Jean Chastel

Stele erected in July 1995 in honour of Jean Chastel in the village of La Besseyre-Saint-Mary. Sculpture by Philippe Kaeppelin.

Jean Chastel (31 March 1708 – 1790) was a farmer and inn-keeper from the province of Gévaudan in France, noted for killing the Beast of Gévaudan on 19 June 1767[1] at Mont Mouchet.

Depictions in fiction[edit]

Chastel appeared as a character in the Brotherhood of the Wolf film.

Chastel is also a werewolf in Patricia Briggs' novel Hunting Ground. In this, he is both the Beast of Gévaudan and Jean Chastel. The werewolf known as Jean Chastel, after being threatened by the Marrok, stops hunting humans openly, and takes credit for the death of The Beast. Chastel continues to hunt humans, specifically women and children, but is more subtle.

In the 2016 novel Loup-Garou: The Beast of Harmony Falls by David Reuben Aslin, Chastel appears as a werewolf who terrorizes the local population.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Canepa, Nancy L. (1997). Out of the Woods: The Origins of the Literary Fairy Tale in Italy and France. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-2687-0.