out here.

Could easily be one of those, too.

Oh my gosh.

Red light, red light, red light.

Where? Do you see anything?

No, no, no, no. You got anything on the FLIR?

I've got nothing.

Second light -- it's moving that way.

Let's go.

OK, OK.

Whoa.

OK, so...

we know it started at that red light.

It went this way, going in that direction.

Not seeing any eye shine. You got anything on the FLIR?

I got nothing.

C'mon.

Where is this thing?

Whatever it is, that thing was moving fast.

Yeah, just listen.

-Ah. -Oh, lets go.

-I've got nothing. -Look at those rocks.

Look.

Holy . Look at this.

-It keeps going. -No.

Look how far back it goes.

Whoa.

-It feels different in here. -What do you mean?

It just feels off.

It doesn't feel like a normal cave.

It doesn't look like a normal cave.

Look at this.

Wow. Right here.

This was carved by someone.

-That's a door frame. -Yeah.

Look at these nooks.

They're hand carved, like placing something.

It feels like a home.

OK, there is a lot of places.

For something to hide.

Yeah.

There could be something down there right now.

Do we need to be careful?

-Watch you step, right here. -OK.

I'll check this room. You check the one on the right.

Sounds good.

You got anything?

-I don't see anything. -It's clear over here.

Clear.

Let's see if it left any evidence behind.

OK.

The tracks on the ground.

Wait a second.

-Phil, I think I've got something. -What?

-Look at this. -Oh look at that.

Yeah, that looks like nails, no?

-Or claws? -Yeah.

Yeah.

That doesn't look like a boot print, right?

That does not look like a boot trail.

It looks like something was scraping here.

Marking its territory.

And right there, look at those.

Oh, yeah.

Something was pressing in there.

-Bizarre. -What is this?

A strange shape in the wall.

This could maybe be some kind of altar.

Yeah -- I need to get a scan of these tracks, real quick.

OK.

Because that looks fresh.

This cave definitely does not feel like a cave.

It feels like this could be Pagan.

This must have been its way out.

-Oh my God -- look, look, look. -.

-Is that what I think it is? -Yeah.

Hair.

It must have left hair behind, while squeeze up through this.

Oh my God.

Whatever creature came through here left a big enough

hair sample behind for us to analyze.

-Yeah, that's hair. -No way.

That is definitely hair.

On first glance, it appears to be some kind of canine.

Clearly, some animal is using this to get in and out

of this cave -- I gotta go up there.

You think you're gonna fit?

I'm gonna try. If I do get stuck, just push.

I'll give you a kick.

Oh great.

OK, there is a whole other room up here.

Are you sure you're gonna fit?

No.

-Anything up there? -Wow.

It's a room.

And this looks like the top entrance to the cave.

You think there's definitely an exit, then?

Yeah, and it looks like there's a trail that leads

out here, too.

Right?

I mean, Heather, I think it was here.

-You do? -I think it was here.

Any other evidence?

We got those fresh tracks. We've got hair.

-We've got this like... -Oh, my god.

What?

The motion detector's going off.

-Back at camp? -Yeah.

-We got to go. -OK.

[suspenseful music playing

OK, the line should be right around here somewhere.

Did we get turned around?

I don't see it -- .

Oh my God.

What the hell happened here?

Did the wind knock it over?

.

-No. -It's completely ripped up.

Our stuff.

Oh my God.

You have anything missing?

What the hell happened here?

Did you have any open snacks in your bag?

No, no, I'm not that dumb. OK, well, I might have.

What? No way.

This was not something rummaging around for food.

Look at this thing.

I mean, this is sliced up.

Something large and something aggressive took this down

and threw our everywhere.

I just think it was hungry.

I mean, it conceivably could have been a wild boar.

This is more than some scavenger.

Well, listen, if it did get food out of my pack,

it's probably gonna come back.

Well, we need to set back up again.

-We need to be prepared. -Yeah.

Because whatever is out here is obviously not friendly.

We restore what's left of our hunting blind,

and continue our stakeout.

Man, they really did a number on this thing.

Yeah.

I don't feel safe out here.

But there was no activity the rest of the night.

The next day, Phil and I split up to discover more about what

could be behind these werewolf encounters.

Phil heads to a nearby wolf sanctuary.

