The Empire of Death!

Stop, this is the Empire of Death! reads the sign over the entryway to the Parisian Catacombs.

Begin at Place Denfert-Rochereau and descend a small stone stairways down 19 meters.

It is dark, damp and absolutely creepy and goes on for miles.

I love it!

In the Parisian cemeteries, the poor had been buried in mass graves for centuries. Human waste and disease began leaking into the cities well water. In the 18th century, Parisian officials decided it was time for action. They transferred millions of human remains into underground quarries.

The bones were arranged in artistic patterns. 

There is graffiti in the catacombs that dates back to the 18th century. 

Members of the French Resistance hid from the Nazis in the catacombs. 

Umberto Eco's novel Foucault's Pendulum speaks of the catacombs as being a resting place for documents from the Knights Templar. 

Barbara Hambly wrote of the catacombs being a home to  a 600 year old vampire in Those Who Hunt The Night. 

Go ahead, next time you're in Paris, I dare you to have a look! And please let me know if you think there are any hauntings....

Sweet dreams!

Groses bisous et a demain!

Love, Charley