The Catacombs of Paris

by Micah Brewer

Photo by National Geographic, photographer Stephen Alvarez

Deep under the streets of Paris lie a labyrinth of tunnels stretching eleven-thousand square miles with walls lined of bones. The bones used to construct these come from the millions of people that were transferred to the catacombs from graveyards in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Graveyards such as Cimetière des Innocents, were considered threats to the public. The overcrowded graveyards were detrimental to the overall health and cleanliness of the city due to the smell of the graveyards and the bacteria. The catacombs are known for housing a few notable figures such as Madame Elisabeth, Simon Vouet, and Salomen De Brosse.

Some people who decide to venture off into the dark depths of the catacombs do not always return to the surface. Some individuals who have returned claim to hear the walls speaking to them after midnight. The eerie voices were encouraging them to lose their way by travelling deeper into the tunnels and suffer a horrible death. Catacomb explorers recovered video evidence of this. The video displayed a man wandering, without direction, deeper into the dark pathways of the Paris catacombs. Eventually, the man panics and drops the camera. He is then seen running off into a dark corridor. It is also believed that different cults steal bodies from morgues which are then brought into the catacombs for satanic rituals.

Catophiles is the name given to the people who enjoy being in the catacombs and exploring them. Catophiles often throw parties in the tunnels of the catacombs. Catophiles also journey into unmapped areas of the catacombs in search of naturally made swimming pools. To reach these pools they must venture into claustrophobia-inducing tunnels and wade through murky waters to reach a natural oasis.

Organized catacomb tours are offered to the public in Paris. A ticket can be purchased for as low as twenty-nine euros which is equivalent to thirty-three dollars and six cents in U.S. currency. It is best to stay with your tour group to reduce this risk of getting lost and to reduce the likelihood that the walls will start talking to you.

Works Cited:
Roger-Viollet, “The Origin of the Catacombs.” Les Catacombs, 2018, http://www.catacombes.paris.fr/en/catacombs

Hill, Jacob, “Ten bone-chilling facts about the catacombs in Paris.” Listverse.com, 2018, http://listverse.com/2018/05/14/10-bone-chilling-facts-about-the-catacombs-of-paris/

Cooney, Caroline H., “Ten chilling stories from catacombs around the world.” Graveyardshift.com, https://www.ranker.com/list/ghost-stories-about-haunted-catacombs/caroline-cooney, accessed 2018

Further research links:
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/france/paris/articles/forbidden-paris-the-secret-world-of-the-parisian-catacombs/
The link above gives you a more in-depth explanation of the history and structure of the Paris Catacombs.

https://epicpew.com/interesting-facts-catacombs-book-review/
The link above gives us more interesting facts about the catacombs.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/archaeology/rome-catacombs/
The link above gives you insight into the Rome catacombs to compare and contrast with the Paris catacombs.

Catacombs of Paris

Yasmine Samuel
 
 

 
 
Paris is known as the city of love and romance, however not many know that under this beautiful city is remains of the dead. Beneath the city lie the Catacombs of Paris, which was built in 1700’s. It is a series of old caves, quarries, and tunnels aligned with bones of the dead, that stretches 186 miles. Catacombs are mostly found throughout the Mediterranean, Rome, Paris, and Italy, but they originated in the Middle East. However the Catacombs of Paris came about after a long spring rain caused the Les Innocents to collapse and the rotten bodies to flow over in the neighboring property. Before catacombs were created, LES INNOCENTS  was the largest cemetery in France, however it became over populated. In 1786 the quarries were blessed and consecrated turning them into the Paris Catacombs. It took two years for all the remains from the Les Innocents and all the other cemeteries in Paris to be transferred and buried in the catacombs. Over six million skulls and bones are along the walls of the underground tunnel. The Catacombs of Paris is open to the public, however the people only has access to a small fraction because people would get lost and eventually die since the catacombs branches off.

 
Even though it is illegal and there is a seventy- seven dollar fine for roaming certain parts of the Paris Catacombs; they are still roamed clandestine groups sometimes spend day and night below the city. CATAPHILES, who love the Paris underground, seek peace and quiet, and it is their way of escaping the laws of the city. They are quite welcoming because being underground with people that have the same interest, there is a sense of equality, something that does not exist to them above the city. Vast majority of cataphiles are young males, who have behavioral issues and smoke weed. Cataphiles get in the Catacombs of Paris by using secret entrances in sewers, man hole, and more. Nobody knows for sure because information about where to find them is kept a secret and not shared with outsiders. Some use the catacombs as canvas for artwork, take photos, draw maps, and others use it as a place to party at a cheaper cost in a more juvenile atmosphere than the bars and clubs. Since most of their time is spent underground, cataphiles furnishes certain parts with stone benches and tables to rest and socialize.
 
