The Rougarou
The Rougarou is a common legend among French Louisiana. This terrifying cryptid is known as Louisiana’s werewolf – it has sharp teeth, a furry body, and transforms from being a human.
But, is this beast believable? Listen now to find out.
What would you do if were bitten by a monster?
Does the swamp send a cold chill up your spine?
Is there a curse that haunts the people of the bayou?
What’s up, Bizarros?! This week we are diving into a werewolf legend, The Rougarou!
What Is A Rougarou?
The rougarou is usually described as a mythological creature with a human body and the head of a wolf or dog.
Some curse has taken over from the bayou, and the legends of the Rougarou have been long told. No one is quite sure about how the curse is spread, either bites, blood magic, or just an evil look.
History Of The Rougarou
It’s impossible to talk about such a cultural mesh as the rougarou without talking about the history of Louisiana.
The French settled the area in the 17th and 18th centuries. The various indigenous people of the area allied and rallied to fight against the Europeans.
The land was eventually for sale to American settlers in the 18 hundreds. By the 1900s, most of the indigenous people we forced to leave the area.
The southern state went through many changes of occupation, but ultimately, it kept a lot of its French origin. And the French folklore came along with it, including its version of the werewolf.
What Are The Features Of A Rougarou?
Typically the Rougarou, like all werewolves, are human most of the time, but usually, some kind of astrological signal makes them shift into a monster.
The Rougarou is described as a giant humanoid-shaped beast. Estimated at about 10 feet in height, covered in dark or white fur, having glowing red eyes and large fangs.
There is also the more supernatural side that could relate to the theory about the big foot.
The creature is almost spectacular. It’s said to possibly glow at night; it can become immaterial or disappear at will.
Classic Encounters With A Rougarou
From the Nichols Worth website
One account of a lady from Lockport, taken from “Werewolves on Bayou Lafourche,” written by Jean Sarrazin, Laura Kraus, and Donald Krintzman, tells of a somewhat personal experience with the rougarou.
“There were ten children in the family, and all of them were up crying that night.
I didn’t get up for some reason, but a year or so later, one of the brothers killed himself.
This boy was always ‘vayaying’ (veiller, to stay up at night) or hanging around with the other boys at night.
One night he was walking home (he was always the last to leave) when he noticed a little white dog following him, snapping at his heels.
He took out his pocket knife and cut the dog on its right foot. A loup-garou is a man who sells his soul to the devil and assumes the body of an animal. He can’t be released until he is cut.
The boy wasn’t supposed to tell what had happened for a year and a day after he had seen the white dog turn into a man, but after it happened, he ran home and told his family.
The next day a prominent physician appeared in town with his right arm cut and in a sling. (The dog resumes his human form in a day.) I remember when the physician shot himself here in Lockport.
A year later, the boy killed himself and left a letter that the family turned over to the sheriff. Even today, he refuses to let anyone see it.”
How To Fend Off A Rougarou
There is undoubtedly a connection between old folklore and counting. We have not necessarily explored that connection yet, but this is definitely our first into many creatures that suffer from the semi-OCD trait.
This is said to be an old way to ward off vampires and other creatures, but it’s said that if you lay out 13 objects, the Rougarou will be stopped in their tracks.
They seem to be almost mystified by the number. It’s said that, for some reason, they can’t really get past 12 because of midnight.
There are also two other ways to fend off the beast. The first is using the strange fear the Rougarou has of frogs.
It’s also said that if the Rougarou is touched by salt, it will burst into flames.
So that’s the best way to fight against the Rougarou, but what if you become one? What do you do?
Some cases say that the only way to transfer the course is through the exchange of blood. Either biting or sucking blood.
Some say it’s as easy to spread the curse as to simply make eye contact. And the way to break the curse is to simply be quiet about it.
A story from the mystery universe goes like this “One piece of folklore related to this involves a young newlywed wife who is waiting for her husband at the edge of the swamp on the night of a full moon.
The woman is then confronted with a massive, wolf-like creature that locks its gaze with hers before stalking off into the night.
The woman, knowing she has been infected with the foul beast’s curse, subsequently locks herself within a shed every night of the full moon, a fact which is not noticed by her new husband as he often works late into the night.
After the year and a day have passed, the cured woman, who has remained silent about the encounter, is asked by her husband if she has ever waited for him by the edge of the swamp in the moonlight.
The wife lies and says she hasn’t, after which the husband admits that he was, in fact, the creature she had seen and been cursed by and that her silence on the matter had saved them both.”
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My Encounter With a Rougarou “aka Louisiana Werewolf”
So this happened to me a few years ago, I was visiting a friend’s house in the Houston River area, that section of the river is pretty swampy so we were frog hunting at night.
It was a full moon so it made spotting the Bullfrogs easier “super tasty btw”, anyway we’re wondering down by the river bank when we heard sound.
All went quiet, not even the crickets chirped, we heard dozens of frogs dive into the water, we knew then that something was very wrong.
Then came a distant growl, like something evil, from the other side of the river, we killed our Q-beams “Spotlight” and watched in the direction of the sound.
