Catacombs of Paris

Under the streets of Paris are miles and miles of tunnels. These tunnels served as a last (but not first) burial ground for the deceased. The compilation of these skeletons took place in the 1700’s and it is estimated that the bones of six million rest throughout the tunnels.

The summer of 2007, my friend Nicole and I took a tour through the Catacombs during our stay in Paris. It was, with out question, the most disturbing place I have ever been. We were 80 feet underneath the city and walking though the dark tunnels sometimes only inches away from the sides of the walls where bones were stacked up over five feet high. We were not led by a guide but left alone to turn down dark corners with no one in front of us at times.

Looking around we could see that whoever worked down in the catacombs when the bones were being laid had actually taken the time to organize them by bone. For instance, a certain part of the wall was all shoulder bones, stacked up like a jigsaw puzzle, while the other side was all thigh bones. Not only did that disturb us but in some cases there were designs made in the walls such as a heart or a cross outlined by skulls.

The tour only led us through two miles of the underground bone city, but by the end I was almost running to keep up with Nicole who only had her mind set on getting OUT as fast as humanly possible.

Tonight I watched an episode of “Scariest Places on Earth” which featured the Catacombs of Paris. It was not coverage of the tourist-known Catacombs, but rather the lengthy tunnels most people never see. The show stated that there are 400 miles of the underground tunnels, many collapsed, filled with water and unsafe for traveling through. Of course that didn’t stop the show from entering those parts.

This place may not seem as disturbing when reading about it or watching a video of it, but it is a whole different, heavy, unwelcoming feeling when inside. Seeing the many, many bones and the organization that went into quite a few of the walls; thinking about whom the bones belong to and who worked down there is a lot to handle.

If you are ever in Paris, I would suggest visiting the catacombs. Just be sure your mind is stable enough to handle what you witness.

Thanks to the Si-Fi Channel for stirring up memories, I may have some nightmares tonight...