Researchers surmised that Sauiere had found buried treasure in the hills. After all, the area had at various times been a stronghold for the Visigoths who toppled and looted the Holy Roman Empire, the Cathar heretics (slaughtered by Catholic crusaders in the 1400s), and the wildly wealthy Knights Templar. The remains of the fortress of Blanchefort, a Templar Grand Master, stood only miles from the village.

Berenger Sauniere died on January 17, 1917. Here many unverified accounts come into the picture: Allegedly, Sauniere was in perfect health only 5 days before his death, but his loyal housekeper, Marie Denarnaud, ordered a coffin for him anyway, and before burial Sauniere was propped up in a chair to be be visited by many unknown mourners, each of whom plucked a tassel from his robe.

These weird tales aren’t likely to be true. Sauniere wasn’t even in perfect health; he was a smoker who traveled to Lourdes less than a year before his death.

What we do know is this: Sauniere left most of his property, including the Villa Bethania, to Marie Denarnaud. Thanks to his wealth, she owned most of the village by 1905.