While I visit a library in the town of Le Puy-en-Velay,

to dig into the lore about the infamous Beast of Gévaudan.

-Hi, Marco. -Hi.

-Good to meet you. -Pleasure to meet you.

Marco Visconti is a local author, who has studied

Pagan folk magic and occult legends like

the Beast of Gévaudan for 30 years.

I wanted to invite you here to the library of Le Puy-en-Velay,

because this book here, it's the first ever written

account of the Beast of Gévaudan.

-When's it from? -This is from 1764.

Do you think it was a werewolf?

Well, you know, that's an incredible question, of course.

At first, they thought it was just a wolf, right?

Maybe like a big wolf.

Pretty soon, the reports of this beast started to assume

a more sinister connotation.

It was something in-between beast and man.

It was definitely something unlike anything else

in paranormal investigations.

-Hi. -Hi, Audrey.

Yes -- so good to meet you.

-It's beautiful, and we find the beast. -Yes.

Absolutely.

OK.

Audrey Prucca has spent the last 20 years

at Le Loups du Gévaudan...

Here they are.

Oh my goodness, look at that.

...a French sanctuary that provides a home for wolves

unable to return to the wild.

Lucky for me, I arrived here at feeding time.

Everybody knows France is the culinary capital of the world.

Bon appétit.

That one's for you.

Wow.

How many wolves do you have here?

So the reason I reached out to you is because there's been

a lot of recent reports.

We've been hearing stories about some encounters out

in the wild that people have had.

They say they see something unusual.

A lot of them think it falls into the werewolf category,

and for me, obviously, I'm not so sure about that.

How big do the wolves get here in France?

So that's only between 50 to 80 pounds.

Mm-hmm.

Not giant.

And how many wolves are there today?

There's about 1,000 wild wolves across the country of France.

So they're still rare compared to how they used to be.

What does a typical human wolf interaction look like across Europe?

So then, what are people seeing?

It could well be that this beast wasn't a normal wolf.

Something, maybe evoked by someone.

Like what?

It's interesting to remember that this area had a lot

of very unique beliefs, Pagan beliefs of course.

I find it really interesting that you mention that,

because we found this, I think, a Pagan cave.

Potentially even an altar inside it.

Could well be that this cave that you found

was the source for rituals that have been conducted maybe

centuries, maybe millennia ago, by ancient Pagans.

Their practices were very shamanic in nature, OK?

Shamans famously can create what it's called

in Tibetan lore, a tulpa.

That is, basically, imagine like a ghost,

a servant ghost, that we give them form and give them orders.

So you're telling me it could have been some type

of spirit wolf?

Yeah, you can call it a spirit wolf if you want.

It's actually, yeah, it's a perfect denomination for it.

So you can think of it like a program, right?

You execute this program, and then you give this program

a set amount of time.

But what if the shaman maybe dies?

What then?

Well, the program keeps on going.

So you're telling me this shaman, this conjurer,

could have created this spirit wolf, but he died before

the ritual was closed off, and this spirit wolf is trapped

on our plane, just wandering around?

I know it sounds crazy

and preposterous, but yeah, it's definitely possible.

If we wanted to encounter this force, this creature, what sort

of sites would you recommend we head to?

That would be absolutely the perfect place to try

and maybe connect with whatever is out there.

With Marco's insights howling in my ears,

I meet back with Phil,

and we make our way to a nearby farm.

Our contact, Virgil, has connected us with more

alleged werewolf eyewitnesses,

who just agreed to share their story.

-Bonjour. -Bienvenue.

-Merci. -Merci beaucoup.

Claire Lemaire lives

on this farm with her son, Ayhan.

For the past five years, they've been plagued

by terrifying encounters on their property.

Virgil has told us that

you've had several experiences here.

Ha! Oui.

There's one event in particular

that has left me terrified to go outside at night now.

It happened about six months ago.

I was walking my dogs near the edge of the forest,

and as I was coming back in, I turned and saw

a huge wolf-like creature.

But it was on two legs.

It had the head of a dog.

It was mostly white, but it had black spots,

and it had a mist or a cloud around it.

So I could not see a lot of detail.

Eventually, the beast moved between two buildings

and then vanished.

It was the scariest thing I've ever seen.

