Cucugnan (French pronunciation: [kykyɲɑ̃] ⓘ; Occitan: Cucunhan) is a commune in the Aude department in southern France, approximately 29.5 kilometres (18.3 mi) north-west of Perpignan.

The small village lies in a valley in the Corbières Massif, overlooked by the ruined Château de Quéribus, which stands at the top of a 728-metre (2,388 ft) hill to the south of Cucugnan.

[6][8] The Château de Quéribus, which lies 2.1 kilometres (1.3 mi) south-east of Cucugnan, is a notable monument historique and it is sometimes regarded as the last stronghold of the followers of the Cathar faith after their defeat at Montségur in 1244.

Daudet's story is based on a sermon preached in 1858 by the Abbot Ruffié which attempts to persuade the local Christian congregation to turn to a virtuous life by recounting an imaginary trip to heaven, purgatory and hell, where the narrator finds all the old inhabitants of Cucugnan being tortured among the flames.

The story reputedly originated with a Narbonne writer, Hercules Birat, later rewritten by Achille Mir of Carcassonne, and finally acquired and popularised by Daudet.