According to John Law, one of the founders of the San Francisco Suicide Club that in the 1970s arranged events inside off- limits bridge towers and vacant hospitals. Thought of the Catacombs of Paris as an astonishing place that him and the group of explores he was with would remember the experience greatly—if they make it out alive. Experiencing first-hand how cataphiles roam underground without a map, possibly of falling into shafts, and passing many confusing chamber and crawl spaces not knowing where or what it led to. John Law and his team experience proves how people who are not reallyfamiliar with the Catacombs of Paris risk their life. Simply because they are not familiar with all the portals that lead back to the city surface.
 
Works cited:
Breeden Aurelien. “The Secret is out on a Cherished Underground Haven.” Nytimes.com. The New York Times Company, 20 Oct 2014. Web. 14 Oct 2015.

Heritageinaction. “Down the Rabbit Hole- Letting Paris’s Hidden Subculture of Tunnels.” Hertiageinaction.wordpress.com. Heritage in Action, 11 June 2012. Web. 19 Oct 2015.

“Paris’ Les Innocents Cemetery.” Paris-promenades.com. Paris-Promenades, n.d. Web.20 Oct 2015.
Solis Julia. “Paris’s Urban Underground.” NationalGeographic.com. National Geographic Society, 2007. Web. 19 Oct 2015.
 
Links for further research: 
National Geographic http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/02/paris-underground/shea-text
Gives insight about the history of the Paris Catacombs, but also information about how they are today.

Les Catacombes Historie de Paris http://www.catacombes.paris.fr/en/catacombs/more-2000-years-history
Gives information and important dates about the Paris Catacombs and provides the things visitors see when touring it.

What Lies Beneath; The discovery of A Cinema Below the Streets of Paris Has Drawn http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic/
Tells about how the use of Paris Catacombs has changed as time progressed, and how much of a risk cataphiles take to be underground.

Catacombs of Rome

Author: Denterria Edmond

Not many people actually know what catacombs are, let alone where they exist, and what they are use for, there actual purpose. According to the many sources I have used to conduct this research on this quite strange and unusual topic, catacombs are “underground passages and rooms once used for the burial of the dead” (Duchesne). Catacombs were created because the Romans needed more space for burials. It has been said that catacombs held people who were not following the same religious beliefs that the roman government had set for everyone, which was Christianity. Roman catacombs actually had more uses to them than just burial sites for Christians and Jews. “Besides serving as places of burial, the catacombs were used as hiding places from persecution, as shrines to saints and martyrs, and for funeral feasts” (Adams). So as you can see as the centuries went on catacombs began to expand and become more than just homes for the dead.

:This image shows an actual Christian catacombs and how some of them actually look. 

They were all made differently.

Catacombs vary in size. The largest known and most popular are the catacombs of San Callisto which reaches about 19 kilometers long, in 5 levels high, and goes about 20 meters deep. The catacombs of San Callisto are about 2000 years old and are still being toured daily. The San Castillo catacombs were actually expanded by Callistus the 1st who is also buried in these catacombs. Before Callistus died he was actually a known pope of Rome, that’s how this catacomb became known after him, and because he was the one that actual put a time and effort into expanding it. “The catacombs were expanded to not only include more tombs, but also chapels, meeting areas, dining rooms, and places to sleep” (WorldSiteGuides). This became known as one of the most important catacombs because of the many people known to be buried here. “Over the course of history more than 50 martyrs and 16 popes have been buried here making it one of the most important Christian cemeteries” (WorldSiteGuides).

This video takes you on an actual virtual tour about the catacombs of San Callisto and goes into more depth about the information given above.

Works Cited

"Catacombs." The Columbia Encyclopedia. New York: Columbia University Press, 2013. Credo Reference. Web. 19 October 2013.

"Catacombs." The Classical Tradition. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2010. Credo Reference. Web. 19 October 2013.

"Catacombs." The Columbia Encyclopedia. New York: Columbia University Press, 2013. Credo Reference. Web. 19 October 2013.

WorldSiteGuides. “Catacombs of San Callisto.” Youtube.com. Google. January 18, 2011 .Web. 19 October 2013.

Links for Further Research:

RickSteves. “Roman, Italy: Catacombs and Appian Way.” Youtube.com. Youtube. June 8, 2009. Web. October 2013.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIHGlj_MoxY

The link above is a video that shows two men going on a tour of the ancient and abandoned catacombs.

