Legend of the Rougarou
| Category: | Ghost Stories |
|---|---|
| Props: | Optional flashlight for "eyes", or a stick to scratch the ground |
| Notes: | A Louisiana bayou legend about the Rougarou (from the French "loup-garou"), often described as a werewolf-like creature tied to broken promises and selfish choices. Written to be spooky but Scout-appropriate, with a gentle "do the right thing" ending. |
Down in Louisiana, where the bayou water is black and the Spanish moss hangs like curtains, folks say some nights feel... watchful. Papa Boudreaux-the camp's cook and best storyteller-would tap his spoon on the pot and warn us, "Cher, when the swamp goes quiet, you remember your promises. That's when the Rougarou comes lookin'."
He said the Rougarou was a werewolf-like thing-from the old French words loup-garou-and it didn't chase the lost. It followed the selfish. The promise-breakers. The ones who took from the pack and never gave back.
That week, an older Scout named Marcus volunteered to carry a message to the campsite across the water. "I'll do it," he said. He started at dusk on the narrow trail by the bayou, and Papa called after him, half-joking: "Keep your word, garçon. The bayou got ears."
Ten minutes in, the woods changed. No frogs. No insects. Just scratch... scratch... scratch, like claws on bark. Marcus froze-and between the cypress trunks he saw two pale points, steady and level, watching him. Not fireflies. Eyes.
Then he heard a voice ahead: "Please... I need to cross." An old woman stood at the water's edge, trembling. The current was strong, the roots slick. Marcus's stomach tightened. He wanted to run. But he'd promised-and he could hear Papa's words: fear will talk you into being selfish.
So Marcus tested the bank, offered his arm, and guided her across, step by careful step. When her feet touched dry ground, the bayou went silent again-and for one heartbeat her eyes flashed gold. She looked past him into the trees. "You kept your word," she whispered. "And you didn't leave me behind. That's why it can't take you."
Marcus delivered the message and made it back to our fire. Papa Boudreaux didn't ask what Marcus saw. He only asked, "Did you do what you said you'd do?" Marcus nodded. Papa smiled. "Good. Legends don't just scare you. They teach you." And out beyond the ring of firelight, something howled once... and then headed away.
Storyteller tips: slow down on the "scratch... scratch... scratch" line; pause before revealing the old woman.
Optional moral line to add at the end: "In the dark, courage is often just keeping your word and helping the person next to you."