Rougarou

**Hannah Benoit**

**The Rougarou**

**Summary**:

          The Rougarou is a Louisiana swamp monster most people describe it with a body of a man and a head of a dog or wolf. Most stories of The Rougarou claim that this beast prowls the Louisiana swamps looking for young children that have been misbehaving. People also say that The Rougarou stories most likely came from European stories that Cajun people took with them when they moved to Louisiana. People also believed that The Rougarou only prowls the Louisiana swamps on full moon, which is only once a month. The Rougarou is the monster of Cajun folklore. They say that the monster is actually a normal man that just transforms into a monster during the full moon every month. The monster also is not entirely clear, meaning that no one has ever actually seen the monster transform from man to monster.

**History**

People say that if you grew up down the bayou, it is most likely that your mom or dad probably have told you many times that if you are bad or misbehaving that the Rougarou would come and take you, for your punishment. “The word “Rougarou” represents an alternate pronunciation and spelling of the original French “loup-garou.”” No one has ever wanted to take the chance of being or misbehaved because no one knows what the Rougarou would do to you. Legends has it that he first originated from those French-Canadian immigrants in the late 1700’s. Many people have very lighthearted tales that are no where’s near the legend stories. The monster only comes out at night, even thought that the swamp and bayous of Louisiana are the most beautiful scenery in the country they still have some of the creepiest monsters.

**Encounters**

One of the most found story about an encounter with the Rougarou is “The Married Couple and the Rougarou” this is the story “Another spooky tale of the Rougarou involves a married couple. The wife wandered into the woods and locked eyes with the Rougarou. This way, his spell was broken, making him able to turn back into human form. She knew that if she told her husband what happened, she may remain under the Rougarou's spell forever, so she was forced to keep her secret for 101 days. After that point, her spell was lifted.” It weird to think that if you have the Rougarou spell its only for 100 days and that final 1 day is like a free day. Meaning that if you make it those 101 days the spell will no longer affect you but if you tell anyone then you would be stuck with the spell forever.

**Adaptations**

The Rougarou does not have many adaptations. One thing someone may find is the Rougarou only turns on a full moon. The Rougarou is just a normal human during the day. But once a month on the full moon the human turns into half human half werewolf. He also only comes out at night. Once the Rougarou migrated from France he started to adjust to the new culture. Meaning that he had to find new people to look for. One of the many people he targeted was Catholics. Mainly the ones who did not follow the rules of Lent. The rules of lent are ages 18-59 in good health are too fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, ages 14-17 are to not eat meat on Friday, and the younger ages are to be taught the meaning of lent. Another thing is that you can protect yourself from the Rougarou if you place 13 small objects by all your doors.

**Citations**

writing, Frank KernerLover of. “History of the Rougarou: Louisiana's Werewolf.” *Pelican State       of Mind*, 18 Oct. 2021, https://pelicanstateofmind.com/louisiana-love/history-rougarou-louisiana-werewolf/.

“Save the Swamp: But, Beware the ‘Rougarou’ • The National Wildlife Federation Blog.” *The National Wildlife Federation Blog*, 29 Oct. 2019, https://blog.nwf.org/2019/10/save-the-swamp-but-beware-the-rougarou/#:~:text=The%20rougarou%20(or%20loup%2Dgarou,swamps%20looking%20for%20misbehaving%20children.

Kamenetz, Kezia. “4 Tales of Louisiana's Rougarou That Will Send Chills down Your Spine.” *OnlyInYourState®*, 28 Sept. 2016, https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/louisiana/x-tales-of-the-rougarou-that-will-put-chills-down-your-spine/.

Ann, Jackie. “The Legends of the Rougarou in Louisiana May Send Chills Down Your Spine.” *OnlyInYourState®*, 28 Dec. 2021, https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/louisiana/legends-of-the-rougarou-la/.

“About the Rougarou.” *Rougarou Fest*, 4 Jan. 2022, https://rougaroufest.org/about-the-rougarou/.

writing, Frank KernerLover of. “History of the Rougarou: Louisiana's Werewolf.” *Pelican State of Mind*, 18 Oct. 2021, https://pelicanstateofmind.com/louisiana-love/history-rougarou-louisiana-werewolf/.