Original subtitles

NARRATOR: Throughout the United States,

there are legends of strange unidentified creatures

stretching back hundreds of years.

This program is a legend brought to life.

It's told through dramatization, eyewitness accounts, and expert

interviews.

Some images are violent in nature.

Viewer discretion is advised.

[theme music]

There's a monster that'll come out the marsh

and grab you up in a heartbeat.

[music continues]

WOMAN: Something is killing animals around here.

Just because you don't believe, don't mean you say.

Did you hear that?

Oh, dear god.

WOMAN: Some people go into the swamp, they don't come out.

[growling]

NARRATOR: In this remote southern Louisiana community,

several people have been viciously attacked and killed.

A rash of animal mutilations and mangled bodies--

- -have some folks believing there is a monster to blame.

You see it?

Go, go!

[gunshot]

Anybody out here?

NARRATOR: Now, everyone in town is terrified that they could

become the next victim.

This way, boys.

I finally found Jacob and Jonah.

Two boys that were lost in the swamp--

they were stranded in the middle of a marsh,

thinking something was after them.

Ran into a group of Jagneauxs out there.

That damn family, real nasty bunch.

They were on the long hunt.

Hey, get back here!

They saw us, but they were more interested

in something else.

They were tracking something big.

The night before, on the other side of the swamp,

Jules took it on the chin real bad.

Not sure what was after him, but he's in a bad way.

Quinton we found.

He was tore up.

The way his body looked, seeing those wounds,

I couldn't help but think about Amos Jagneaux.

Larry Gaudet's cow, for that matter.

They say once is an accident, twice a coincidence, three

times--

that's a pattern.

Reckon we're looking at a pattern out here.

[eerie music]

Just got a call from Jules asking

me to come to the hospital.

He didn't tell me why.

Just glad it was him, not one of the doctor's calling.

It's been a rough 24 hours around here.

Sheriff's Department had already pulled Quinton's body out

of the swamp.

I told him everything I know.

There were a few times when we were out in the swamp,

I caught myself feeling like there was some really

out there watching us.

Stubborn son of a bitch.

Julian, get in.

I'm going home.

You ain't gonna make it two blocks.

I'll take you home.

Not yet.

The coroner's already taking a look at Quinton.

I ain't taking you back in the swamp.

It's our saving grace right here, boys.

Not a moment too soon.

Oh, thank god--

a boat.

See if we got any service yet.

All right, let's get the hell outta here.

Tammy, copy?

Tam, say again.

You copy?

TAMMY (OVER WALKIE): Luc?

Where are you?

I got the boys.

I'm coming home, all right?

Get a hold of their mama.

Let her know that they're fine, all right?

TAMMY (OVER WALKIE): My gosh, yes!

Hey, see if you can get Tru to come out, too, all right?

There's something he needs to know about.

TAMMY (OVER WALKIE): All right, copy that.

Y'all get back safe.

All right, hold on.

Sit down right there.

Over here, you know, we kind of live alone.

We're so spread out between the trees and the stretches

of woods and swamp.

When something goes down crazy, we on our own.

I was out in the woods, following along the canal,

and it got dark on me.

Heard footsteps behind me.

Footsteps kept getting closer.

I got scared, took off running.

I heard real deep growl, and it cut right through me.

I stopped running, kind of turned around.

Looked kind of furry, like eight, nine feet tall.

It had big old red eyes.

And I'm thinking, man, I ain't gonna never get out of this.

All of a sudden, it was gone.

To this day, I always believed it had been a rougarou.

People come talking, they seen the rougarou.

To tell you the truth, nobody knows what the rougarou looks

like.

I could be a rougarou.

You can be a rougarou.

They take all kind of forms, but you know it's around.

[music playing]

Got the boys back to their mother safely.

Tru is gonna meet me down here so I can fill him

in on the hunting shack I found out there.

Anybody here?

There's blood everywhere.

It's a butcher den.

This skull's got some years on it.

Judging by the marks, it's a fresh cut.

Then I'm gonna gear up and head back out.

I think we're pretty close to finding out

what's behind these attacks.

Hope you got something good for me, Luc.

I'm being pulled in every which way right now.

You ain't gonna be disappointed.

Take a look at this.

That there is the hunting shack I was telling you about.

That's near the spot where we found Amos by.

It's right in the center of where all this stuff's been

going down, too.

Now, I don't know what this has to do with anything.

