Garnier, Gilles (d. 1574)
Garnier, Gilles (d. 1574)
Notorious French werewolf of the Dôle area of France-Comté during the sixteenth century and a classic instance of lycanthropy. Following an epidemic of attacks on young children in 1573, Garnier and his wife were arrested and tried as werewolves. Garnier confessed that he had killed a 12-year-old boy and was about to eat his flesh but was interrupted by villagers. Garnier and the villagers testified that Garnier appeared in human form, although in other instances it was claimed that he appeared as a wolf.
Garnier confessed that on another occasion he killed a ten-year-old girl while in the shape of a wolf, tearing her flesh with his teeth and claws, and then devoured her, and that on another occasion he attacked a girl while in the shape of a wolf but was interrupted and had to flee. He then claimed that a few days later he strangled a ten-year-old boy while in the shape of a wolf, tearing off a leg with his fangs and eating the flesh. In reaction to his confession, the authorities burned him alive at Dôle on January 18, 1574, and scattered his ashes to the winds.