She describes the Rougarou as "an important identification marker for South Louisiana's culture." A close friend of the family who was on . Legend says a group of albino dwarves isolated themselves from society in the woods just outside of New Orleans. The creature continued on as it reached a woody marsh area near a canal then disappeared. These Louisiana monsters claim they feel lethargic and drained if they dont get the proper serving size of blood in on the regular. He hides in tall grass near Grunch Road in New Orleans, LA, waiting to prey on teens who park there. Once the rougarou settled into southern Louisianas swampy shadows, it took on some aspects of local Native American cryptids, such as a legendary Choctaw shapeshifting owl-witch. There was also a story that was told to kids that if they didnt do what their parents asked, a loup-garou would come and steal them away in the middle of the night. It's got to be the Rougarou, the infamous werewolf of the bayou. For more information, visit the Rougarou Fest website, and don't forget to give them a follow on Facebook so you don't miss out on any announcements. The Rougarou at Cedar Point is one example of many as to how popular the folklore surrounding the beast truly is. With the head of a werewolf and the body of a man, the creature is said to prey on misbehaving children and dates back to medieval France. Where can you find a Rougarou? Whatever he saw had Mr. Nameless so unsettled that even from the safety of his truck was hesitant to pass where the creature had crossed. If you werent already aware, New Orleans has a prominent vampire subculture. The Rougarou life involves shapeshifting into its beast form every night, then being forced to transform back into a human at sunrise. Even today he refuses to let anyone see it.". All the cliches are therethey come out at night mostly. Dont believe us? The earliest report takes place in the swampy forest of Back Vacherie in 1891.An excerpt from Along The River Road, Past and Present on LouisianasHistoric Byway by Mary Ann Sternberg. After the officers spoke to the complainant they decided to do a search of the perimeter. You have permission to edit this article. Enjoy these allegedly. There are also stories of an enormous monster that also shares the bayou with the Rougarou and that is the Honey Island Swamp Monster, which is also known as Louisiana's "bigfoot of the swamp." Another telling of the story says that the Rougarou is under a 101-day curse, unless the affected person can transfer the curse to another human . An illegal moonshine distilling business once drove much of the area's economy, but competition could be shot down without any repercussions, according to the article. In 1989 this man was alone on top of the levee near Bayou Steel; He was waiting for his brother to meet him to go hunting behind the levee. Stories on its origin vary, but some say its a spirit while others claim its a child that was raised by alligators. It had a face like a man and the body of an animal, said Herman Broom. Described as looking like a sloth, the creature was covered in a light grey hair, had a small round head and a brown nose. In the article, we will attempt to answer these questions and more. The French actually have a similar story of the Loup-garou. Past participants have described the festival as fun, and until COVID it had managed to attract a decent crowd each year. Its rumored that Lutins can take any form, including cats (especially white ones), hobgoblins, elves, and other strange creatures. Other questions:subscriberservices@theadvocate.com. In a 2008 Fox News special,people claimed they'd seen the beast. Be careful, because Louisiana monsters are all over! This is similar to that of a traditional werewolf, however, unlike a werewolf, the Rougarou during the day appears weak, sickly, and vulnerable. For centuries, if you didnt follow Catholic traditions, such as observing Lent, or if you hunted on holy days, the rougarou would get you. A story in The Nicholls Worth, a local college paper, titled "Rougarou Remains Strong Figure in Cajun Folklore," recounts a story from a woman about an experience in her youth. It was still very much daylight when this happened but the only detail he could make out was that the creature was upright and a bipedal hominid, dark in color. A woman named Barbara Mullins discovered a supposedly unidentifiable carcass on the side of the road in 1996. Perrin's statement is quite obviously true due to the Rougarou's clear influence on local culture and beyond. This a great article!! In the legend, this beast is often described as having the body of a man and the head of a wolf or a dog and prowls Louisiana swamps looking for misbehaving children. They had no clue to what creature could make such a sound. The few folks that lay eyes on these creatures are simply catching an interloper just visiting. 