I can tell you right now, it's not good.

There's blood everywhere, knives.

There's a damn human skull right on the table.

That could be the one taken from that body at the cemetery.

Where is this guy's head?

Well, the thing about that skull--

had half its teeth missing.

[eerie music]

What the hell?

Brought it back.

Take a look at that.

It's like the one we found in that talisman, the one

near Amos' dead body.

I suppose they could've used this for those idols,

like the one you found out there.

I suppose so.

I'm gonna let you keep this.

You and your boys need to get out there as quick as you can.

Might get some answers to what we're dealing with.

Meantime, I gotta assume that there's still

an animal out there, and I'm not gonna stop until I'm done.

Do me a favor.

Make sure he gets some rest.

He's gonna crash if he keeps going at this pace.

I ain't his mama.

How's Jules?

He's Jules.

39 to headquarters, I need the Sheriff.

[suspenseful music]

Well, it's a little too early to be certain.

But it seems like that shack could

answer some serious questions.

Word is, Amos was missing for over a month

before he turned up.

For all we know, he could have been

staying there the whole time doing God knows what.

And if that shack belonged to someone else, maybe

they're the ones that killed Amos.

We can't risk that place getting cleaned out

before we get there.

I need to talk to the Sheriff about shifting our priorities,

getting a look at that skull, and seeing what else

is in there.

[music playing]

I'm coming up on your street now.

Just do me a favor.

Don't do anything.

Get back in the house.

You shot at it?

Hold on, hold on. Listen to me.

Calm down.

I'm coming up right now.

Just stay in the house.

Things are just completely going off the wall here.

The hell are you doing?

It's still here, man.

Thought you were gonna wait inside, (WHISPERING)

son of a bitch.

What'd it look like?

Just saw something dark moving through the trees.

Is it in the barn?

Really hope not.

Last, it was on this side, then it come out the other side

here. That's when we shot at it.

Attack your horses?

I don't know at this point.

Something comes outta there, you just hug this wall with me,

all right?

Get ready to come here and calm these horses down.

[screeching]

Whoa, whoa.

Easy, boy.

Sure it came in here?

I'm sure.

There's something in here.

Hey, hey!

Don't go out there!

Don't go out there!

Where's this lead to?

Follow me.

Julie!

Dang it.

Julie, come on!

Talk to us.

[gunshot]

Son of a bitch.

Julie, hold your fire!

Damn it.

[dramatic music]

[shushing]

What the hell was that?

Whatever it is, it's gone now.

Something that big moving that fast had to be a panther.

Don't bull [bleep] me.

I'm not gonna bull [bleep] you.

You know, I've been tracking something for weeks.

It's dangerous.

We can't be out here.

Come on.

Those farms right here along the bayou--

that's where this thing comes to hunt.

Best thing you can do is get yourself in the house.

There ain't nothing you can do out here.

I'll radio the Sheriff, get someone out here

in the morning.

It attacked my horses.

What you gotta do is protect your family.

[loon calling]

Hey, Joe.

It's good to see you up and around, man.

What are you doing?

I got to go back out there.

No, you need to rest.

There's still something in that damn swamp.

It attacked me.

It took out Quentin.

We ain't taking that lightly.

Tam and I are headed back out there to set up some traps

and get some cameras up.

Camera?

That don't matter.

You're not gonna see it on no camera.

It changes all the time.

It's never the same when you see it again.

We've got to dig it out.

If I'm going for the rougarou, I'm gonna be prepared.

I'm the one it cursed.

I've got to kill it.

Your story keeps changing.

First, you said you didn't know what attacked you.

Then you said it was an animal.

Now you're saying that you're going after a damn monster.

You'll need help setting traps.

I'll be down.

Just be careful out there.

Shoot to kill.

You ain't yourself, man.

Jules ain't himself right now.

I've seen him riled up over things before, but this?

This is something else.

There's something still out there, something bad.

Jules just had a serious injury, and he's in no condition

to be out there.

I keep thinking about what happened to Quentin.

We've only got Jules' word right now,

and he says he don't know what happened.

I just wish we could trust where his mind's at in all this.

But he ain't himself.

[growling]

You ask folks around here what makes the rougarou so scary,

they'll tell you the rougarou's more than a legendary creature.

It's a demon.

It curses everything it touches.

The worst part is, you can't kill it

because that curse passes from one animal or human

to the next.

