Dem' Bones, Dem' Bones

Being a lover of many things bizarre and macabre....often causes others to shake their heads at me in complete bafflement and certain misunderstanding. I've come to accept this as the natural course of things, and it truly does not phase me in the least. Those who share my love of these things understand...and that is all I could really hope for I suppose.

One such bizarre and macabre place that captures my attention, are the Paris Catacombs, in....well Paris of course! I first became intrigued by them while watching episodes of "Cities of the Underworld" on the History channel. Then that of course led me to further research on the web, and even a desperate attempt to extract some morsel of first hand information about them from my one and only French friend who is from Paris, but now lives in England. Unfortunately, he didn't really have much info to give me, but he did forward me this image to whet my appetite. One day, if I make it to Paris....the Catacombs will be tops on my list of things to investigate.

The history is rich and old, as the underground tunnels were once stone quarries of the Romans. Later in the 18th century, they would become a mass dumping ground for the bones from the overflowing cemeteries and graveyards of Paris. It is estimated to house the remains of some 6 million + Parisians and counting depending on the source. It was even used by Sorcerers to hold 'black masses' during the 1348 plague. 185 miles of tunnels and passageways honeycomb the underbelly of the city, and 100 feet beneath lie the infamous catacombs. Some of the catacombs are open to the public, but many accesses have been sealed off and are unsafe for explorers. That hasn't hindered their efforts however. Cataphiles as they are coined, frequently haunt the underground tunnels and are constantly worming their way in through new openings.

More recently...this macabre underground mecca, has become a source of a secret nightlife for Paris youths and thrill seekers, as well as vagrants and bandits. In fact, astonishingly, an underground movie house was recently discovered by police. The moviehouse could seat up to 30 people on benches carved from the rock, and was complete with a restaurant, bar, phone service, working toilet and electricity being siphoned off of the state power company's cables.

The Catacombs have figured prominently in popular culture, from Edgar Allen Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado", referenced in "Les Misérables" and even more recently in Anne Rice's "Interview With The Vampire". This journey below, immerses one into the city's past, and brings one face to face with death in the bowels of the earth. What more could a spooky lil' girl like me wish for, if not a chance to see all 'Dem Bones' for myself?! For 'legal and legitimate' visitation information...check the website of the Catacombs of Paris Museum.