The Terrifying Account of Pierre Burgot and Michel Verdun
In December 1521, General Boyne heard of a horrifying case involving two suspects, Pierre Burgot and Michel Verdun, who were accused of witchcraft and cannibalism. During the interrogation, Pierre quickly confessed to his crimes. His chilling testimony was as follows:
Nineteen years prior, on New Year's Eve, a ferocious storm swept across the land, scattering Pierre’s flock. “It seemed,” Pierre recalled, “that all my year’s labor had been for naught. To salvage what I could, I, with the help of some friends, set out to gather the sheep that had fled.”
“While searching, I encountered three men clad in black, one of whom asked, ‘What troubles you? You seem distressed.’” Pierre explained his misfortune, and the man encouraged him to persevere. He promised that his master would protect Pierre’s flock in the future if Pierre agreed to his terms. He also assured Pierre of financial reward and vowed to help recover his sheep. They arranged to meet again in four or five days. Miraculously, Pierre found his flock reassembled. At their second meeting, the black-clad man revealed himself as a servant of the Devil. Pierre renounced God and heaven, severing all ties with Christ. He kissed the man’s left hand, which felt icy, like the hand of a corpse, and swore fealty to Satan. Thus began his two-year servitude. Under his new master, later identified as Moschet, Pierre refrained from attending Mass, touching holy water, or entering a church.
“From that point on, I no longer worried about my flock, for my master ensured their safety, protecting them from wolves,” Pierre admitted. However, he eventually grew weary of this life and secretly returned to church services. Michel Verdun, another servant of Satan, dragged him back into the fold with promises of wealth, and Pierre once again pledged allegiance to the Devil.
“Not long after,” Pierre continued, “we went on an outing. In the woods near the Château de Channon, we encountered strangers. Together, we sang and danced, each wearing a green ribbon edged in blue. Michel ordered me to strip and smeared an ointment over my body. To my astonishment, I transformed into a wolf. Seeing my four clawed paws and fur-covered body, I gasped in horror but soon realized I could move with incredible speed, as if carried by the wind. Michel, too, applied the ointment, and after two hours, we regained our human forms. Michel later explained that the ointments had been provided by our respective masters—Moschet for me and Gullemain for him.”
When asked if he felt fatigued after these transformations, Pierre claimed he did not, though many shapeshifters reportedly experienced days of incapacitating exhaustion following such episodes. Pierre recounted an encounter with a six- or seven-year-old boy. As a wolf, he attacked the child, intending to devour him, but the boy’s screams forced Pierre to revert to human form and flee. On another occasion, Pierre and Michel captured an old woman picking beans and tore her apart, consuming her remains.
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Pierre also confessed to seizing a four-year-old girl, leaving only one arm uneaten. One night, in human form, Pierre leapt into a garden and found a nine-year-old girl clipping grass. She knelt and begged for mercy, but Pierre ignored her pleas, breaking her neck with one blow and discarding her body in the bushes.
Unlike Michel, who retained his clothes during transformations, Pierre insisted on stripping completely before applying the ointment, though he could not explain his preference. Michel corroborated Pierre’s testimony, confirming the veracity of his account.
THE HUNT FOR WEREWOLVES IN DOLE
In late autumn of 1573, farmers in the northern French province of Dole were authorized by the government to hunt the werewolves terrorizing their villages. The decree read:
"Reports indicate that werewolves frequently appear in Espagné, Salvan, and neighboring areas, attacking the countryside and endangering lives. To eradicate this menace, the government hereby permits citizens to pursue and kill werewolves by any means necessary. No legal liability will befall those who harm these creatures during such pursuits. September 13, 1573."
Shortly after the proclamation, villagers captured their most feared werewolf. Near a grove in Armanges stood a ramshackle house, covered in moss and surrounded by a dilapidated fence. Far removed from the main road, it was home to a reclusive couple—Garnier and his wife, Apolline. Garnier, nicknamed Saint Bonnot the Hermit, was gaunt, pale, and stooped, with sunken eyes and a long gray beard. Rarely seen outside, he had no known friends. Few suspected him of being a werewolf.
One evening, farmers heard a child’s screams and rushed toward the source, where they saw a gray wolf attacking a little girl. The wolf fled as they approached. Some claimed it was merely a wolf, while others swore its features resembled Garnier’s. Days later, Garnier was apprehended after the disappearance of a boy last seen near Dole at dusk. Witnesses accused Garnier of murdering and eating children, dragging their remains into the woods to share with his wife.
On December 14, farmers captured Garnier mid-attack on a child. Under interrogation, he confessed to numerous murders and acts of cannibalism, including the gruesome consumption of a ten-year-old boy. He was convicted and burned alive in the town square.
Curiously, Garnier not only believed in his transformation into a wolf but vividly recounted his crimes.
THE TALE OF PONETTE GALON
Among werewolf legends, the tale of Ponette Galon stands out. A poor girl who believed herself a she-wolf, Ponette crawled on all fours through the fields. One day, overcome by wolfish instincts, she attacked two children picking strawberries. Pinning one girl to the ground, she prepared to bite her neck when the other child, a four-year-old boy, drew a small knife and rushed to defend his companion. Ponette disarmed him and fatally stabbed him in the throat.