You kill the animal, the rougarou spirit

jumps to the next living thing it finds.

The cycle just continues, and the curse lives on forever.

[growling]

After what happened with Quinton and Jules,

we're heading out to set up some traps and trail cams right

in the area they were attacked.

I'm hoping we can catch a break, if not outright bag it.

If we have to, we'll take it out.

We're out of range from town, right?

Probably just interference.

It's Luke.

Who's this?

Anybody out there?

How can I help you, Armel?

Wait, shh!

You heard that?

Wait, they caught it?

Excuse me?

You saying you caught it, then it killed Amos.

Speak up right now!

You realize how that sounds, right?

Copy?

Armel?

[static over walkie]

You think they really caught something?

If there's anybody that's got the grit to hunt

this thing down before we could, it's the Jagneauxs.

I'm going out there.

OK, but we're calling the Sheriff.

I don't care what they say.

No way.

That's one way to guarantee this goes bad.

I don't like this, but I ain't letting you go on your own.

[sirens wailing]

[dramatic music]

The Sheriff's office.

Mike, you've gotta see that.

[voice over police radio]

What we're finding seems to tie up a lot of things

have been happening around town the past few weeks.

That skull we found in there seems it could be the one that

was removed from that body at the cemetery.

It even had the teeth missing.

We're running tests on the blood to see who or what this comes

from.

And a lot of the materials we found

seems to match what was put into that talisman we found

near Amos' body.

A lot of folks tell stories about the Jagneauxs,

and they've definitely done their fair share of evil.

But this just seems like it's something else.

If the fingerprints were pulled and tells us

this wasn't Amos messing around out here--

I'll be even more concerned if this sicko is still out there.

But if it turns out this was all Amos,

I'll be all the more terrified of the creature that

managed to take him down.

[eerie music]

When all this started happening here,

I called some people up in southern Wisconsin.

They've had some similar stuff like this going on

since the 1930s.

For decades, folks in that area have blamed scores

of mutilated animals on something they

call the Beast of Bray Road.

It's described as a half man and half wolf

creature that runs upright.

It has hands with three long claws

that it uses to mutilate and kill with.

Some say it has a stench like rotten meat.

If you ask me, it sounds a lot like the stories we hear down

here about the rougarou.

[screeching]

[bird cawing]

This all we got?

Let me go see what else we got.

[owl hooting]

[bird cawing]

Hold on a minute.

We might have something ahead.

Something big came through here.

That's almost a clean break.

I mean, what is that, about seven, eight feet?

[eerie music]

We've got some tracks.

Don't appear to be human.

Step to the side.

What the-- that's some kind of bone.

We got another one here.

[frogs croaking]

You saying you caught it?

You think it killed Amos?

ARMEL (OVER WALKIE): Yep.

I'm going out there.

NARRATOR: As Tammany and Luc head off to the Jagneaux

property, the Sheriff's Department descends

on the grisly hunting shack.

We've got some tracks.

Don't appear to be human.

That's some kind of bone.

Headquarters, y'all gonna have to come take a look at this.

Let's take it slow, fellas.

We got blood.

We're about 300 yards in the back of the cabin.

I got what appears to be human remains,

and we got the man's boot.

I'm gonna keep looking, but I need some assistance out here.

[groaning]

Holy [bleep].

We've got a body.

We got a [bleep] damn body in the tree.

[music playing]

We need assistance.

[bleep]

Fellas, let's get a safe distance from this thing.

Come on.

[music crescendos]

We got a call over the radio from the Jagneaux family.

They're claiming they caught whatever we've

been after these last few weeks, and they want to turn it over

to Tam and me for us to handle.

When I saw them out on a hunting party,

they were certainly on the trail of something.

Go, go.

Hey, they didn't shoot me, so let's just

hope that trend continues.

[bird cawing]

[eerie music]

Hello?

It's Luc Baptiste.

Anybody there?

[music continues]

Luc Baptiste.

We were called here.

[eerie music]

We got a call on the radio.

Guys?

[loon sounding]

Ma'am, I was surprised to get your call.

I believe you got something to show us?

Whatever it was, it killed Larry Gaudet's cow,

attacked a partner of mine, and killed a colleague of ours.

All due respect, ma'am, whatever it is, it killed your son Amos.

We're gonna give you what you need.

But anything you see on the way, it ain't your business.

Come on.

Yes, ma'am.

