Black Dog by WarNick

The church grim is a spirit with roots in Scandinavian and British folklore. The grim are helpful spirits that lurk about a church or graveyard. They are said to ringing the church bells when a soul has passed, or someone will soon die. If anyone besides the priest sees the grim, it is considered a portent of great change, but it does not always signal tragedy. The grim are most commonly associated with black dogs, but are sometimes described as other animals or pale-skinned ghosts.

The grim are tied to the practice of burying a live animal beneath the foundation stone of a new church. The first creature to die in the church or graveyard is said to roam eternally in the place where it died, and so animals were chosen instead of humans. This was a pagan tradition that carried over to Christianity. The choice of sacrificed animal has significance. A black dog was said to protect the dead, but other animals were sometimes used. A lamb, for example, would ensure the church would never be torn down.

Further Reading:

• The Church Grim
• They Bite: Endless Cravings of Supernatural Predators
• Dogs in Myth and Folklore: The Grim

Related Creatures: hell hound, black dog

Region of Origin: Europe, Britain, Sweden, Finland

I'm noticing a theme here, do you? It seems that many of these creature legends are tied to religion, change over time, and as they spread regionally.

Woman Reading (circa 1900) via the National Media Museum

Oh how I wish I lived a life of leisure where uninterrupted reading time was a regular thing. In that perfect world, I'd curl up on the couch with a warm blanket, a book, and some hot chocolate. I didn't think I'd do very well at this month of reading (#NaNoReMo), with beta reading, and writing in full swing, but January flashed by and I'm happy to report my results.

Although I didn't read any classics, and was gently chided by Mr. Wiswell for the transgression, I finished 4 novels, and started on a 5th. The biggest takeaway from this exercise for me: though I can't find large chunks of time to read, I can still snatch a few minutes here and there. Short stories happen to be a good length for a lunch time read, and I've got several collections to work through. I'd prefer more time, but that's not going to happen.

I can't sustain January's pace, but I will keep up with the daily reading, even if all I can manage is a few pages.

What are your reading habits? When do you find time to read?

There are hundreds of little things...

Once in a while, when you're lonely, a friend you haven't heard from in ages might get in touch with you out of the blue.

Sometimes that souffle recipe works, the humidity and temperature, all conspire together, and you get a fluffy perfect desert, instead of a hollow eggy mess.

When you're having a bad time in your life, you  might read a book that changes everything. Any sooner or later, and it wouldn't have made a difference.

The sun coming out after a long rainy day, so your walk home is dry.

It's there if you look for it. Call it coincidence, or convergence, if you will. I prefer magic.

I think creative people understand it best. There's a point when a painting, a poem, a sculpture... takes on a life of its own, when craft has reached its limit, and the piece becomes art, more than the summation of its parts. I read a story of a famous potter once. For him, the process is always the same. He can't say why some pieces turn out different than the others, why these pots end up in art galleries when others do not, but there is something special, unquantifiable, he can recognize. I think the act of pouring passion, intent, and sweat into something, can turn an ordinary thing into something more.

You're writers. You know the feeling. When a story you're writing takes you someplace unexpected, when the characters come to life in your mind, when an solution to a plot tangle comes out of nowhere.  To me that's magic too.

And then there's love.

Just finding someone you can love, and be loved by, is already a miracle to me, but I'm not just talking about romantic love. Love can keep you going when there's nothing left, make things possible that you never dreamed of. Two people, five people, can do more than that many should be able to accomplish.

The heart is also perplexing thing. You can't divide it up into percentages: I love you with 15% or I love you more than the rest. Love is love, the heart is capable of an endless supply of it, and that love is always whole. That always irks the mathematician in me. I like pie charts! (Perhaps this is more in the realm of the quantum physicist) And its true, heart can break, but they keep on beating despite the pain. They're tougher than we think.

Magic / Miracles, to me they're the same thing. I live in a world full of it, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Do you see it?

Top hat owned by Floyd B. Olson via The Minnesota Historical Society

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#NaNoReMo Update: I'm three and a half books into January. I think I'll finish the last one by the end of the week.