What I saw chilled me to the bone, it was like a massive wolf with patchy black fur, yet no visible skin on its head, only a skull with empty eyes.
It appeared to be locked onto other prey, so we shut our lights off and watched for a moment, looking back it was really stupid to not flee right then.
It ran back into the woods and started running down the river, we decided to dip out and get as far away as possible.
EDIT: Because I can’t reply to DM’s that often, any Youtube channel or Podcaster who wants to use my story is herby allowed, however this story must be unmodified and read “Word for Word”.
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The Rougarou Knocked Back
I’m really surprised that I haven’t read any rougarou stories on here. If anyone has any or can point me in the direction of one, please send them my way! I have 2. One is my own personal story. The other is my stepdad’s. Also, I’m not the best storyteller, so I apologize in advance.
To preface, the rougarou is a *supposedly* mythical creature who seeks out misbehaving children and/or Catholics who fail to follow the rules of Lent.
Both happened in South Louisiana, down the bayou and in the woods.
My story:
It gets very hot down here during the summer. So, to cool off, many of the residents in my town like to enjoy a boat ride down the river for swimming/fishing/tubing at various sand bars.
My favorite sandbar was about a 7-10 minute boat ride with maybe 30 feet of sand between the river and the woods/swamp. My sister, my mom, my stepdad, and myself loaded up in my boat and cruised to the sandbar for a late afternoon catfishing trip. It usually slaps full of boats and people, but it was just us.
As the sun is going down, my stepdad is telling his bayou stories and claims he can “summon” the rougarou. Out of curiosity, my sister and I give him the go-ahead (we were both in our 20s btw).
He takes a piece of driftwood in each hand and knocks them together twice, making loud, echoing noises. A few seconds go by, and maybe 100 feet into the woods, something is knocked back.
We noped out of there real quick! I don’t think I’ve ever loaded the boat so quickly before. Never tried to knock for the rougarou again, either.
Stepdad’s Story:
Maybe 10 years ago, he was night fishing and set out some juglines with one of his buddies. While they waited in the dark for the fish to start nibbling on their bait, they start telling their bayou stories.
The particular bayou they stopped to wait in wasn’t wide at all, maybe 25 feet, with woods/swamps on either side.
So, stepdad tells his buddy that if he hollers for the rougarou, the rougarou will holler back. Stepdad then lets out a “RAHHHHHHH”. As soon as he finished his call, maybe 10 feet into the woods, the loudest “RAHHHHH” came right back at him. He and his buddy left that bayou so quickly.
They went back to the camp and didn’t retrieve their jug lines until the following morning. Because of the proximity of the call, the loudness, and the sheer spook factor, stepdad still refuses to go down that particular bayou.
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My Possible Encounter With A Rougarou.
I’m from south Louisiana, and my grandma lived in a little shack in the bayou. One evening when I was 10, she was watching me.
My cousin walks over from his house a few miles down the road, and he is 20. We are all chatting and have the door open, but the screen door is shut.
He said that when he was walking over, he saw a big black dog. He joked and said it was a Rougarou.
My granny jumps up and screams “fram la pot” in Cajun French, that means to shut the door.
Sorry if I misspelled the phrase; I don’t speak Cajun French like my granny and Dad; I can only understand some phrases.
My cousin slams the door and asked her what was wrong. She said we never speak that name.
Fast forward 15 years. I’m now 25 and live in Texas. Every year I go and visit my parents for Thanksgiving.
My mom and dad live in a house with my 2 younger brothers in Madisonville, Louisiana. Their house is in the woods by Lake Pontchartrain.
Recently my dad has gotten into fitness and goes on night runs. One night I went with him. We were running by the lake when I saw a big black dog.
I joke and say, “look, a Rougarou!” I was thinking back to my experience with my cousin and the big black dog.
My dad freezes and tells me to turn around now. We book it back home. When we got home, I asked him why he was so scared; it was just a dog. He told me to be quiet, locked the doors, and went to bed.
I wake up at 1 am and decide to go outside to smoke. My parents have a screened-in pool; their house backs up to the woods. I go and sit by the pool and start smoking when I hear it.
Branches cracking like something is walking through the woods. I stand up and turn the flashlight on my phone.
I don’t see anything, and I’m assuming it’s a deer. Then I see this black dog. I walk to the screen door that leads from the pool to the backyard, and I saw 2 eyes staring at me from the woods.
It looks like a human because of its height. Which was weird because I just saw a dog.
I call out “hello,” no response. I start backing away toward the house, and the thing starts to advance toward me. I book it inside and lock the door.
The next day I tell my mom, and she gets upset. “Well, your dad told me you said its name, so what did you expect” I look at her and say, “What Rougarou?”
He throws down the dishes she’s doing and says, “finish these”. So I do, and the week progresses, and there are no other incidents.
I had no idea that my family was so superstitious. But I’ve yet to speak the name “rougarou” around my family since that occasion. Idk if that’s what I saw, but I believe my parents think that.
Is The Rougarou Real?
What do you think, Bizarros?
Is this werewolf-like creature stalking the Louisiana Bayou?
Is there a mysterious creature roaming the creepy swamps of the South?
Or is this swamp monster just French Folklore?