There have always been many rumors about the sorceress Catillon. They talked about her tirelessly in those days when she was still alive. She is remembered to this day. Here, for example, is the story of Catillon, told by Jules Liard, a peasant from Avry-devan-Pont. His ancestors lived in this village since 1315. From 1950 to 1976, Jules Liard was the head of the Avry commune.
“In Zhiblu,” that’s the name of the forest that towers above our village, “there is a small spring. People call it the Catilion Fountain, because not far from this place was the refuge of a witch. On the mountain road leading to the peaks of Molezon, there is a Catillon stone, reminding travelers that a witch appeared in this place. Catilion wandered throughout the Gruyere region, terrifying its inhabitants. People believed that Catillon alone was to blame for all the troubles happening to them, that it was she who caused hurricanes, hail, livestock deaths, and even such terrible diseases as plague or foot-and-mouth disease. No one doubted her involvement in all the most heinous crimes that were committed in the area, and great efforts were made to catch Catillon and send her to the stake, but this was not so easy.
Once she caused a hurricane, and due to her malicious intent, lightning struck directly into the bell tower of the church in the village of Avri. The next morning, after the hurricane had passed, people found the iron rooster, which had adorned the bell tower spire just yesterday, in the priest’s chicken coop! Everyone immediately agreed that only Catillon could have set up such a nasty thing and urgent measures must be taken to neutralize the witch.
And one day Catillon turned into a hare and forced several hunters to chase her all day. Early in the morning, hunters noticed a hare jumping out of the forest and decided to shoot it. They set off in pursuit, but the scythe, being in sight all the time, did not allow them to reach a distance sufficient for a shot. In the evening our bunny returned to Zhibla. The hunters ran up to the forest and saw that some woman was coming towards them, whom they immediately recognized as the witch Catillon.
Everything could be expected from Catilion. With the help of witchcraft, she did amazing things. Catillon favored those who happened to do her some service. For example, sometimes she sent a terrible storm to the ground, and all the peasants' hay in the area was scattered, rained on and spoiled. But the hay of the one who at one time did not spare a piece of bread for the sorceress was carried by a gust of wind straight to his barn. In those ancient times, when Catillon was still alive, people did not doubt the authenticity of all these stories about the witch. However, even now many believe the stories about Catillon’s deeds, which generally seem unlikely.
Catillon was eventually caught. She was in her refuge; people found her and grabbed her while she was sleeping. Catilion was tied up, put in a cart and taken to Haute-Ville, where she was burned as a witch in a place that the inhabitants of this city called the Fork. I think it was in the eighteenth century. That's the whole story about Catillon.
Catherine Repon, whom people called the sorceress of Catillon, became the last “witch” to be executed in the canton of Fribourg.
The first documented evidence of witchcraft in Friborg dates back to 1396. One day, the abbot of the Augustinian monastery learned that the priest and several monks had turned to sorcerers to find out from them who was guilty of stealing the monastery’s cattle. He launched a high-profile investigation into this matter, and those guilty of sorcery were punished. Alas, from the 14th to the 18th centuries, at least three hundred people accused of dealing with the devil were executed on the territory that now belongs to the canton of Fribourg.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru