La Bête du Gévaudan

Within the Teen Wolf Universe, The Beast of Gévaudan is described as “History’s most vicious, most famous werewolf.”

Origin and History
According to Valack, the Beast was originally a human in the late 1700s, the time of the original Gevaudan attacks.

It is unclear if the man Valack describes is Teen Wolf's version of the Demon Tailor. Scott found a written reference to this real world serial killer. He lured children into his shop in Paris where he would kill them, boil them and eat them. The court ordered that all records of the case be destroyed (Damnatio Memoriae). The case Scott cites happened in 1598 but he and Stiles link this story to the beast as well.

Once the man became beast, there were a number of very different descriptions of it. Witnesses apparently described everything from a red-furred giant wolf to a cloven-hoofed panther the size of a horse. According to Argent Family lore, the beast's body was oil-black, solid but shapeless at the same time. It was like a shadow pretending to be real.

Officially, the beast is accused of killing 113 people. According to the Dread Doctors, via Theo, the death toll was closer to 500.

The only weapon that historically proved effective against the beast was a simple spear wielded by The Maid of Gevaudan (See Marie-Jeanne Valet below).

Resurrection
Valack says that the Dread Doctors have managed to create an "engineered version" of the Beast using a teenage chimera as host. Theo explains that they needed a body because they couldn’t resurrect the beast out of thin air. He says the chimera is human during the day and probably unaware that it is transforming into the beast at night.

The Doctors are apparently using broadcast frequencies to force the chimera to manifest the beast nightly in an effort to speed up its development. Chris Argent explains that, as the beast gets smarter and regains the memories of its former life, the teenager inside will be physically gone replaced by the beast's original host.

Season 1
In Teen Wolf Season 1, Allison Argent learns that one of her ancestors killed the beast after his wife and four children were first to fall prey to the creature. (Read More...)

Season 5
The Dread Doctors appear to have resurrected the beast. (Read More...)

Liam and Hayden are chased by the Beast and, later, Scott and Stiles investigate the remains of its previous attack. (Read More...)

The Beast menaces Theo and Tracy when two of the Dread Doctors tell Theo to stay out of their way. Scott and Stiles find a possible link between the beast and a child killer from 1598. (Read More...)

The Beast nearly attacks Deaton until Malia pulls him away just in time. (Read More...)

The Beacon Hills Sheriff's department lead a chase on the creature that leads to the hospital. Scott discovers bloody footprints that change from animal to human. (Read More...)

The Beast sets a trap to lure Scott's pack to their doom but is thwarted by Hellhound Parrish. Later, it appears at the school causing the crowd to run inside. (Read More...)

Real World History
La Bête du Gévaudan (French for: The Beast of Gévaudan) is a name given to man-eating wolf-like animals alleged to have terrorized the former province of Gévaudan (modern day département of Lozère and part of Haute-Loire), in the Margeride Mountains in south-central France from 1764 to 1767.

The beasts were consistently described by eyewitnesses as having formidable teeth and immense tails. Their fur had a reddish tinge, and was said to have emitted an unbearable odor.

They killed their victims by tearing at their throats with their teeth. The number of victims differs according to source. De Beaufort (1987) estimated 210 attacks, resulting in 113 deaths and 49 injuries; 98 of the victims killed were partly eaten.

An enormous amount of manpower and resources was used in the hunting of the animals, including the army, conscripted civilians, several nobles, and a number of royal huntsmen.

Marie-Jeanne Valet
Marie-Jeanne Valet and her younger sister were reportedly attacked by the beast while crossing a creek near the River Desges. Valet successfully defended herself and her sister with a bayonet mounted at the end of a staff, wounding the Beast, which threw itself into the river and thrashed about madly before escaping.

The Royal Gunbearer praised Valet and compared her to French heroine Joan of Arc.

Marie-Jeanne Valet is portrayed by Crystal Reed. Within the show's mythology, Valet is an ancestor of Reed's Allison Argent character and will appear in the Teen Wolf Season 5 episode Maid of Gévaudan.