• Idoru by William Gibson - Done!
• Open Your Eyes by Paul Jessup - Done!
• Sleight of Hand by Peter S. Beagle - Done!
• The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making - Halfway through

Writing:

I've officially passed the 50% mark of 'The Golden Thread', my current WIP. It's still a first draft and very rough, but I'm surprised how much I've enjoyed working with an outline this time around. Even with a scene by scene guide, there's still room for surprise. The characters still get up to their tricks, and move the story along in ways I never anticipated. Those surprises are what I love best about writing. It feels a little bit like magic, and maybe it is.

Publishing:

I had a chat with Doug Savage of Savage Chickens over hot chocolate. He explained what he went through to get his book published, including how he worked with his agent to put together a proposal to pitch to publishers, and what happened afterwards. He said that right now publishers are looking for a sure bet. They wanted to know that there was a market ready for book, and they want concrete evidence. In his case, since his book was non-fiction, he had to provide detailed stats including how much blog traffic he gets, how many people follow his twitter account.

It's not the same for fiction, but that brings me back up to the crux of this rambling section: a need to identify a market. I'm a little lost with this part. I don't know who my novel will appeal to. I read a lot of fantasy, but I haven't found any easy comparisons. In fact, I wrote this novel to address things I didn't typically see in fantasy, but I wanted to. I'm going to have to do a little bit of research reading so I can fill in the blanks: "My book will appeal to fans of X author, and X author." I'm just worried that I may come up empty, or that at present the book is completely unmarketable.

Not convinced this is important? Check out pitch tips from agents on twitter. They will ask you for comparable novels if you pitch your novel to them. They will take it as evidence that you are not well read in your genre if you can't answer. I don't think this is necessarily a true assumption, but what can you do?

Courage!

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Courage comes and goes when it comes to this whole crazy writing business. For the most part, I usually keep my head down, and busy so I don't have time for fear. I'm anxious because no idea how to know how far along I am on the journey, nor even if I'm at the point where my writing is publishable. Do you keep working on the first novel? Keep sending it out? Or go on to the next thing? When do you stop? When are you done?

I realize there are no clear answers to this, because no one's journey is the same. I think it's the uncertainty that gets to me. Some reassurance that I'm still making progress would be great right about now, but there really are no statistics to measure by.

FIN

And so that's about it. In the meantime I'm just going to keep working. I have another novel to finish, and it's looking like the first draft will be done by the end of March. It's a completely different subgrenre from the first novel, which has been a nice change, but also a challenge.

How do you know you're making progress? Do you? Or do you worry about it like I do?

Maneki Neko

Maneki Neko by Belindi

Maneki Neko, the beckoning cat, the welcoming cat, or the lucky cat. Though in the modern day this symbol of prosperity is popular in both Chinese and Japanese communities, it originated in Japan,during the Edo period. Maneki Neko caries Koban, gold coins that were used as the currency of the period.

There are three stories associated with its origin:

In one story, a poor priest kept a cat as his companion, treating him well, even though he could hardly afford to feed himself. One day during a storm, a rich lord saw the cat sitting in the entrance to the temple, waving as if beckoning him to enter, and as he entered, the tree he had been standing under was struck by lightning. He believed the cat was an incarnation of a god or a lucky spirit, and in thanks endowed the temple generously. The cat was honored with a statue.

Another story features a geisha who loved her pet cat. One day the cat would not let go of her skirt, and she asked for help, because she could not chase it away. The owner of the house cut off the cat's head (*see superstitions about cats) and its head flew up into the rafters and killed a snake that might have bitten her. She was presented with a statue of the cat that sacrificed it's life for her.

The third story is about a poor woman who loved and cared for her cat. The cat appeared in a dream and instructed her to create his image in clay. These she sold and was saved from poverty.

Folktales:

• The Legend of Maneki Neko (legend of the Gotokuji Temple)
• Three Bobtail Tales (three origin stories for the lucky cat)
• *Maneki Neko (historical notes and superstitions about cats in Japan)
• Photos of Gotokuji Temple and its many cats.

Region of Origin: Asia, Japan

The extra reading plan has been going fairly well. I've been cheating somewhat, by choosing shorter novels than my normal diet of of 600+ page monstrosities.

Here's the status report so far

• Idoru by William Gibson - Done!
• Open Your Eyes by Paul Jessup - Done!
• Sleight of Hand by Peter S. Beagle - At the halfway mark. Been enjoying this lunchtime companion. I usually have enough time to finish one story over the break. Perhaps more thoughts on this collection later. I've left the kitchen crying twice already.
• The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente - 4 chapters in. Reading this one out loud has been a bundle of fun, though the first night E fell asleep after 4 pages and begged for a recap the next day.