9 Scariest Louisiana Monsters from Folklore, Legendary Monsters of Louisiana: Rougarou, Legendary Monsters of Louisiana: Cauchemar, Best Resistance Bands for Home Workouts in 2021. Could these sightings be and unknown species of hominid living for the most part, undetected in the southeast Louisiana wilderness? This beast first sighted in 1963 is reminiscent of the popular DC character known as Swamp Thing. The mud was too sloppy to retain any prints. The Rougarou: Southern Louisiana The legends of the rougarou, or loup-garou, have been passed down from generation to generation as long as Louisiana has been inhabited by modern man. They appear as fluorescent balls of light which loom over the marshlands of Louisiana. If youre familiar with Louisianas history, you know voodoo is part of it. We all have a notion that this world is a lot stranger than it seems on a surface level. I found a report from Civil War veteran Fredrick Kliebert who was walking home from a squirrel hunt when he saw what he described as a giant. In this version, the Rougarou would live life as a normal person until some event occurred that triggered their condition. The three adult men surveyed the area from the inside of the truck. At first he thought it was a bear that was under the house causing a commotion, but as he approached the creature stood up and ran off into the swamp. I believe that people are seeing these poor mangy bears instead of werewolves. A student attending St. Josephs seminary college had an experience that cannot be classified as a sighting, but rather and auditory experience. At this point, you are probably wondering just how the legend began. The Rougarou myth is even so prevalent that the term "rougarouing" or similar terms have become used to describe a person who stays up late or is active at night. When they were choosing the new name, one of the trademarks filed for was the name the New Orleans Rougarou. In one version, the beast hunts down and kills anyone who doesnt follow the rules of Lent. The cousins were ridding toward the creature when they spotted it walking on side of the road in their direction. The New Orleans Pelicans had originally thought about changing their names from the Hornets to the Rougarous at one point! ", This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google. Recently I saw a picture of a bear with severe mange which looked like how people describe werewolves and rougarous. In the same story from The Nicholls Worth, the author, Brandon Folse, heavily quotes Patricia Perrin, a retired English instructor and folklore specialist. HubPages is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. According to some other accounts, the process of transferring the curse involves the willingly human drawing the blood of the Rougarou. The neighbor then said he saw an 8 foot tall creature standing on two legs. If you have lived in Louisiana, there is a significant chance you have heard the lore of the Rougarou (also spelled as Rouxgaroux). In some cases, they are your loved ones coming to greet you and bring good fortune. The Bible tells us to test the spirit(s) to see if it (they) come from God. How did one Louisiana town's name get a bizarre pronunciation? Your email address will not be published. But first, lets dive into some of its histories. As the rougarou lunges forward he defends himself and cuts its arm, thus releasing the curse from that person and putting it onto [himself].. The rougarou is closely related to the European version of the werewolf but has a few very distinct differences from the wolfmen seen in movies and on television. When they reached the paved section of the driveway, PB noticed a dead 90 lb male Bobcat laying along the edge. Definitely a loup-garou. There was a significant belief in the beast by the populace that people were put on trial and found guilty of being the fabled beast. Thanks for sharing it with us! Remnants of history freckle the map, whether its old and potentially haunted buildings, abandoned theme parks or even museums with some very strange collections. The article contained a short anecdotal account of an unnamed Laplace man that in 1983 saw something correlates with what Mr. Nameless saw. The concepts surrounding the Rougarous supernatural abilities link it closely with traditional concepts of the mythical werewolf. Every weekday we compile our most wondrous stories and deliver them straight to you. Turns out voodoo is still in. The sounds grew faint as the creature traveled deeper into the woods until they faded completely. A 9ft tall man with a black beard and what appeared to be a cloak of brown fur hanging from his neck by a rope. The seminary student continued to stand still to observe further when the creature started to pace back in fourth just out of sight, beyond the tree line, all why still producing the strange whimpers. The story of the Rougarou (the Louisiana swamp monster) is not a new tale to anyone that lives or grew up in Louisiana. In the official report the officer filed he was honest, but kept the details to a minimum, it was a very tall dark figure, with no description of clothing. The creature was black, hairy, and walking upright on two legs. In this region; cities, towns, and neighborhoods tend to arise on the dry patches of earth that are surrounded by vast, thick, primordial swamp. According to the deputies, the Honey Island Swamp was a hellhole where criminals and monsters thrived. I remember he kept repeating something to the effect of look, Im not sure what I saw. At that time the only reference I had to Bigfoot was a few TV shows and a book I checked out a few times from my schools library. "I think it's fascinating,'' said Brettel. 