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Note: I'm an English learner and I wrote this text to practise my written English. If you want to give me feedback about my English, please go ahead!

The Triangle de la Burle, in English, the Triangle of the Burle, is an area located in France, on the East of the Massif Central, between Ardèche, Loire and Haute-Loire. It is known for its supposedly abnormal amount of airplane crashes. Its name comes from French journalist Jean Peyrard who published a book about the Triangle entitled “Le Triangle de la Burle  - Bermudes en Cévenne” [The Triangle of the Burle - Bermuda in the Cévennes]. As you can see, this name is a reference to the Bermuda Triangle. As for the Burle, it is the name of a north wind that blows in the region during winter.

According to some, since the 1940s there has been a high amount of plane accidents in this area. Some witnesses say they have seen UFOs such as balls of light in the air.

The first accident happened on November 3 1943. A Hallifax from the Royal Air Force crashed during the night near the village of Marcols-les-Eaux. Seven of the eight soldiers on board died. There was a storm on that night, which probably caused the accident. However, some people said that they had seen luminous objects around the plane.

The Triangle of the Burle became known internationally when a Skyways plane crashed in the region on May 13 1948. There were three crew members and four passengers. One of the passengers was Kathleen Kennedy, JFK’s sister.

There are also cases of plane crashes where, when the rescuers go to the area where the accident happened, they find nothing, and no plane is declared lost. It is called a crash de rien, a nothing crash.

There are all kinds of theories to explain those accidents. As said earlier, bad weather is one of them. This area is one of the regions with the largest number of volcanic pipes in the world. Those pipes are said to canalise an energy that can disturb planes’ devices. There is a large amount of quartz as well, which can have an influence too. Some think the cause of these events comes from the sky, as some objects were observed in the air. Magnetic perturbations were also suggested as a possibility, as it could disturb navigation devices. It might come from electromagnetic clouds or from the volcanic ground.

The existence of the triangle has been questioned by the association Ardéchois à Paris in an article published on their website. They argue that most of the accidents associated with the triangle happened outside the area. The main cause, according to them, is the weather. The Cévennes are known for facing strong rains and violent storms. There are also periods of fog, which is especially dangerous in the mountains. The association also states that many of these accidents happened because of human mistakes. 

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Note: I'm an English learner and I wrote this text to practise my written English. If you want to give me feedback about my English, please go ahead!

In my publication about the tarasque I mentioned another creature called the drac.

The drac exists in several French tales and legends, especially in Occitania and western Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is most often an incarnation of the Devil, which takes the form of all sorts of creatures, objects, and people. But it seems unable to become a needle as it doesn’t know how to pierce its head to make the eye of a needle.

There are plenty of dracs in France, and the one I want to talk about lives in the Rhône, near the town of Beaucaire. It is said that the it lives in a palace deep in the river. With golden objects, it attracts people to the river and takes them. It especially targets breastfeeding women so they can feed its own children.

Gervase of Tilbury was the first one to write about the creature in his encyclopaedia Recreation for an Emperor (Otia imperialia), in the early 13th century. He portrays a dragon living in the Rhône.

There are different versions of this story. One of my favourites was told by Paul Sébillot in Le Folklore de la France : La mer et les eaux douces (The Folklore of France: Sea and freshwaters). Here is a synopsis:

A woman from Beaucaire was cleaning her laundry in the Rhône when she noticed a wooden bowl floating on water. She was intrigued and tried to grab it, but it moved away. She wanted to get closer, but the more she tried to approach it, the further it was. When she reached a deep area of the river, the drac caught her and took her into the depths.

It brought her to its place and tasked her to feed its child. She was its prisoner for years.

One day, she was given a cake with snake flesh. While eating it, she touched her eye with her greasy hands. At that moment, she noticed that she could see distinctly under water.

The drac finally let her go seven years after snatching her. She went back to Beaucaire and explained to startled inhabitants what had happened to her. She told them the drac fed on human flesh, and, sometimes, it took human form to hide among them.

One day, she met another drac. It had taken human form, but she recognised it with her power. The drac knew how she saw him, and touched her eye to remove her ability.

The drac of Beaucaire is just one of the many legends and tales about this creature. There is a story where it becomes a ball of string to trick a woman. In another tale, it is a mare or a donkey, of which body grows longer as more people mount it. Or a story where it is the master of the ocean.

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Note: I'm an English learner and I wrote this text to practise my written English. If you want to give me a feedback about my English, please go ahead!

The Tarasque is a legendary creature from the French town of Tarascon, Bouches-du-Rhône. It was a half-dragon, half-fish beast that lived a long time ago in the Rhône, terrorising the locals, until St. Martha tamed it. This story is told by Jacobus de Voragine in The Golden Legend, a collection of stories about the lives of several saints.

These events take place during the 1st century A.D. Martha of Bethany was the sister of Mary and Lazarus. She devoted herself to serving Jesus Christ. After Jesus’ resurrection, she travelled on a boat with her brother and her sister. Although they lost the sails, the oars and the rudder, they managed to reach Marseille, in the South of France. Then, they travelled to the area between Arles and Avignon. This is where Martha heard about a half-dragon and half-fish creature. She was told that it was bigger than an ox or a horse, and its maw was full of enormous teeth. People said it was the descendant of a sea monster and it came from the Galatia sea. This creature attacked travellers and sank boats sailing on the river. Martha decided that she had to help the local population. She went on the bank of the Rhône and met the ferocious beast. She poured holy water on it and brandished a cross. Thus, the monster became gentle and docile. Martha fastened it with her belt and took it to the villagers. The latter attacked it and killed it to finally make it pay after all these years of terror.

Martha stayed in the village and devoted her life to prayer and fasting. She was considered a saint and in the XVth century the Sainte-Marthe Church was built in Tarascon.

During the same century, king René invented les Fêtes de la Tarasque, a festival to celebrate Saint Martha and the beast. He also founded l'Ordre des Chevaliers de la Tarasque (the Order of the Knights of the Tarasque) of which members are called Tarascaïres. Les Fêtes de la Tarasque are still celebrated today, every year in June, and are inspired by the legend. Numerous shows are organised, including the running of the Tarasque, during which the Tarascaïres carry around a reproduction of the beast, teasing and scaring the public. The creature is green and red, with a tail and a shell covered with thorns on its back. This event is also an occasion to celebrate more aspects of the local culture. Thus, one can see people dressed in traditional clothing during the parade, or participate in activities about Alphonse Daudet's character, Tartarin of Tarascon. These few days have a religious importance too, as the local Christian community also celebrates St. Martha. The cleric, for instance, blesses the Tarasque at the opening of the event.

Some think the Tarasque could represent the river overflowing and destroying everything around. Or they see in this legend the victory of Christianity over Gaulish beliefs: the Tarasque personifies the pagan cult, "defeated" by St. Martha after she spreaded Christianity. After all, it seems that one of the reasons for her journey was to convert new believers.

In conclusion, I would like to draw attention to the Tarasque's likeness to the Drac of Beaucaire. Beaucaire is on the opposite side of the Rhône, and the similarity between Tarascon’s and Beaucaire’s creatures is probably not a coincidence, in my opinion.

Also, I found some Christian website that has, apparently, the full version of The Golden Legend.

Here is the list of all the Saints’ stories.

And here, St. Martha's story.

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