Read anything fun lately you want to recommend or share?

Words that rub a soothing balm on old raised scars, or take the sting out of fresh ones, that offer threads of hope to a waiting seamstress, like a lullaby, or a bowl of soup on a cold day...

We need stories that make us uncomfortable.

In their insanity, in their insipidness, in their heartbreak, in their dry dusty pages, in their hate, in their millions of crazy ways, mirroring in the way we hate, or love, or despise, or cringe, or long for. The pain, the itch that troubles, is always something true, a sign of growth, like a new tooth ready to come in, or it is kindling to a fire that leads to action. Because the truth is not always safe...

We need stories about different kinds of people.

The CEO embezzling from his company, and spending his cash on a collection of pez dispensers.
The boy down the street, that thinks he can hear dogs speak.
The old woman in Mongolia, who wonders what her life would be like if she never married, and never had children.
The man in Taiwan with too many pairs of shoes...

Because when we give up ourselves for a moment, and look through other eyes, once we get past the first cringe, the anger, the laughter, the discomfort, the absurdity, the plugging of the nose, the view is not always so different, and also different. There are as many worlds, as there are people...

The world needs all kinds of stories.

Only you can be you, there's no one else, there's no backup, and when you're gone there's never going to be another. Say what you want to say, don't let fear hold you back, or we'll never know, what might be lost because maybe, just maybe, there's someone else out there waiting for your words, to stanch the bleeding of a heart, to  see the splinter in the foot, or like a ladder to climb out of a dark pit.

Snegurochka (The Snow Maiden)

Ice Maiden by Dark Spider

The story begins with a childless old couple, who long desperately for a child, and one winter while the children from the village are playing, they make a child out of snow, use two blue beads for her eyes, and a red ribbon for her lips. To their amazement the child comes to life. There appear to be two different endings to the story. In one, the snow child is lonely when spring comes, and stays inside the house. Her parents, concerned, tell her to go out and play with the other children. When she leaves the house, she melts away and never returns. In another story, Snegurochka grows quickly into a beautiful young woman, who has a suitor named Lal, but her heart is ice. She's granted the ability to fall in love, and when her heart warms to Lal, she melts away.

Modern interpretations of the folktale say that Snegurocha is the daughter or companion of Father Frost (Russian Santa) and the Snow Queen (or Winter), and helps her father deliver presents to children.

Origins of the tale of Snegurochka are tied to pagan traditions symbolizing the transition of winter to spring. In some places, the change in seasons is still marked by the burning of a straw effigy dressed as a woman (Maslenitsa). This tradition is associated with rites performed to honor Kostroma, a pre-Christian East-Slavic fertility goddess.

Folktales:

• The Snow Maiden
• The Snow Maiden (Selection of translated stories from various countries)
• Original Story (In Russian)
• Snegurochka (General information)

Region of Origin: Russia

I almost hate to say it, but the folktale reminds me of Frosty the Snowman, minus the jolly. I much prefer the Snow Maiden.

Open Book by Sarah Browning

This idea was born of a Twitter conversation while NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) was winding down. A few of us thought that a month of reading would be a very good thing. There's nothing like competition / sharing results to keep you motivated!

John Wiswell posted the ingural post on his blog a few days ago (and I missed it due to my internet hiatus) but here it is! Maybe it'll catch on ;) At the very least, I've got a stack of books to get through.

A caveat though: I'm not reading classics as #NaNoReMo suggests (the definition of 'classic' is debatable), but using this opportunity to get through the books that I already own, but haven't read.

I'll post progress updates on Fridays if you would like to join in.

So far I'm 1.3 books into January:

• Idoru by William Gibson - Done! I read the sprawl trilogy over many years, the last book first, the first book second, and the middle book last. The pieces finally fit together.
• Sleight of Hand by Peter S. Beagle - I'm 3 stories into this short story collection.
• Open Your Eyes by Paul Jessup - 15 pages in.

What are you reading right now?

Keep:

1. Write a minimum of 1k a weekday (10 minute outline, 50 minutes typing), 2k on Saturdays, and take Sundays off.
2. Keep track of when, where, how productive I've been, to optimize my writing time.

