Episode 532 - The Beast of Averoigne

Or did they make cauldrons? Hmmmmmm?

No forced and far-fetched callback to another certain scrivener?

Sludgecrawler

"Nobody has a name like 'Luc le Chaudronnier' without being a wizard." Actually, "chaudronnier" is the French word for "coppersmith," so my theory is the family pivoted from metalworking to magic a couple of generations ago.

I was surprised you didn’t mention the D&D connection to the Tarasque. I feel like we fought one in every campaign as a young adult 😆 it’s like a DMs perfect monster

n your list of comet-related stories, you left out "The Comet" by W.E.B. Du Bois, which you covered on this very show! I know you weren't trying to be comprehensive, but still.... In other news, I thought this story was a bit silly, but that's part of the charm of CAS -- he brings the whimsy, then the nasty. Not *that* nasty, by the way, get your heads out of the gutter!

Peter Larsen

I want to thank the commenters who suggested Empire of the NECROMANCERS

Thunk

Has anyone mentioned the CAS story “Monsters in the Night” yet? It has both werewolves AND robots.

The Screaming Moist

Great podcast. As someone who has been a Catholic their entire life (with the massive caveat that this is strictly my own philosophical impressions of a massive, centuries old belief system) I think that part of what can feel good about self-denial isn’t so much thinking things will change, but in the pure act of control. There’s so little we have agency over in our lives (which really raises the question of whether or not we’re free in the first place) that saying “No” is an easy and impactful way to take back control. Combine this with a massive system of societal Puritanism which tells us that we should feel good about self-deprecation and denial for religious reasons and you have a pretty compelling set of psychological incentives for self-denial and flagellation.

Evan

The version in Complete Fantasies is a combination of the two versions that was created for that volume by its editors. Quoting the Notes on the texts: "Several of the stories included in this volume differ significantly from previously published versions.....Wright was not as specific in his rejection of “The Beast of Averoigne.” Reviewers and critics who have commented upon the original version have universally praised its tripartite narration for the deft manner in which CAS handled characterization. When Smith wrote to Derleth, in a letter dated March 22, 1933, that the story was “immensely improved by the various revisions,” we believe that he was referring to the new climax, since in the original version the monster was laid in a manner reminiscent of “The Colossus of Ylourgne.” We present here a fusion of the two versions, preserving the original narrative structure while retaining the superior climax."

J Z

Just noting re the term 'to sally' that some castles had a special bit that could be used to sneak out while under siege, which is the origin of the term, 'to sally' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_port

Tomas Rawlings

Another excellent podcast. When you guys started talking about penitence and religion it made me think of the game Blasphemous which is a side scrolling game where you play as The Penitent one in a world were a fickle, lovecraftian entity known as the Miracle gives blessing and punishments as it sees fits and is the source of crazed monsters that now roam the land after the church leader literally and figuratively turned his back on the people of Custodia. I highly suggest checking it out as its heavily inspired by catholicism, spanish foklore and art (the developers used the local legends of their home of southern spain to create the game.

Obviously, when the monks and the abbot 'sallied forth,' they are blasting "Long Tall Sally." And by 'blasting', I mean piously singing along to a lutenist. And when the abbot interrogates Gerome, they do the Predator arm thing. The Abbot is Arnold, and he says "What's the matter? The scriptorium got you pushing too many quill pens?"

Mike J.

"Brotherhood of the Wolf" is a meticulous historical re-creation of these events.

I agree with Farnsworth and Chris- I read the abridged version with the demon fight in the CAS anthology The Return of the Sorcerer. It's much tighter.

I'm confused. I listened to this story on the audiobook of _The Complete Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith_, and it was done in the triptych style, but included the narrative about crushing the ring and having the demons fight. Where did this composite story come from? Maybe Eldritch Dark is incomplete and there was an intermediate draft?

Chris, I was thinking Predator too when Smith described the way the beast killed its victims. Chad, if you want warrior monks fighting an extraterrestial monster, isn't that Aliens 3?

All that talk about the tarrasque and not a single mention of D&D. For shame good sirs, for shame!

CthulhusDream

I was literally JUST listening to your Mr. Kicks and Dr. Go episode! I miss those guys.

Robert Curtin

Great story and a great episode! The short story is a riff on the historical case of the Beast of Gévaudan - a wolf or pack of wolves that roamed the French countryside in the 1760s. It lead to a great deal of panic and stories quickly spread of werewolves, reaching as far as the court of Louis XV, who sent both professional hunters and soldiers after the alleged monster. It's an interesting story with some good writing about it, including a great book by Jay M. Smith. In any case, the reveal was less of a surprise if you're familiar with this history.