1990-1992 (early 90s) St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana. What he told me next has stuck in my memory, and was the spark that lit the flame regarding personal interest I took in all things weird, and strange. Well, the rougarou of the Bayou country has a pretty strong link to the werewolf of ancient times in Europe and France. That festival is cool because it links folklore to current issues and things that people need to be aware of, Rabalais says. Louisiana has a Nightmare on Bourbon Street situation going on that some arent aware of. Stories of the rougarou in Louisiana derive largely from 16th-century French legends of a beast called loup garou, essentially a werewolf. No purchase necessary. The brave friend continued on to the car, opened the door and started to feel around in the dark for the purse in the passenger seat. There also exist more supernatural explanations for the origins of the Rougarou. Theres a howl in the near distance. This was a deep dense pine forest with rolling Knolls and the occasion small marsh(bayou). The history of the Rougarou is centuries-old and has many different origins, but the earliest mention of the infamous, mythical Louisiana werewolf comes from medieval France. Required fields are marked *. The Rougarou of the Bayou Louisiana is a fascinating place whose history is rich with legends from long ago. Or else you may find yourself prey to the legendary Rougarou. The Rougarou will see the 13 objects, try to count them, and be unable to count them all. To my surprise I got text response saying Im outside in my backyard if you want to come over, its not much of a story. I remember it was a brief encounter and not many details but my objective was to write down what he remembered from his perspective, rather than a second-hand accounting from my childhood perspective. It was also preached that French Catholics that broke the Lent seven years in a row would be hunted down and killed by the beast. But for decades, hes wondered about one of the swamp's fabled creatures the Honey Island Swamp Monster, a legendary 500-pound beast that some claim hides amid the cypress trees andmurky waters. Click the image below to read our free eBook "The Big Book of Credit Union MythsBUSTED! Will Seals' home was set afire and he was shot down while trying to escape the flames. Many rumors haunt this road, also known as LA-57. The creature ran two city blocks before absconding into the marsh. An estimated 15,000 people now attend Rougarou Festival, which still manages to provide a very genuine peek into a culture and a land unlike any other in the world. The monsters reputed locale, in the Honey Island Swamp, has an ominous and deadly history that precedes the legend. Rougarou Fest/Facebook. The tale of Rougarou originates from Southern Louisiana, and is often told to young children to prevent them from misbehaving. Subscribe to the Pelican State of Mind blog by providing your email below! According to Cajun folklore, the monster is said to inhabit the swamps and sugar cane fields around the Acadiana and Greater New Orleans regions. When the child saw the dog transform into a man, he dashed home to tell his family. Lurking in the woods and wetlands of southern Louisiana, according to Cajun legend, theres a ferocious monster that attacks the wayward and the wanderer. That's how I knew it wasnt a bear, another witness reported. Thank you! When many of the French migrated to Canada and the southern United States, they took the legend of the loup-garou with them. The Rougarou, Beast of the Louisiana Bayou, Gets a Makeover One man hopes to turn the wolfish cryptid into a mascot for saving the state's imperiled wetlands. The article reported the murder of a man killed because his whiskey was too good and too profitable. This sighting took place just north of the Manchac Swamp region, about a quarter mile away from Hwy. Thats no werewolf, though. Long, thin arm attached to a 6 to 7 foot frame. The only credibility I can give to these reports is that they ran in the paper. Rougarou Sightings According to a lady from Louisiana, a local child was being chased by a dog when he decided to cut it with his pocketknife. I grew up that way and you would hear about strange things.. The unfortunate person is under the spell for 101 days. While the officers were talking to the lady, a K-9 unit arrived on scene and when they began their search the dog alerted to something. Winner will be selected at random on 04/01/2023. Required fields are marked *. Two dead squirrels and a dead rabbit were found under the house where the creature had been rummaging. We can only hope Ruston, LA never decides to build a Grunch Road. Some Louisiana monsters are walking around in plain sight! Wow, this is most definitely going to be my art project gonna be difficult but I'll get it done. Well written and well documented. However, due to its incredibly poor math skills, the beast can only count to 12. Another well-known swamp monster born out of Cajun folklore is the Rougarou. The Giants body appeared to be covered with reddish hair. Sign up for our newsletter and enter to win the second edition of our book. We depend on ad revenue to craft and curate stories about the worlds hidden wonders. Werewolves have transformed, too, and not just into the Teen Wolf tv show and movie. About four weeks ago, PB and his 5-year-old daughter were walking along their long dirt driveway that leads to their home. 1989 St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana. Another telling of