Change:

1. Get back to writing short stories and flash fiction. Since lunch was banned at our desks at work, my flash fiction career ended. It was very good practice though. I'll designate some weekend time to short fiction, and weekdays to novel length work.
2. I've always had trouble finding prompts for short stories, so I spent an afternoon jotting off a list of writing prompts framed as writing exercises. I plan to add at least one technique to the list every time I finish reading a novel or short story. I have 12 prompts, but several of the items on the list can be combined in one story and I need to come up with more. That means...
3. I need to read more. I think I'll be visiting the library more often this year. Instead of reading the (badly edited) free newspaper, I should have a novel or short story collection handy. I particularly need to read short fiction. I've always been fond of novels, but if I want to write short, I need to be more familiar with the form.

Those are the big things I think. Oh yes, and to get back to eating well and exercising. You know, the usual stuff.

Are you trying some things differently?

The Call of Cthulu Illustrated by EDW Lynch

Happy holidays!
-Theresa

Milk and Cookies by Daniel Miller

Dear Santa,

Hey, it's me again! First off I want to say thank you for last year's present. The gift of time worked out amazingly well. I don't know where those extra hours came from, but I managed to write more than I ever have in my life! I finally finished that novel, and am halfway through the first draft of the next. I even managed to beta read several manuscripts on the side. It's been appreciated and well used.

This year I've been extra good, because I have bigger things to ask for and they won't fit in a stocking. In fact I'm going to ask for two!

First off, I need a high wattage idea generator. My old machine's on it's last legs, and I think I've used up all the ideas in the cartridge. While I have novelish ideas a-plenty, I'd like to get back to writing short stories, and better blog posts too. This would help me out a bunch.

Secondly, I could use a bit of 'better writer' fairy dust. I'm working on it, but man is it hard to tell what's actually progress. I understand that hunting fairy's is a difficult task at best, and getting em to give up the dust is like milking a stone, but hey, you're Santa. Maybe you could swing a few favors?

And please don't send Krampus. (Ok maybe that's three) I've only been a little naughty and sneaking  in Twitter time when I shouldn't, but I promise I'll be better next year. I left some extra cookies out for you. Let's not call it bribery. You must get hungry delivering all those presents...

XoXo,

Theresa

Der Krampus

Krampus - Xmas Card by BrittMartin

The name Krampus comes from the Old High German word for claw (Krampen). One legend about the origin of Krampus says that a demon terrorized the region in winter time, and climbed down chimneys to steal away children to eat. A holy man (sometimes St. Nicholas) tricked the demon into magical/holy shackles, which forced it to obey his orders. To make up for his evil deeds, St. Nicholas forced him to deliver presents to children (instead of eating them).

Modern stories say that he accompanies St. Nicholas as he delivers his presents, and while gifts are left for the good children, it is said that Krampus will beat the naughty ones with his stick (or eat them).

On Dec. 5, the legend of Krampus is still recreated in Austria (Krampusnacht). Men dress up in goat hair costumes, adorned with cowbells, baskets, and bundles of sticks, with which to scare and switch people they find in the street.

Folktales:

• All About Christmas: History
• Krampus Christmas Devil
• A Krampus Carol (Video - Humor)

Related creatures: demon, incubus

Region of Origin: Europe, Alpine region, Austria, Germany

I think if I grew up with stories of Krampus, Christmas would be a lot more frightening.

Tips for Beta Readers

Don't be evil, be helpful. Ripping a story to shreds is not the same as reading critically. Your job is to help the writer make the story as good as he/she can, not to destroy their ego.

Do not rewrite the story. This can be particularly tempting, but remember that this is not your story nor your voice. The story may not be written in a style you enjoy, but it's impossible every story is, so resist that urge.

Set personal taste aside. Don't focus on whether you think the story is good or bad. It's better to focus on what parts of the story are not clear, which parts bothered you, or what parts didn't work for you, and try to figure out why. You're doing this to help the writer.

Focus on what the writer wants. If the writer sent you reading guidelines, stick to them. If not, you can always ask. If you still don't get a clear answer, then just do your best.

The big things are usually more important than the smaller ones. Grammar is last on the list (if at all). It's more important to focus on the plot, and whether it makes sense, the characters, and if they are believable, and the overall impression of a story. Did it do what it was trying to do, or did it fall short?

Remember to point out the good things. Sometimes a brilliant turn of phrase might catch your eye, or the writer has a great way of closing off chapters, or is gifted at dialogue. Point the good parts out so that the writer knows not just what to fix, but what to keep on doing.

