The Devil of Châteaugay: A Dark History
Did a “devil” once haunt of the castle of Châteaugay? Here’s everything you need to know about the village’s secret history of occultism.
Hidden Riom: 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Auvergne’s City of Art
A beautiful city of art, Riom is largely unknown outside France. Its world of hidden histories is worth exploring. Here’s why.
Inspired by the Legends of Auvergne: An Interview with Ulysse Malassagne
Born and raised in Cantal, comic book artist Ulysse Malassagne is on a mission to bring Auvergne’s oldest legends to new audiences.
The Bizarre Story of a Tornado Machine Conceived in Auvergne
In the 1960s, one scientist working for a research organisation in Auvergne accidentally created a tornado machine. This is his story.
Occult Auvergne: A Christmas Ghost Story
In this Christmas ghost story from Auvergne, a vampire-like creature rises from the grave to prey on a spiritually unprepared adolescent.
Occult Auvergne: How to Become a Werewolf
Obtained by a 19th-century physician, this ritual from Auvergne tells you how to become a become a werewolf.
What to See in Beast of Gévaudan Territory
It was in Gévaudan that this wild beast had established his everyday encampment…Nevertheless, this monster repeatedly made incursions into Auvergne, especially in the region of Saint-Flour, where it devoured numerous victims. And to save themselves, the parishes of Auvergne joined forceswith those of the Gévaudan… -François Fabre The isolated highlands of pre-Revolution Gévaudan and Auvergne […]
Occult Auvergne: 5 Spine-Chilling Legends
“Among the Auvergnats a host of tales and legends has grown up, including circumstantial accounts of wizard meetings on the puy de Dôme, stories of curious and unaccountable phenomena of earthquakes, each attributed to some occult power and giving rise to bloodcurdling narrations about ghosts and ghouls…” -E.C. Vansittart In his iconic Gothic novel Dracula […]
Superstitions of Auvergne: Part 2
“In Auvergne, too, you will find again the homely farms, with great hearths and cupboard-beds…the strange superstitions and beliefs; the markets, the picturesque processions and dances, the music, the songs, the stories.” -Frances M. Gostling This is the second part of our abridged version of Antoinette Bon’s list of Auvergne superstitions: If one on his way […]
Superstitions of Auvergne: Part 1
“All nations have their omens drear, Their legends wild of woe and fear…” -Sir Walter Scott (1808) An interesting list of Auvergnat folk traditions was collected in the nineteenth century by the French folklorist and writer Antoinette Bon. The English version, translated by Mary Osborn, first appeared in 1890. I have abridged the list slightly, […]
