Beast of Gévaudan

In France in the late 18th century, a very large creature resembling a wolf stalked and killed over 100 people in the province of Gévaudan. In fact, there were multiple creatures, as some were killed by hunters who searched for the creature, and attacks in the region attributed to an animal like the beast were reported well into the 20th century. Some thought the creatures were simply wolves, though others classified them as a wolf-dog hybrid that may have been trained specifically to kill. The beast would usually attack women and children, and would kill its victims by biting the face, neck, and throat.
Read full article on Wikipedia: Beast of Gévaudan