Be open to questions once you've completed your beta read. Sometimes a writer will want more clarification, and this can be just as helpful as the initial beta read. Make sure to keep an open dialogue.

Learn from it. If you're a beta reader, you're probably also a writer. There's something to take from every story. You may realize you're guilty of some of the errors you've caught in your beta read, or maybe realize there are some things you could do differently or better in your own writing.

Do you have any other tips to share?

Ogopogo

Ogopogo by CheckerCherries

Ogopogo is a monster said to inhabit Okanagan Lake, British Columbia. Ogopogo is often depicted as having a serpentine shape and a bearded goat like head. Legends about Ogopogo were passed down by local natives long before the first European settlers. The Shushwap and Okanekaneis called it n'ha-a-itk which means "lake demon". One native legend explains that Ogopogo was once a demon possessed man who murdered a respected local resident. In punishment the murderer was transformed into a serpent and cursed to remain where he committed his crime for eternity. For safe passage across the lake, small animals were sacrificed.

Folktales:

• Ogopogo the Lake Monster
• Stories of Ogopogo (anecdotes/sightings)
• Ogopogo the Bashful Monster (CBC Video)
• Ogopogo the Monster of Lake Okanagan

Related Creatures: Loch Ness Monster, sea serpent

Region of Origin: North America, Canada, British Columbia, Okanagan Valley

"beta reader" comes from "beta tester" in software, somebody who tests a program to see if it works correctly. So, beta readers read your book or story in advance of publication, to give feedback on what works and what doesn't. Ideally a beta reader won't know anything about the book in advance, so they'll be approaching it with no preconceptions, as a regular reader would.

As writers we're often too close to the material to see the difference between what's on the page and what's in our heads (especially multiple revisions later), and a fresh set of eyes on the work can be helpful.

Tips for writers who want a beta read:

How many beta readers do you need and where do you find them? Liva Blackburne did an interesting series on this. It's worth the read! You may want a handful beta readers or fewer, depending on your writing method. Too many and you may end up with noise/conflicting feedback, but too few and you may not be sure what is a matter of personal taste vs. a real problem. You should also take into account that some people might drop out of participating, or get too busy to finish.

To keep your writerly sanity, I recommend having one trusted cheerleader. It doesn't matter if the cheerleader is entirely biased, that's the point! The cheerleader's job is to encourage without judgement. After all that hard work, you deserve that! It can make the writing feel worthwhile, and it's a good cushion against the criticism to come. Maybe all you need from a cheerleader is a single note: "I read it, and liked it." At least now your story has been read, which is the point, isn't it?

Tell your beta readers what you REALLY want. Be honest. If you just want encouragement, then say so. If you want readers to focus on the big picture, rather than nitpicking the grammar, then say so as well. It will save  you and the reader time.

You are not perfect. There is no such thing as a perfect novel. A novel length work is no small beast. There's a good chance you've dropped plot threads, or some parts of the narrative don't have the effect you desire. No matter how brilliant a story is, it can always be picked apart, so expect criticism.

Don't take the criticism personally. It's hard, I know, but your readers are well meaning and trying to help you. It's all aboutmaking the story the best it can be.

Take criticism with a grain of salt. If multiple readers point out the same issue, then there's likely something wrong, but if not, it might boil down to a matter of personal taste. You need to trust your gut about which feedback resonates. You don't have to act on all of it, though you should at least consider it. YOU are the writer, and it's your story. You don't want to lose your voice by trying to please everyone.

Remember that a beta read is a huge favor and time commitment. Any feedback is a gift. Always say your thank you's. People are busy, and you need to respect that, with generous timelines if possible. Returning the favor is usually welcome.

And some extra tips from Kristan Hoffman: be reasonable but honest about your timeline ("I'd love to get your feedback in the next 2-3 weeks"), and remember that beta readers might identify a problem, but it's your job to fix it in your own way / in a way that best suits the story.

Next week I'll post a few tips for beta readers.

La Chasse-Galerie

Legende de la Chasee galerie by charlesvinh

The story of La Chasse (the hunt) is another French Canadian legend. La chasse-galerie is also known as the bewitched canoe or the flying canoe. The stories involve voyageurs (18th & 19th century fur traders) who make a deal with the devil in order to secure quick transportation through the Canadian wilderness. To ride the flying canoe is a bit of a game. When the voyageurs are in the canoe they must pit their wills against the devil, and battle to control the boat. No one must pray or call out to God while in the canoe, despite the craziness of the ride, and if they do not return home before sundown, their souls will be forfeit.