Have you been able to collect any evidence that

this thing is out there? -Oui.

Yes, what I have to show you is

disturbing, to say the least.

-Oh. -Oh my god.

-Oh my god. -Is that a horse?

It's a dead horse head.

And don't even ask me what did that.

I have no clue.

That looks like claw marks, tooth marks,

huge chunks taken out of this thing.

Where was this horse?

In the neighborhood, like 10 minutes away from us.

Are livestock attacks like this common?

Yes.

We have one more piece of evidence that I think is

the most significant, a video.

-You have a video? -A video?

You need to hear it.

Whoa.

Look, the chickens ran.

They were running from something.

-They heard that, too? -Mm-hmm, .

What was that noise?

I don't know.

Have you heard something like that before?

No, no.

No, and a wolf is not doing a sound like that.

The way the chickens reacted to that sound was not in any way

the way they would react to the sound of a car.

I mean, there is a road.

They know what that sounds like.

So why would they run away like that?

-What? -Yes.

-There are human sacrifice stones back there? -Oui.

I think it actually

may all be connected together.

If you go into the forest, be careful.

Please, .

Not only do Claire and Ayhan give us permission to

investigate their land for whatever may be terrifying them

and their livestock, they even offer up one of

their chickens to help us lure this potential beast back out.

This may be more difficult than I anticipated.

It's not gonna be easy.

Hi.

Hello.

Ugh.

OK, who wants to be part of a little experiment tonight?

Gah!

What are you laughing at?

OK.

OK. Got one.

Nice. That was good entertainment.

I promise you're coming back alive.

-OK. -Nice.

Whew.

All right, buddy, it's you and me tonight.

Fun's over. Let's get out there.

All right, Mr. Clucky. Let's go.

Let's find a good spot for you.

I feel like this has good visibility.

Close enough to the farm.

OK.

Close enough to the forest.

You stay here with Mr. Clucky.

I'll head into the trees. Let's stay on walkie.

If you see something, let me know.

Definitely. Be careful out there.

Got it.

Heather will be on the edge of the farm,

piloting our thermal drone, but she won't be alone.

She'll be joined by our new teammate, Mr. Clucky.

Hi, Mr. Clucky.

This chicken won't just be bait.

He'll also be our early warning system.

If he gets jumpy, there could be a beast nearby.

It's just me and you.

[Phil I'll be positioned on the edge of the forest

with some night vision binoculars,

scanning for anything with a pulse.

OK, Heather. I am in position.

Get that drone up.

Let's see what comes in.

Copy that.

Drone is up.

Mr. Clucky is still calm.

I've got the game caller loaded up with wolf calls.

Wolves can communicate across miles using howls.

So my hope is that if we send a howl sound out, using this,

maybe something will howl back.

OK Heather, got the game caller set.

I'm gonna see if anything out there wants to howl back.

Copy that. I got eyes on the sky.

OK, let me see if anything's responding.

Phil, I'm not seeing anything.

It didn't trigger anything.

OK.

It may take a moment, but I'm listening.

What?

What's going on?

Phil, whoa, I'm picking up something.

What?

I don't know what it is.

It's moving, but it's not getting closer.

Wait, how big, how big?

It looks sizable, and it's pacing.

It's moving due east, right now.

Can you tell how far out it is for me,

'cause I heard rustling.

100, 150 yards?

We got to go after this thing.

OK, meet me out here.

Copy that.

-Phil. - Where'd it go? I--

Did you see anything?

I saw nothing.

-We need to track it. -OK.

Let's look for eyeshine, see if anything could be

staring back at us. -Listen to these sticks.

You didn't hear anything as it was running away?

Nothing.

You know, Marco believes this thing isn't physical,

and you know what wouldn't make any noise at all?

Let me guess. A spirit wolf.

Yes.

I know it's crazy, but I think I want to use my SLS,

see if I can get any hits on it.

A spirit wolf on the SLS?

It'd be a first for me, but, hey.

OK, well, if infrared worked for you in the sky,

maybe it'll work for me down here.

I'm gonna get the FLIR out.

OK.

All right, we're searching

for wolves, spirit wolves,

and an ancient sacrificial stone.

-Let's get looking. -All right.

Anything?

Nothing.

