Reflections on The Real Wolfman
by admin on Nov.12, 2009, under Uncategorized
First, I would like to thank everyone for the kind words and positive feedback that I have received regarding The Real Wolfman, which aired on the History Channel during the week of Halloween. Overall, I think the producers did a nice job addressing lycanthropy and I feel honored to have been involved with such an enduring mystery. Now that I have had time to sit back and digest the show’s impact, I’d like reveal some of the research that did not make the final edit. I regret that the episode did not include our investigation of Victor, the wild boy of Aveyron, a French, feral child who was discovered living in the woods during 1797. Victor’s behavior was reportedly animalistic to say the least. Could some werewolves have been savage, wild humans? Also, I don’t recall if the show truly broached the topic of ergot, which is a grain fungus that can cause hallucinations and other psychosis. There have apparently been entire towns that have succumb to its mind altering symptoms, due to eating infected bread. Could the Beast simply have been a mass hallucination? In addition, there was a torture museum in Marvejols that Duke and I visited. There on display for all to see, were the implements of torture that the inquistion employed in past centuries, in order to keep the masses in line; sound reinforcement that the church’s witch hunts may have had a hand in the ensuing werewolf panic. Also, I regret that the show did not include my visit with French cryptozoologist Jeanne-Jacques Barloy, who was the first investigator to use computers, in order to build a cumulative model of the Beast of Gevaudan. The brilliant Barloy is quite a character and had some memorable moments! Ultimately, I confess that I am still not 100% convinced about the guilt of Jeanne Chastel. I mean, why didn’t anyone ever notice the hyena in Chastel’s care, with so much reward money being offered… and where did a poor, outcast like Chastel acquire a rare animal in the first place? With so many eyewitnesses to the Beast, why didn’t anyone report Chastel prowling the area? I feel a more likely scenario is that there was an escaped hyena running around loose at the time attacking people and also a serial killer who took advantage of the situation. Maybe it was Jeanne Chastel, maybe it wasn’t. The rulership of the time more than likely took advantage as well, in order to scare the legions into submission. Chastel, an excellent hunter, shot the creature and probably embellished the event for selfish reasons. In retrospect, the Beast was the result of composite identity.
250 years later, the Beast of Gevaudan is still a world class mystery
November 13th, 2009 on 7:57 am
The wild child angle, I’ll admit, is something I’d never thought of. And then you have the guys like Jean Grenier, who actually did admit to be a werewolf. Although people would probably confess to almost anything to get the lovely medieval tortures to stop.
From the cryptozoological angle, there were a lot of other “Beasts” at the time too. The Beast of Benais, Beast of Sarlat, etc. There was a pair of wolves killed at Perigord, nearer to Paris, that supposedly had an unusual dentition.
November 13th, 2009 on 7:07 pm
Ken,
After watching the show, which I found very entertaining, I had a couple of questions.
1. In the early part of the show it was mentioned that some of the victims were sexually assaulted. With what you guys found, and somewhat concluded, that aspect was never addressed. I am assuming that George suspects it to be Jeanne Chastel. Did you guys come to any conclusions on that?
2. Early on you guys were presented with a casting of a footprint from the beast, I was wondering if you guys ever compared that casting the the long haired hyena you saw at the museum?
Other than that I felt you guys did a very thorough investigation. I really liked what both of you brought to the table.
Thank you,
Jason
November 14th, 2009 on 11:40 pm
Some excellent comments/perspectives! Jason – As far as we know, the number of victims who were allegedly sexually assaulted were very few in number. Some victims were found undressed, with their clothing nearby… probably the best evidence of human involvement with at least some of the murders. With regards to the track casting, Soulier’s print definitely appeared to be that of an enormous wolf or dog to my eyes. Hyenas are obviously in a different family than canines, so their prints look quite different… their toes are closer together. Andrew – One area that I wish the show had explored more was my feeling, as a cryptozoologist that the Beast may have been a prehistoric survivor, such as a cave hyena (which were once native to Europe) or perhaps even something more ancient, like a Hemicyon (primitive carnivore with wolf-like qualities).
December 10th, 2009 on 5:35 pm
I was curious as to why the silver bullet test
was performed with a lever action rifle and not
a Muzzle loader. The proclamation of the steel
bullet expanding while the silver stayed relatively
the same shape may not really reflect well since
the weapon used was a low powered musket. I doubt
the steel ball would have done much more damage
when fired than a silver one.
February 14th, 2010 on 8:43 pm
Ken,
I was very interested in the program and how a you were joined with a criminologist,it added a great perspective from someone who was not as open to the study of cryptozoology.I did have a question about the possibility of another canine breed other than wolves at that time.Did you consider this? At that time in Europe there were many large breed dogs(greater than 100+ pounds)that were used and trained by hunters and farmers.Many breeds such as Mastiffs,Great Danes(which looked like the picture on your computer,the one with the long neck and pointed ears,that you used to map features and came up with a Hyena)and Hounds, were common then.It is also interesting to note that back then those breeds were long haired and looked nothing like their present day counterparts.That is because they have changed over the last 200 years though breeding.Even breeds like the Malamute which look remarkably like a wolf,sometimes even larger, were traded and used in the colder regions of Europe and Russia.
The paw cast that was made buy the priest looked canine and could have been made by such breeds.I do believe however that there was a human and canine team working to terrorize and capitalize on the fears at that time.
February 17th, 2010 on 10:44 am
In werewolf folklore, like vampires, they are known to have an animlistic allure. Perhaps this what attracted her to him once he was bitten.
March 7th, 2010 on 10:12 am
I have some problems with the so-called experts on the ballistic test. The claimed caliber of the test weapon was a .44- but the weapon appears to be a 45-70 lever action rifle extremely similar to the Marlin 1895. This weapon is NOT anywhere near the type of weapon used by Jean Chastel.
The claim that the accuracy test showed silver bullets are less accurate because the silver is harder than lead and the rifling has less of an effect on silver bullets falls down when the actual weapon used was a musket- a weapon that has a smooth bore! A musket ball made out of silver would likely be just as accurate as a lead ball fired from the same weapon.
The actual accuracy test was flawed as well. They never eliminated the human factor- they needed to bolt the weapon down after sighting in and use an electonic device for firing, something the MythBusters do on a regular basis.
George Deucher is an expert criminologist? Not bloody likely if he thinks his ballistic test is valid; any half-drunk lawyer could blow that one away in court- my 10 year old actually brought up these questions on the test independently!