In Search of the Beast of Gévaudan: Following the Trail of France’s Real-Life Monster
Overview
What terrorized the French countryside between 1764 and 1767, killing more than 100 people and drawing the attention of King Louis XV?
On Tuesday, October 20, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Katherine Gividen will present “In Search of the Beast of Gévaudan: Following the Trail of France’s Real-Life Monster” at the Main Library at Goodwood in Baton Rouge.
The Beast of Gévaudan remains one of history’s most enduring wildlife mysteries. Was it a wolf, a hyena, a young male lion, or something else entirely? The program will explore the attacks, the massive hunts organized to stop the Beast, contemporary eyewitness descriptions and engravings, the theories that emerged, and the role the story played in 18th-century France.
Gividen will also share photographs and stories from her own trip to France, where she traveled through the former Gévaudan region and visited many of the locations connected to the Beast, including Saugues, Auvers, La Besseyre-Saint-Mary, and Le Puy-en-Velay.
The program is free and open to the public.
Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Time: 6:00–8:00 p.m.
Location: Main Library at Goodwood, Baton Rouge
Program: In Search of the Beast of Gévaudan: Following the Trail of France’s Real-Life Monster