Holy !

Oh, my god.

-Oh, my God. -Do you see that?

Wait, where'd it go?

It was right here, right in this direction.

-Yeah, we got to head that way. -OK.

Where did it go?

Wait, look at this.

The rocks.

I don't think that's natural.

I think that's man-made.

This, it does look like an old wall.

And it starts right down there.

Works its way...

It keeps going.

-Let's follow this. -Yes.

See where it takes us.

Oh, my God.

I think we found it, the ancient sacrificial stones.

From 1764 to 1767, it is claimed the Beast of Gévaudan

killed over 100 victims.

But not all the Beast's alleged attacks ended in death.

Stories of heroism emerged, like in the tale of

Jacques Portefaix.

In January 1765, 12-year-old Jacques was playing

with six other children when they were supposedly ambushed

by the creature.

Jacques organized the group into a defensive formation,

arming them with sticks.

Despite sustaining serious injuries, the kids apparently

fended off the beast and lived to tell their story.

News of their bravery reached King Louis XV,

who was so impressed that he arranged for each child

to receive a reward.

As their leader, Jacques received a full education,

personally paid for by the king.

Today, we all know getting a college scholarship is tough,

but hey, at least you didn't have to fight a werewolf.

If there is some kind of spirit wolf here, Marco gave

me a ritual that may allow me to communicate with it.

OK.

Phil helps me lay out our EMF tripwire at the base

of the rock formation while

I prep a Pagan ritual Marco taught me.

This ritual will, in theory, help me make

contact with this wolf creature if it is, in fact, supernatural.

-I pour some water into a chalice, and then sprinkle in

the herb hyssop, which ancient Pagans used for protection.

And lastly, our focus object.

-A carving of a wolf's head? -Correct.

We invite whatever spirit

to inhabit this wolf's head

to communicate with us.

We are here to communicate with you, to understand

what you are.

Did you hear that?

-Low rumble? -Yes.

I just saw a shadow right there.

Like a "whoosh."

We've got activity around us.

Were you sacrificed here?

Did you hear that again? It was over in that direction.

I just want to communicate.

Something's here.

Keep going.

Did you summon something here?

Something that is still here?

That was a howl.

That was a wolf. 100%.

It could be coming straight here.

Are you a spirit wolf?

Are you a werewolf?

Are you the Beast of Gévaudan?

That's two different wolves. One there, one over there.

That's close.

-Is that getting closer? -That is getting closer.

It really feels like this place is speaking to us.

I agree.

Marco taught me a way to close down this ritual,

to let whatever entity we've been communicating with move on.

OK, I'm happy for

whatever we're hearing around us to depart.

Yes, OK.

And I give you permission to depart.

I give you permission to depart.

-Phil. -What?

Look at this.

-They're all back to purple. -Yeah.

The tripwire is back to neutral.

I think whatever we were communicating with is gone.

It's moved on.

From the moment Heather concluded her ritual,

the howling never restarted.

And the woods surrounding them remained eerily quiet.

Had any nearby beasts been

driven off in search of other prey?

Or did Heather's Pagan ritual really do its part?

We conducted detailed audio analysis of the howls

they heard that night.

And while many did appear to match the gray wolf,

like those Phil encountered at the animal sanctuary,

curiously, there was this howl --

Which didn't clearly match with any known creature.

And there was more evidence to come.

I think I've got something.

-What? -Look at this.

The photos Phil took

of the paw prints at the ancient cave...

Looks like something was scraping here.

...were shown to a zoologist who confirmed they were indeed

wolf prints, but did say they were extremely large.

This must have been its way out.

Oh my god, look, look, look.

The first sample Phil collected in the same cave

was also intriguing.

Bizarre.

Genetic analysis indicated both wolf

and human DNA.

Phil believes the sample is simply a mix of wolf

and human hair.

Easy enough for it to blow together in the corner

of a cave.

So, has the Beast of Gévaudan been wreaking havoc in

the French countryside?

Although we've certainly uncovered plenty of evidence

of wolves,

transforming that into something more feels like

a little too much of a stretch.

So it's bad news for werewolf fans, but good news at least

for Heather's chicken companion, Mr. Clucky.

It seems he really will get to live out his days on the farm,

without having to worry every full moon.