Creatures from French Folklore

[Psychonaut]

I'm sure we're all quite familiar with the Scandinavian and British wights; I'm interested in cataloging some of the critters from French (and New French) folklore. Here's a start:

Lutin

A lutin (pronounced in French /lytɛ̃/) is the French name for a type of hobgoblin (an amusing goblin), in French folklore and fairy tales. Female lutins are called lutines.

A lutin, sometimes called a Nain Rouge ("red dwarf"[1]), is like a hobgoblin in the mythology of Normandy, similar to house-spirits of England, Germany and Scandinavia. It sometimes takes the form of a horse, and in this shape is called Le Cheval Bayard.[1]

Lutin is generally translated into English as: brownie, elf, fairy, gnome, goblin, hobgoblin, imp, leprechaun, pixie, pixy, puck, or sprite.

In a French fairy tale, Le Prince Lutin, written in 1697 has a description of the air, water and terrestrial lutin: "You are invisible when you like it; you cross in one moment the vast space of the universe; you rise without having wings; you go through the ground without dying; you penetrate the abysses of the sea without drowning; you enter everywhere, though the windows and the doors are closed; and, when you decide to, you can let yourself be seen in your natural form."

In this story a red hat with two feathers makes the Lutin invisible.

Lutins also assist Père Noël in Lapland.

Lutins in Quebec
Belief in lutins also spread to North America, particularly the Canadian province of Quebec, as spirits in the form of either pets (such as dogs or rabbits) or other common animals. Cats which are completely white are especially considered likely to be lutins, although seemingly any distinctive animal which dwells on or near the home may be regarded as such. These lutins may be good or evil, with good lutins being attributed powers ranging from control of the weather, to shaving the beard of the master of the house before he woke on Sundays. Evil or offended lutins may harass the house-owner with any number of minor troubles, such as blunting a scythe or filling shoes with pebbles. Salt is considered abhorrent to them, and they are thought to go out of their way to avoid crossing it when spilled on the ground.

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[Psychonaut]

Nain Rouge

The Nain Rouge, French for "red dwarf" or "red gnome" is a mythical creature that originated in Normandy, France, as a type of lutin.

In the United States, it haunts Detroit, Michigan, United States and feared by its residents as "the harbinger of doom." (Skinner 1896) Its appearance is said to presage terrible events for the city. The Nain Rouge appears as a small child-like creature with red or black fur boots. It is also said to have "blazing red eyes and rotten teeth." (Skinner 1896)

The creature is said to have been attacked in 1701 by the first white settler of Detroit, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, who soon after lost his fortune. The creature is also said to have appeared on July 30, 1763 before the Battle of Bloody Run, where 58 British soldiers were killed by Native Americans from Chief Pontiac's tribe.The small tributary of the Detroit river,which still flows through what is now Elmwood Cemetery, turned red with blood for days after the battle.It is said he was seen dancing on the banks of the Detroit river.

Famous multiple sighting occurred in the days before the 1805 fire which destroyed most of Detroit. General William Hull reported a "dwarf attack" in the fog just before his surrender of Detroit in the War of 1812.

A woman claimed to have been attacked in 1884, and described the creature as resembling, "a baboon with a horned head...brilliant restless eyes and a devilish leer on its face." Another attack was reported in 1964.

Other sightings include the day before the 12th Street Riot in 1967 and before a huge snow/ice storm of March 1976, when two utility workers are said to have seen what they thought was a child climbing a utility pole which then jumped from the top of the pole and ran away as they approached.

More recently, in the autumn of 1996, according to an article in the Michigan Believer, the Nain Rouge was spotted by two admittedly drunken nightclub patrons, who claimed to both have heard a strange "cawing sound, similar to a crow," coming from a "small hunched-over man" who was fleeing the scene of a car burglary. The creature was described as wearing "what looked like a really nasty torn fur coat."

Detroit Beer Co., a brewpub in downtown Detroit, has as its signature brew a "Detroit Dwarf" lager, named in honor of the Nain Rouge.

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[Psychonaut]

Lou Carcolh

Lou Carcolh, or the Carcolh, is a mythical creature from French folklore. It was described as both a serpent and mollusk at the same time, taking characteristics from both types of animals. Its massive and long body carried an enormous shell upon its back, much like a snail's shell, that was believed to live in underground caverns in southwest France. Its gaping mouth was surrounded by several long, hairy, and slime covered tentacles that could extend for miles. These appendages stretched out from the cave it inhabited for a long distance and laid upon the ground among its own viscous slime. They would ensnare and drag back to its abode anything within reach. It would then swallow the capture whole with its gigantic mouth.

