I also strongly recommend reading up on the Beast of Gévaudan for a uniquely bloody and strange case of a supposed 18th century village terrorized by a wolf, or

I also strongly recommend reading up on the Beast of Gévaudan for a uniquely bloody and strange case of a supposed 18th century village terrorized by a wolf, or at least some large beast. I say supposedly because there were also historical rumors that the real butcher of at least some of the victims in the region was the very man who killed the supposed culprit wolf for a reward from the French king, and as a way to cover up his crimes.