the story says that the Rougarou is under a 101-day curse, unless the affected person can transfer the curse to another human being. Heed our warning and be on the look out for cajun folklore monsters when youre roaming the wildest parts of the bayou state. Its true! We do have water spirits, such as Leviathan, a giant alligator spirit, who is actually mentioned in the Bible. Local stories say the Rougarou roams the streets at night, antagonizing people to attack it. If your keys go missing without explanation, it could be a Lutin! In an attempt to keep occupied and at home during these various phases of the Covid-19 pandemic, on a whim I decided to search out Louisiana based Bigfoot sightings. The Audobon Zoo in New Orleans has an exhibit dedicated to the Rougarou, which includes a statue of the creature itself. Feel free to email me at jsutherlin@onlyinyourstate.com. Curious Louisiana answers. The Rougarou has also been tied to the story of the Deridder Roadkill. Discover the secrets of Louisiana lifestyle and explore Ruston, home of the Peach Festival. He was only about 100 yards away when it crossed so a person would not of had time to get far enough to disappear into the swamp. The human animal sobbing sounds were also accompanied by the snapping of branches and the crackling of leaves that gave the impression of something large moving through the woods. Foret is now director of the South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center, a nonprofit that educates students, in the classroom and on field trips, about the challenges of sea level rise, climate change, and living in a coastal communityone still recovering from 2021s Hurricane Ida. Nope, not The GrinchThe Grunch. 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Both the officer and his partner got a good look at the creature when it passed under the streetlight. The Legend of the Louisiana Swamp Werewolf Known as the Rougarou, or sometimes as the Loup-Garou This Legend is said that the creature has prowled for hundreds of years in the swamps Show more. Audobon's website also has Rougarou t-shirts for sale. Curious Louisiana explains it's not all random. People who didnt have a lot of physical or social power in society found a way to survive through being clever., Even Louisianas infamous and very real alligators have undergone a rebranding. The short answer is oral tradition. The sounds stopped just before it would have broke the tree line and became visible. Usually theyd find someone in the woods or someone in the village who was just acting strange.. It was eventually through the Cajun French that the name Rougarou came to be. Bears can stand up and run on their hind legs, whereas, wolves cannot. The sound of human cries in the woods is a theme directly from faire lore. Curious Louisianaconnects readers with our newsroom's reporting. The report suggests that these two encounters took place in roughly the same area. Its fingernails are grisly claws. This will perplex it, and it will keep recounting until the sun comes up and it must flee. Such monster makeovers are common. He and his partner were a part of a unit in Jefferson Parish that were first responders to criminal calls, making this a most credible report. Address: Rougarou Fest, 7910 W Park Ave, Houma, LA 70364, USA. A quick browse and youll find many pictures of the Rougarou. This is why I always read terms and conditions. So normally I dont believe it till I see it but in this case I saw it before I even heard about it and now I totally believe it. Too afraid to move, he watched as a figure about 8 feet tall and hairy from head to toe passed slowly below him, eventually disappearing further into the woods. What is the Rougarou? Their property backs up to a vast cypress swamp. The story of the Rougarou supposedly changed once French immigrantsor possibly also French-Canadian immigrantscame to live in the area that is now Louisiana. For instance, instead of labourer, meaning to plow, sometimes youll hear Cajuns say rabourer. Local sanitation workers have supposedly reported seeing them raiding garbage cans or chasing trucks. "Reporting a sighting of Bigfoot, Sasquatch and even the Honey Island Swamp Monster does not get you labeled a crazy person anymore, and therefore, those who believe eyewitnesses are not labeled crazy either," said Dana Holyfield, granddaughter of Harlan Ford a man often credited with having the first recorded encounter with the purported swamp monster. Official Blog of Pelican State Credit Union. There she saw standing next to a tree 25 feet away a creature that she described as being extremely tall and white. In an interview conducted by Carter Buschardt, the officer stated that he went back to look at the end of shift report he filed the night of the encounter, but was unable to find the report. OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. Sometimes I mix all of these subjects together. It was getting late so I was heading back to my dads house for the evening. The Rougarou is an important figure in Cajun legends. He sees it as an example of the way cryptids evolve alongside the cultures that created them. Despite your personal beliefs in the supernatural, these legends abound and continue to be told in the cajun lands to this day. Witches?Witch doctors! For instance, there is a legend that says placing 13 pennies at entrances you wish to