The most famous story is about a man named Baptiste who takes a new year's eve ride on the flying canoe to visit his sweetheart, but he gets spectacularly drunk and they have trouble returning home. In some stories, the friends that join him on the canoe manage to escape, while Baptiste does not. In others stories, all the men violate the rules of the game and are doomed to roam the skies forever. The roots of this story are related to the 'wild hunt'.

Folktales

• La Chasse-Galerie: A collection of links (in French)
• The Flying Canoe
• The Bewitched Canoe

Region of Origin: North America, Canada, Quebec

P.S. If there are any creatures/folktales you would like me to cover, or would be willing to guest post about please do let me know! I'm still figuring out how these should be indexed. Perhaps by country/region.

Well here goes, I'm going to write a novel!

1. OH what a shiny new idea! No one's ever thought of this before. I have to write it!
2. Hrm, this is harder than I thought. I'm halfway into this story and I have no idea what comes next.
3. Am I done yet? *soft whimpering* This is taking a lot longer than I expected.
4. OK still not done. Dear God, am I ever going to finish?
5. I'm DONE. Really? Done??
6. *super silly happy dancing*
7. Holy crap that was bad (now that I've re-read it). What a mess!
8. Edit. I think it's a little better.
9. Edit. I really hope it's better.
10. Edit. I have no idea if it's better. P.S. I'm really getting sick of this story.
11. Beta readers please do your magic! *idly daydreaming that they'll all love it and gush over it*
12. Daydreams trampled into unidentifiable brown sludge. OK maybe it was as bad as I secretly worried.
13. But some people liked it? AHHH I'm so confused! Now what?
14. That settles it. I'm not going to look at you for a while, you soul crushing, time eating, waste of paper.
15. But I miss you. Damned if all that work was for nothing. I need to do one more round.
16. The feedback kinda makes sense now. I'm so embarrassed I sent that out. What was I thinking? It wasn't anywhere near ready.
17. Am I done yet? No? *resigned sigh*
18. Still not done. I'm really getting sick of you.
19. Done... for now. This time I'm not dancing. I just want to move on to the next thing, please?

Oh no, you foolish child, you're not really done yet.

1. Wait, that's right. I need to try and sell it now? I suppose that means I need to figure out what a query letter is, figure out proper formatting, how submissions work, and all that jazz. This is not exactly the kind of thing I've ever done before.
2. Apparently I have no idea how to write a query. The query letter is supposed to give an idea of the quality of your writing? AHHH *cries* that means I'm the worst writer ever!
3. I have no idea anymore. *insert increasing paranoia* Let me try another version. No one's even looked at the story yet.
4. Good. Bad. I am not going to worry about it. I have achieved zen. Keeping at it.

So I don't really have many writing updates for you these days. I've been doing a ton of beta reading and I'll have a bit more to say about that when I'm done.

What have you been up to writing wise? Any of this sound familiar?

Whyfore, you may ask, am I creating just another bestiary? WELL thank you for asking! Every culture has it's mythical creatures, and I'd like highlight the lesser known. This will be a starting point for research into world folklore.

So without further ado, here's our first visitor to the blog:

Le Loup-Garou

Garou by Mir-Black-Magic

Le loup-garou (le loup = the wolf) is a lycanthrope with a Canadian spin. The stories of le loup originate from the French settlers of Quebec in the 17th century. Le loup-garou is said to be able to change into a wolf at will, and also with the full moon.

There are various stories for how one becomes a loup-garou. One legend says that if you meet a loup-garou, and speak of the encounter, you will be cursed to turn into a wolf for a hundred and one days. In another story, le loup were men cursed for refusing to go to church, and to break the spell, the men had to confess their sins to a priest. In other stories, le loup-garou were men who made a bargain with the devil.

To force a loup-garou to reveal himself, a you must shed a little blood. A pinprick to a finger is enough.

Folktales:

• The Devil and the Werewolves
• Le lopu-garou (in French)
• Beware the 'loup-garou' (audio)

Related Creatures: werewolf, rougarou

Region of Origin: North America, Canada, Quebec