Like the fog which adheres best to quickset hedges and hollows of countryside paths, in Berry, the phantasmagorical shadows that fuel peasant fears seem to have resisted the rationalist sweep of the Age of Enlightenment.

Up to the 17th century, however, this region was probably not fundamentally more superstitious than the other lands of France. Yet it saw spectacular trials for sorcery. The most famous is that of the Marlou «carroir», in Bué, near Sancerre (1583, five suspects hanged).

But it is especially George Sand’s works who popularized the image of a «sorcerer» Berry, depicting the not always innocent ways of its «dark valley».

The writer Claude Seignolle, after unremittingly collecting popular traditions, raised with talent some creatures typical of the country: the facetious «birettes» (ghosts wearing blouses), or the disturbing wolf herdsman.

Beyond folklore, Berry cannot be ignored by all those who track the survival of privileged dealings with the occult. They can still be sure to discover
some story about the evil eye, mysteriously decimated herds or flocks, or malevolent neighbours.
 

Immerse in this ambience on the first floor.