In 1766, a story appeared in the Gazette de Québec that warned residents of Quebec City that a werewolf (loup-garou) was roaming outside the city walls. Quebec was then a new colony of British Empire after the settlement of New France was defeated by the British military in 1763. The French colonists were reeling from the war and change of government, plus there was always the fear of the First Nations people they had taken the land from in the first place, and of wild animals. It was a short leap to blame local disappearances and grisly deaths on the loup-garou, a legend they recalled from similar cases in French history. Canadiana explains the panic over the werewolf that terrorized Quebec for decades. The story is only 6:30, the rest is promotional.
on the other hand, werewolf/beggars may have been people displaced by the recent wars and changes in nationality. maybe homeless soldiers or camp followers that cities didn't want begging inside the gates. so newspaper articles rouse anyone who'll believe the propaganda to chase them away.
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