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I don't know about you, but to me that sounds awfully Lovecraftian:

[Psychonaut]

Dames Blanches

In French mythology or folklore, Dames Blanches (meaning literally white ladies) were female spirits or supenatural beings, comparable to the White Women of both Dutch and Germanic mythology. The Dames Blanches were reported in the region of Lorraine (Lotharingen) and Normandy. They appear (as Damas blancas, in Occitan), in the Pyrenees mountains, where they were supposed to appear near caves and caverns.

Thomas Keightley (1870) describes the Dames Blanches as a type of Fée known in Normandy "who are of a less benevolent character." They lurk in narrow places such as ravines, fords, and on bridges, and try to attract passerby attention. They may require one to join in her dance or assist her in order to pass. If assisted she "makes him many courtesies, and then vanishes." One such Dame was known as La Dame d'Apringy who appeared in a ravine at the Rue Quentin at Bayeux in Normandy, where one must dance with her a few rounds to pass. Those who refused were thrown into the thistles and briar, while those who danced were not harmed. Another Dame was known on a narrow bridge in the district of Falaise, named the Pont d'Angot. She only allowed people to pass if they went on their knees to her. Anyone who refused was tormented by the lutins, cats, owls, and other creatures who helped her.

Origins
J. A. MacCulloch believes Dames Blanches are one of the recharacterizations of pre-Christian female goddesses, and suggested their name Dame may have derived from the ancient guardian goddesses known as the Matres, by looking at old inscriptions to guardian goddesses, specifically inscriptions to "the Dominæ, who watched over the home, perhaps became the Dames of mediæval folk-lore."

The Dames Blanches have close counterparts in both name and characterization in neighboring northern countries: In Germany the Weisse Frauen and in the Dutch Low Countries the Witte Wieven.

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[Psychonaut]

Peluda

The Peluda (sometimes called the "Shaggy Beast" or La Velue which is French for "Hairy One") is a supposed dragon that terrorized a La Ferté-Bernard, France, in medieval times. Despite the French origins, its more recognized name is Occitan —or any latine origin— for "hairy". Depending on the account, it had either a porcupine-like body or a mess of hair-like projections hanging from its body that were actually stinger-tipped tentacles which could erect into quills. Its name is derived from this shaggy appearance. Consistently, it was said to have possessed poisonous stingers that it could shoot off its body, a snake's neck, head, and tail, large, tortoise-like feet, and a green color.

The lore proposed that the beast was denied access to Noah's Ark, yet survived the biblical flood by seeking refuge in a cave near the Huisne River. After many years, it returned to rampage across the countryside, wilting crops with its breath and devouring both livestock and humans. It was finally defeated after it killed a man's fiancée. He tracked it down and cut off its tail. This was the only vulnerable point on the beast, and it died immediately.

The Peluda was said to be capable of the following feats, which vary between tales:

• Searing breath that could wither crops.

• Firing off its quills like arrows.

• Invulnerability except for its tail.

• Creating floods by stepping into rivers.

• A single strike from its tail was lethal to a full grown man.

• Breathing out fire as a typical dragon.

• Spitting out a powerful stream of water or acid.

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[Psychonaut]

Tarasque

Legend
Legend has it that the creature inhabited the area of Nerluc in Provence, and devastated the landscape far and wide. The Tarasque was a sort of dragon with six short legs like a bear's, an ox-like body covered with a turtle shell, and a scaly tail that ended in a scorpion's sting. It had a lion's head.

The Tarasque was said to have come from Galatia which was the home of the legendary Onachus, a scaly, bison-like beast which burned everything it touched. Some speculate that the story of the Onachus may be related to either that of the Unicorn or the Phoenix. The Tarasque was the offspring of the Onachus and the Leviathan of biblical account; basically—though disputably—a giant sea serpent.

The king of Nerluc had attacked the Tarasque with knights and catapults to no avail. But Saint Martha found the beast and charmed it with hymns and prayers, and led back the tamed Tarasque to the city. The people, terrified by the monster, attacked it when it drew nigh. The monster offered no resistance and died there. Martha then preached to the people and converted many of them to Christianity. Sorry for what they had done to the tamed monster, the newly-Christianized townspeople changed the town's name to Tarascon.

The story of the Tarasque is also very similar to the story of Beauty and the Beast and King Kong. The monster is beguiled and weakened by a woman and then killed when brought back to civilization. A similar idea is found in the myths of Enkidu and the unicorn: both are calmed by sending them a woman.

Cultural Impact
The Tarasque is featured on the coat of arms of the city of Tarascon. A festival is held every year there on the last Sunday of June to remember the Tarasque, as well as Tartarin, the main character of Alphonse Daudet's Tartarin de Tarascon.

A legendary marine creature reported to live in Vietnam's Halong Bay was also called "Tarasque" by the French who ruled the area at the time.

The name Tarasque has been used by the French military as the common name for a towed 20 mm anti-aircraft gun.

On 25 November 2005 the UNESCO included the Tarasque on the list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

The Tarasque is one of the statues of the Corpus Christi procession of many Spanish cities (Valencia, Granada...)

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[Psychonaut]

Matagot

A Matagot or mandagot is, according to some oral traditions of southern France, a spirit under the form of an animal, mostly undetermined, frequently a black cat, but rat, fox, dog or cow types are said to exist too. Matagots are generally evil, but some may prove helpful, like the "magician cat" said to bring wealth into a home if it is well fed. Traditionally, a wealth-bringing matagot must be lured with a fresh, plump chicken, then carried home by its new owner without the human once looking back. If the cat is given the first mouthful of food and drink at every meal, it will repay its owner with a solid gold coin each morning. In Gascony traditions, you must not keep the matagot all your life long: if the owner is dying, he will suffer a long agony, as long as he does't free the matagot (Jean-François Bladé, Contes de Gascogne, Paris, Maisonneuve, 1886).

According to Michel Masse in Mémoire sur le canton de La Ciotat (1842), matagot is derived from the Spanish mata-gothos, from matar (to kill) and gothos (Goths). The Germanic Goth tribes settled in Spain, Southern France and Italy and eventually converted to Christianity, so Goth means "Christian" in opposition with Moro which means "Muslim". Hence a matagot would be an evil spirit who kills Christians.

Another form is magot, and this word designs a bunch of money, a treasure, so the people who became rich were supposed to have a "magot" in their home.

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[Jägerstaffel]

Lou Carcolh

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I don't know about you, but to me that sounds awfully Lovecraftian:

Eldritch nameless cyclopean horror!

[YggsVinr]

Wow, didn't see this topic until now! Good idea!

Feux follet:

Il apparait sous la forme d’une lueur pâle bleutée (voire parfois jaunâtre ou rougeâtre) en forme de flammèche suspendue dans l’air à une faible hauteur au-dessus du sol ou de l’eau, plus ou moins diffuse, vacillante et brève (certains feux follets pourraient persister dix à trente secondes voire - exceptionnellement - plusieurs minutes). Selon ses témoins, il ne produit pas de fumée ni n’enflamme les objets, ni ne brûle les herbes avec lesquelles il est en contact.
Il est observé dans ou autour des marais et dans les cimetières.

My grandfather would always say that such lights would lead people off into the woods to get lost, to stumble into boggy/quicksand areas, or to fall into old boarded up wells.

Loups-garous/varous:

In French Canadian folklore werewolves are men who have not gone to confession for seven years straight (the same in Normandy as well). My grandfather used to say that the only way to turn a werewolf back into a man was to prick his nose with a needle when he sticks his nose in the keyhole. I've heard a similar tale from Newfoundland's French coast. Mostly they come under the form of a black dog.

[Osweo]

Lutin

Cats which are completely white are especially considered likely to be lutins, although seemingly any distinctive animal which dwells on or near the home may be regarded as such. These lutins may be good or evil, with good lutins being attributed powers ranging from control of the weather, to shaving the beard of the master of the house before he woke on Sundays. Evil or offended lutins may harass the house-owner with any number of minor troubles, such as blunting a scythe or filling shoes with pebbles.

The household association doesn't seem as strongly pronounced, but this is redolent of the Boggart of (only Northern?) England.
Russia has the similarly temperamental Domovoi.

Dames Blanches

Must be BELISAMA!

Tarasque
The monster is beguiled and weakened by a woman and then killed when brought back to civilization.

Reminds me of nothing so much as the Welsh Afanc.
See here for details. The way to defeat it is very similar;
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/cfwm/index.htm

Feux follet:

Our Will O' The Wisp. 'Corpse Lights' in Wales, I believe. Rhys, who I link to above with the Afanc of Wales, gives some examples.

Loups-garous/varous:
Mostly they come under the form of a black dog.

East Anglia has such a black shaggy dog. 'Black Shuck' is his name. Shuck is a development of Old English scucca, meaning any (usually bad or mischievous) sprite. Other Black Dogs with different names are found in Devon, and other regions. Not so malevolent as your French examples seem to be, they often protect lone women on the moors at night, but can also be an omen of approaching death.

A book I read by Janet and COlin Boyd 'The Secret Country' lists the following;
The Trash Hound (Lancashire - but I've not heard the name myself)
Barguest - Yorkshire
Gwyllgi - Wales
The Doog - Isle of Man
The Pooka - Ireland (Old English Puca, Puck)

And some Norman examples;
Tchi-co - Guernsey
Le Tchan - Jersey

I love this sort of stuff, even if it scares me a bit!