Canada is a noisy place, from the mournful call of the loon to the chilling call of the vampire wolf-beasts.
THE HOWL OF THE ROUGAROU?
In French culture, a rougarou or loup garou is a human with the head of a dog or wolf— or basically, a werewolf or lycanthrope. When French settlers came to Quebec in the 17th century, they brought along the myth of the loup garou.
There are various ways that one might become this monstrous wolf beast. One story says that if you merely talk to a loup garou, you will be cursed to become the creature yourself for a period of 101 days.
Others say that you have to be bitten by a rougarou to become one. Another legend holds that the rougarou are men who have been cursed for not going to church or for shirking other responsibilities. Going to confession can sometimes cure them. One story says a loup garou is a man possessed by the devil and that pricking his skin and drawing blood can return his humanity. Some First Nations tribes have their own legends of the loup garou. The Ojibwa have the rugaru, for instance. The French certainly spread the myth. Windigo (a human who is enchanted and compelled to eat humans) is a local version of the werewolf.
CALL OF THE WILD
Bizarre and mysterious sounds have been spooking many across the country. In a forest in Conklin, Alberta, in 2012, an eerie roar was captured on videotape. Just a few days later, a similar roar was recorded in The Pas, Manitoba, more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) away.
The loud noise seems to come from the sky—it swells and recedes. Dogs become scared and bark incessantly. Oddly enough, similar sounds were recorded in Denmark and Sweden at the same time. Search on YouTube to find recordings of the unearthly din. Could it be the unworldly whir of an alien spacecraft? Take a listen for yourself and decide.
The Mi’kmaq people of the Maritimes believe Glooscap was the first human He was created out of a bolt of lightening in the sand.