Jeppe Mulich

Going to the chapel And we're ....gonna leave an unspeakably blasphemous sign of our presence Going to the chapel And we're ....gonna leave an unspeakably blasphemous sign of our presence

Given the time period, this certainly slips comfortably into a D&D skin. But I think it has even more in common with CoC. We have a monster, an investigation, and victory (only after a series of deaths) accomplished via unspeakable magic. Any which way, a fine romp.

Saint... Martha! WHY DIDST THOU SAYETH THAT NAME?! Anyhow, cool pulp sci-fi version of a werewolf story. The titular fantastic beast (and where to find it, namely France) somewhat reminded me of the Questing Beast from (originally French) Arthurian lore, with its snake-like neck.

Hey, it’s not always magic powder that solves the crisis! Sometimes it’s a spring of bubbling mineral poison, or a clubbing a priest unconscious with a jeweled chastity belt. Also, it’s my headcanon that the latin-literate sorcerer from this story (or the one from the Colossus) is the unnamed sorcerer that took down Kerwin’s correspondents in the Case of Charles Dexter Ward. I don’t have any evidence, but it feels right.

Can’t wait until they cover CAS’ space fantasy adventure featuring Eibon, the Door to Saturn! Eibon seems to have a lot of enchanted items attributed to him. I wonder what happens if you collect the Book of Eibon, the Ring of Eibon, and that gem from Ubbo-Sathla and bring them all together.

This was as usual superb but wow I am impressed with the Predatory restraint. Chad gives no fucks and brings the yucks but sometimes it's all about the jokes you don't tell. Now do Mother of Toads you cowards!

KateSherrod

Yesss! The first time I read a non-HPL story before the episode dropped! During the Colossus of Ylourgne, I believe Chad said the story really lends itself to D&D, and I have to agree, nearly all of CAS' stories have that perfect fantasy element. In that regard, I believe you left out the most important part of this story: the demon speaks with the "shrill singing of fire." The Ring of Eibon will *definitely* be an artifact in my D&D world, and rest assured it will sound like Gilbert Gottfried with too much helium.

I Like the Cut of Your Gibbering

I was also taken for a loop! I read the story in the Lovecraft Mythos New & Classic Collection by Flame Tree Publishing and it had the semi-abridged version. Weird how they merged the two forms together, I'd be interested to see where this amalgamation was first published.

I Like the Cut of Your Gibbering

I have several Mythos anthologies I'm working my way through, and in The Red Brain was The Beast of Averoigne so I read it there. I didn't know there were two versions until this podcast, and the one in The Red Brain seemed to be a mix of the abridged and unabridged versions (semi-abridged?). It still had the three parts, but didn't have the note regarding Brother Gerome's death at the end of part one. It did use the demon in the ring as the resolution to the beast, rather than the dust in the version you covered. It seemed to combine the best of both versions. Regardless, an enjoyable story. Thanks and looking forward to plenty more strange stories in the future!

Jim Bassett

One of my favorite of his stories.

Aaron Gullison

I had a strong feeling Chris and Chad were going to do The Maker of Gargoyles this month because that story is awesome. But I really need to bring your attention to something about it. CAS didn't write the ending. August Derleth did! I learned this in reading Essential Solitude: The Letters of H. P. Lovecraft and August Derleth and I'm amazed that despite that book being more than a decade old now this fact hasn't been better publicized.

I loved Phantoms so much. Maybe the best Dean R Koontz book— definitely my favorite!

Jason Thompson

The Tarrasque is one of the more infamous monsters in the historical bestiary of D&D. It's described as a one-of-a-kind monstrosity that stays dormant underground for decades or centuries until rising up to destroy everything it sees. I want to say it's been the maximum power level in every edition (in 5E, it's CR 30, tied with Tiamat), so it's the kind of thing you throw at top-level characters for an extraordinary challenge. St. Martha must have had some incredible magic items to take it on solo!

Brian J

Chad, you jest, but there's a precedence for monsters taking dumps in chapels. In the film Phantoms--adapted from a Dean Koontz book I think--the protags are searching an empty town for the protoplasmic The Thing-esque monster that absorbed the townsfolk. One of them has a running theory that It gets Its victims' memories, and based on how Its prey viewed It believes Its Satan--leading to a scene where they're exploring the local church, only to find piles of pacemakes, tooth fillings, and other undigestible bits neatly deposited before Jesus and a statue of Mary.

Mandy Reznor (She_It)

Eldritch Dark is fantastic! CAS was far more willing to follow Weird Tales' editing suggestions, so often the print version is...not ideal. It's good to be able to get the original versions of great tales like this.

Mandy Reznor (She_It)

I think the last time I was this excited for an episode was Shadow Over Innsmouth Part 1