[suspenseful music]

[dog barking]

[music continues]

OK.

[dog barking]

Ugh, back off!

[eerie music]

[music continues]

Come on.

That's my boy, Henri.

He's the one that killed Amos.

Killed that damn cow over at Gaudet's and god only

knows what else.

Everybody knows that we've had issues with our neighbor.

Henri-- he said he was gonna scare the son of a bitch

by cutting up one of his cows.

[flies buzzing]

He left the cow in the field, so I told the boys go over

and drag the carcass back here.

They drag it a few feet, sure enough

they see Larry Gaudet coming out of his house.

And they ran off.

I just didn't think anything more of it,

until someone found Amos' body.

[voice over police radio]

And we go over to the coroner's office,

take the body back here so we could see it ourselves.

And just from looking, the boys knew.

They'd seen Larry Gaudet's cow, and his--

his body is cut up just the same way.

So the boys went into the swamp.

They finally found him.

You don't take him out of here, I'm

afraid my boys are gonna kill him.

[dramatic music]

Y'all beat the hell out of him.

Maybe he just told you what you wanted to hear so y'all would

stop hitting him.

That thing over there--

that ain't my son.

Also, you run off with [inaudible],, found this.

It's all skulls, animals.

Not the kind we trap.

Always knew the boy was strange.

Just sicker than everybody thought.

And then we found this.

[music crescendos]

Mama knew it was true.

He killed a man.

Butchered Amos, too.

Amos' blood-- he had to pay.

I can't protect him anymore.

Get Henri ready.

You take him to the law.

All due respect, ma'am, I'm not too comfortable taking

that boy out of here in chains and trying to get him penned

for murder just on your word.

I wanna talk to him first, alone.

[eerie music]

[door creaking]

[music continues]

All the things your family saying that you done--

you got anything to say about that?

I was more myself.

How do you mean?

Henri?

Killed an animal, see what's inside of them.

Kill me a man, there's a spirit out there.

It's just the folklore, son, urban myth.

There ain't no truth to none of it.

Dug up a body.

That body belonged to the rougarou.

Grave robber was after the head.

I need his teeth.

Get it from being bit.

Others say it's black magic curse.

Made myself a little hoodoo charm.

There's something in here.

You trying to tell me you were possessed by the rougarou?

Legend has it you can become a rougarou several different

ways.

Some say the rougarou is a demon that

can jump from person to person or from animal to person.

The demon enters your body, and he can

make you do unspeakable things.

Another way it that the rougarou takes on a form like a wolf

and bites you.

[growling]

If the tooth of the rougarou pierces your skin,

you will become one.

Some believe even the tooth from a dead rougarou can turn you.

Whatever you believe, the rougarou

is an evil force that can change you and destroy you.

I learned not to call for the demon

until I had a person to kill, so I did.

Stupid SOB was just hiking along all alone.

This your brother you're talking about?

Mm, Amos was next.

I enjoyed that.

The spirit just kept on showing me all those times when we were

kids, and he'd beat on me in front of everyone.

And then it came over me.

I don't remember much after that,

except him dying under my arms.

Finally--

[dog barking]

- -done something right.

[music crescendos]

Claims of being possessed by some external force crop

up occasionally in individuals who commit heinous crimes,

predatory in nature.

Lycanthrophy is a phenomenon of an individual believing that he

can turn into a predator animal, and it goes back

hundreds of years.

In the 16th century in a small town in Germany called Bedburg,

Peter Stumpp was responsible for the killing of at least two

pregnant women and 13 children.

The townspeople feared that they were being victimized

by a bloodthirsty werewolf because Peter Stumpp would

cloak himself in the skin of a wolf when seeking his victims.

And ultimately, he confessed that the devil himself gave him

the magic fur.

When he put it on, he was transformed into a werewolf.

And when he took that skin off, he became human again.

Growing up, my pappy told me about a neighbor that

was cursed by the rougarou.

They found him in a field covered with blood,

screaming he'd looked into the eyes of the rougarou.

They said he had the strength of 10 men.

My pappy and the others was able to chain him down,

and they called a Catholic priest to do an exorcism.

The man was so angry, the blood vessels in his eyes

burst, and they turned red.

No one knows if that exorcism really worked.

He recovered, but he was never really right in the head

after that.

We're sending a couple of boys down the bayou with you, just

make sure you make it OK.

We appreciate it.

