Rugaru
| |
| Rugarou | |
|---|---|
| Powers and Abilities | Superior strength, speed, and aggression. Feeds on human flesh. |
| Vulnerabilities | Fire |
| Appearance | Humanoid with wormy skin, rotted teeth and black eyes (after feeding). |
| Episode(s) | 4.04 Metamorphosis 5.22 Swan Song (mentioned) 6.10 Caged Heat 8.02 What's Up, Tiger Mommy? 8.18 Freaks and Geeks (mentioned) 9.07 Bad Boys (mentioned) |
Travis: Boys, we got a rugaru on our hands.
Dean: A rugaru? Is that made up? That sounds made up.
Travis: Yep, like a maggot turning into a bull fly.
Travis: They're mean, nasty little suckers. Rotted teeth, wormy skin, the works.
Dean: Well, that ain't this guy. I mean, he was wearing a cellphone on his belt.
Travis: He'll turn ugly soon enough. They start out human, for all intents and purposes.
Sam: So, what? They go through some kind of metamorphosis?
– Travis to Dean and Sam, 4.04 Metamorphosis
The rugaru is the result of a genetic mutation that, when expressed, causes the affected human to experience a murderous, cannibalistic hunger.
Outwardly the rugaru can appear human for years, never knowing its true nature, but eventually it becomes consumed with a terrible hunger. During this time, it feeds on any meat it can get its hands on, until it finally gives in to the craving for human flesh. The rugaru will also demonstrate superhuman strength, and its bones will move under its skin. One bite of human flesh is all that's necessary for the rugaru to transform outwardly into a monster, at which point it can never appear or be human again. The only way to kill it is by setting it on fire, otherwise it will continue killing people to sate its hunger.
Contents
Characteristics
Powers and Abilities
- Enhanced physical attributes - Strength and speed
Vulnerabilities
- Fire
Episodes
4.04 Metamorphosis
A hunter called Travis asks for help from Sam and Dean. He once killed a rugaru, but unbeknownst to him, it had fathered a child that was adopted out after his death. Travis explains that the rugaru "gene" runs in families.
Travis argues that the rugaru only operates on base instinct and cannot be reasoned with, but Sam argues against killing the rugaru, Jack Montgomery, on the grounds that Jack has not actually killed anyone yet, stating that there are records of rugarus resisting their darker appetites (although Travis claims that they are all conjecture rather than fact). Although the Winchesters try to save Jack by warning him about his heritage, he is overcome by his nature when Travis threatens his pregnant wife Michelle, and kills and eats Travis. In the final stage of his transformation, Jack is still able to communicate and demonstrate horror, anger, love and remorse, lying to protect his wife and clearly trying not to eat Dean, but his newly-awakened hunger finally proves too much for him. Sam finally burns him to death. Jack's wife Michelle escapes, and the fate of their child is unknown.
5.22 Swan Song
Following the events at Stull Cemetery and Dean's departure, Bobby goes to hunt a rugaru.
6.10 Caged Heat
Sam and Dean hand a rugaru to two demons working for Crowley.
8.02 What's Up, Tiger Mommy?
While in Purgatory, Dean and Benny come across a rugaru (that Dean refers to as a "mutt"), who gets tortured by Dean to get the location of Castiel. Dean kills it afterwards by stabbing it through the chin and into its head with Ruby's knife.
8.18 Freaks and Geeks
Sam mentions that he and Dean met Victor Rogers sometime in the past when they hunted a rugaru in Washington.
9.07 Bad Boys
In 1995 John Winchester is on a rugaru hunt in the Catskills in upstate New York, when Dean is arrested for stealing food.
Rugaru in Lore
The rougarou, also spelled roux-ga-roux, rugaroo or rugaru, is a werewolf-like creature with lore from the French-speaking communities of southern Louisiana ("garou" means "a man who transforms into an animal"). It is disputed whether they are related to the monsters of Native American lore. More on the rougarou legends.
Trivia
- Graem Beddoes portrayed the Purgatory rugaru in 8.02 What's Up, Tiger Mommy?.
