A historical region of southern France where, between 1764 and 1767, something killed around a hundred people — mostly women and children herding livestock. Witnesses described a beast the size of a calf, russet-furred with a black stripe along its back. Louis XV sent royal huntsmen and offered a reward larger than an official's yearly salary. The killings stopped after a local hunter, Jean Chastel, shot a large animal; what it was is still argued over.