[eerie music]

[bird cawing]

[music continues]

We've got company.

Leave the light on, Brandon.

I don't like that none.

Don't know if it's a full moon or what, but this [bleep]

starting to creep me out.

Henri, may I ask you something?

Your family put you up, taking the blame for something

you didn't do.

Henri, if they made you fess up to something you didn't do,

you gotta tells us now before the sheriff gets here.

Killing a man ain't easy.

Get a few bumps and scrapes on the way,

if you know what I mean.

Y'all are willing to take me for a monster out there.

What are you talking about?

The other night when I was stalking you along the swamp,

you fired shots at me.

There's no man I fired at.

I know you wouldn't kill a man.

You're right.

It was me.

So you killed more than just Amos?

You kill Quinton, too?

I don't know nothing about no Quinton,

though I wish I could have.

[dramatic music]

[sirens wailing]

Get this guy out of my boat.

We're taking Henri Jagneaux into custody.

We'll take a look at this confession,

get some fingerprints.

See if it matches up with any other evidence.

Y'all still think Henri's telling the truth about not

killing Quinton?

The way he was cut up looks a lot like Henri's kills.

I just don't know why he would fess up to one killing and not

another.

What about that hunting shack?

That must have belonged to Henri.

It must be.

We found another body out there.

We don't know yet for sure, but it could have belonged

to that missing hiker.

Dear god, it just never ends.

You add all this up, and there's no way your boy Henri

is in his right mind.

That story he told you, something about a spirit--

folks around town been talking about this rougarou legend, how

it possesses an animal then jumps to the other animal

or even to humans.

I know it seems impossible for a sliver of a guy

like him to do all he claims to, but I've

seen it happen in nature.

There's nothing supernatural about it.

It's brutal.

It's still out there.

Its presence grows stronger.

It can sense your fear.

You can't kill it!

It's a spirit, a demon!

You're all gonna die!

[dog growling]

[commotion]

Get that dog off of him!

Pull him back!

[commotion]

[interposing voices]

[indistinct yelling]

[music crescendos]

[sirens wailing]

[loon sounding]

[bell dinging]

[music playing]

It's still disturbing to think about what Henri Jagneaux did.

I don't pretend to know why.

I guess the fact that he did it is probably the best

answer we're ever gonna get.

Justice is served, which is more than I can say about Jules

or Quinton.

Henri swore up and down he didn't attack them,

but where does that leave us?

I never really had those experiences here before.

But now, after all this?

Go, go.

[indistinct yelling]

I guess I can understand those folks that

believe in the legends.

[growling]

People are always trying to explain away the things that

happen here, explain away our superstitions and our beliefs.

There's something in the land that will swallow you up.

So you always have to stay on guard,

because there's always gonna be something out in those swamps.

You can't risk, you can't risk.

[voice over police radio]

I'm not sure this town was ever normal to begin with,

but we're back as close to normal as we're gonna get.

Cajun Beast-- we're back on track.

Jules recovered just fine, back to his old self again.

Tough as a mule, stubborn as one, too.

Calls coming in are getting back to the usual--

gator up by the house, raccoons in the attic,

that kind of thing.

Had a couple calls, someone thinking their animal acting

funny was possessed by the rougarou.

I'm not sure we'd ever make sense of all that happened,

but you never really do get all the answers in life.

I'm just thankful to be heading on a call

like I am now, not the crazy kind.

Jules radioed in asking for help clearing out

a nest full of nutria.

Says a lot about what you just been through when you start

looking forward to dealing with giant rats.

There's old Jules.

He beat me to it again.

[dog barking in distance]

Jules.

Jules!

Where you at, cupcake?

[bird cawing]

Hey, come on, man!

You left your truck running!

[car door chiming]

[barking in distance]

Whether it's the rougarou or the Sasquatch,

I'm confident that there are still species of animals which

are largely considered to be mythological

by the populace at large, or more specifically

by the scientific community.

These species of animals will eventually be vindicated,

will be discovered to be based on-- at the very least--

real biological species.

Jules?

Oh, man, he better be messing with me.

People talk about legends as though they're something that

might or might not happen.

Well, call it a legend or whatever you want, but go

into these swamps, and there's a monster there.

It's real.

The authorities may have gotten someone

they think is responsible for all this,

but I know something bad is still

happening in these bayous.

Whether it's in a month or even years from now,

the killings will happen again.

Jules!

[car door chiming]