protect is the way to go. Stories of cajun folklore monsters have been passed down for decadescenturies even. It sounds like a wolf, but somethings a little off. The beast is also a hit in pop culture here in Louisiana. Its too late to turn back! He checked out the deer kept driving and turned around at the lake headed back towards Hwy. The bright lights of the stars flicker in the murky licks of the waves near the towering, ominous Cypress trees. Despite the fact that it was originally a legend, there are still claimed sightings of the Rougarou to this day, though it has died off a bit in the past decade. The man heard a noise behind him; he turned around and witnessed two large, red eyes staring back at him. The Caribbean island nation of Haiti, already steeped in the dark lore of zombies and voodoo magic, also has its own version of the infamous werewolf, which they call the je-rouges, or "red eyes." It is also referred to it as the French loup-garou and by the Creole word lougarou. Thank you! Near Avenue A around 9pm, He arrived at the scene and spoke to the lady that called it in. Back in the day of armor, swords and jousting, there was a lot more to fear than the plague and witches. No one agrees what it looks like because they dont really have wolves in this part of our country, says Nathan J. Rabalais, author of Folklore Figures of French and Creole Louisiana. Loup is French for Wolf, and Garou refers to a man that transforms into an animal. I am a journalist from Louisiana who has always been fascinated by folk lore and its cultural impact. Generations of youngsters have heard the scary tales. The source of storms and an (occasional) kidnapper, the massive ancient beast has inspired muscle cars and jet fighters. Makes that morning commute not seem so bad, right? I got more specific with my search terms and soon stumbled upon something that reignited the idea of a creature like Bigfoot existing in our parts. Mr. Nameless admitted that he did not want to slow down to get a good look. 2023 Atlas Obscura. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. It was late in the evening when Mr. Nameless flagged me down. Is there a Louisiana werewolf? The Rougarou is also thought to be nothing more than a bogeyman story to scare children or Catholics into obedience. Stumbling upon the LObservateur article reignited my borderline obsessive interest in these types of creature sightings. Honey Island Swamp Monster But as someone who lives in Louisiana and knows many Catholics who break Lent, I'm not so sure about this myth's validity. The creature stood upright on two legs. I realized that parts of our folklore and our oral traditions were getting lost, he says. A woman reports that several nights before the actual sighting there was something rummaging around underneath ther house. She says a local boy was being followed by a dog when he decided to cut it with his pocketknife. Proud foodie. Mr. Nameless wasnt sure what he saw, but I was convinced. That kind of transformation happens and I suspect that whats going on with this festival., But unlike sexy vampires or friendly alligators, Forets rougarou has been reimagined to champion a specific cause: protecting its habitat, which in turn will protect our own. The friend forgot her purse in the car. Is one of these crafty cryptids on display in a small museum? Like the childhood game of telephone, the story morphs over the years as it gets passed down from generation to generation. Childrens authors have started using alligators as characters. They described it as a cross between a whimpering dog and human crying. What he described to me, in my mind was a Bigfoot sighing. Some have claimed it to be the body of a Rougarou, though others have speculated it might be a Chupacabra or Devil Monkey. And speaking of scaring Catholics, one French Catholic myth claims that in order for someone to turn into a Rougarou, they must break Lent seven years in a row. About half way back to the railroad crossing, 100 yards up the road. Apparently that was a thing they did back then. Since the dawn of time, people have been telling stories. The story was born in France in medieval times, when they actually believed in werewolves. Personally, Id never hear about something terrible and say, Yep, thats definitely the work of a werewolf. However embracing legends, customs and tradition is the very foundation of culture. The student waited 5 more minutes to see if the sounds would return but the encounter was over. http://www.gcbro.com/LAassumption03-12-2016.html, http://www.gcbro.com/LAlivingston0001.html, http://www.gcbro.com/LAsttammany0004.html. Full report can be found on bfro.net Report # 56107. Before we get too far into an explanation let's first say it correctly, the proper pronunciation is, "Roo-Ga-Roo.". Bobby Brettel grew up in New Orleans, nearly 40 miles away from the moss-tangled bayous of eastern St. Tammany Parish's Honey Island Swamp. Get more stories delivered right to your email. Have you been told a different story about the Rougarou? Their full transformation into their Rougarou form would be completed once they had their first bite of human flesh. All rights reserved. The monster has its own Wikipedia pageand has been the source of numerous news stories and documentaries. In these times, many crimes were blamed on the beast, ranging from theft to kidnapping of children.