Vatican May Yield to Jews Two Catacombs Under Rome. (1977, Apr 06). The Washington Post (1974-Current File). Web.  19 October 2013.

http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/hnpwashingtonpost/docview/146742040/1413752C2D011039E75/1?accountid=25998

The link above takes you to an article which talks about the Jewish catacombs controlled by the Vatican’s that could possibly be handed over to the Italian government because of its importance to them.

The Catacombs of Rome. (1876, Feb 13). New York Times (1857-1922). Web. 19 October 2013.

http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/hnpnewyorktimes/docview/93520518/1413770F0AE29C333DC/2?accountid=25998

The link above talks about how everything pretty much having to do with catacombs and how they began with the Italians.

Catacombs of Paris

Author: Kenneth Brown

“Into the 19th century those caverns and tunnels were mined for building stone. After that farmers raised mushrooms in them, at one point producing hundreds of tons a year. During World War II, French Resistance fighters—the underground—hid in some quarries; the Germans built bunkers in others. Today the tunnels are roamed by a different clandestine group, a loose and leaderless community whose members sometimes spend days and nights below the city. They're called cataphiles, people who love the Paris underground.”

Small portions of The Paris Catacombs have been open and used to and by tourists ever since the early nineteenth century because of the danger and risk of The Paris Catacombs. Lots of people have gotten mislead in the passages and died in the Underground tunnels. It has gotten so bad that now the Paris police department was created to patrol them, to make sure that people don’t go in the unwanted areas of the cave. To this day many crazy wanderers sneak down into the unmapped and unknown sections of The Catacombs of Paris to see what they can find. 

If you look carefully in some of the areas the bones are laid in different patterns. The Leg bones are stacked high in rows covered beneath the skulls. In the other chambers pieces of legs, arms, ribs, and heads are scattered all over the floor. The Catacombs Paris consists of rooms where you must walk across a sea of skeletons in order to pass through. These piles are really deep. You cannot tell how deep these piles go or how many layers of bones lie beneath your feet.

My opinion personally I would not explore the caves because it is not safe. If you think about it you could say it’s a gamble or a risk. It is also a win lose situation. People think that it’s great to explore forbidden areas but just because something looks good doesn't mean the outcome will be great itself.  In the article it says people have gotten lost from getting off the main tour route.  It really does seem interesting though.

Work Cited Page

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=catacombs+of+paris&oq=catacombs+&gs_l=youtube.1.0.0l10.1196.3784.0.5713.10.8.0.2.2.0.191.809.3j5.8.0...0.0...1ac.1.11.youtube.YocyXtLK2YM            This site helped gives me video and media information about how the catacombs look like inside.

http://the39clues.scholastic.com/cahillweb/article/i-like-useless-facts-paris-catacombs

This Site gave me an insight of how the Catacombs of Paris were put to use.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/02/paris-underground/shea-text

Paris’ Underground Catacombs

Author: Niko Simmons

The Catacombs of Paris are an underground cemetery located in Paris, France. The catacombs contain the remains of over six million people. Skulls and bones are aligned along the walls of the underground tunnel as it is a tourist attraction to the public.

            The catacombs for the dead were built in the late 1700’s from various cemeteries around Paris. The Cemetery of the Innocents, now the Great Central Market, was the first cemetery evacuated into the catacombs. People protested that this cemetery constituted a public health danger. The soil of the cemetery of the Innocents was said to be “flesh-eating.” It wasn’t until 1785 authorities demolished the cemetery and removed the contents to an old stone quarry in Paris. This was an underground system of tunnels and passages. The transferring of skeletons from other cemeteries took around 15 months, along with the bodies that were demolished during the French Revolution.

            The presence of increased humidity and accelerated decay on the bones would most likely dissatisfy some visitors. However, the remains present themselves as part of a vast coral reef. They are a slow accretion of minerals in a tideless sea of time. Many of these bones have been studied for leprosy, a disease in which causes skin sores, nerve damage, and muscle weakness. After being observed, none had any signs of Leprosy.

The catacombs may seem as a site of disregard and desecration, but it was never intended as such. Almost 200,000 people a year come to see the view of the underworld and grasp an idea of mortality in the catacombs. The entrance into the statured cemetery begins with a spiral stairway which consists of 130 steps. After reaching the level of tunnels and walking through long passages, there is a giant iron door detailed with an inscription. Only by light can it be seen and it says, “Arrềte! C’est ici l’empire de la mort.” It means ‘Halt! This is the empire of the dead.’ On the other side are the remains of the six million dead. 

A boy having fun with creative lighting in the catacombs

The catacombs have been the site of celebrated activities. In April 1897, a secret concert was held for over hundreds of scholars, artists, writers, and members of the Parisian government. This was the first of many festivities in the underground graveyard. Every first week in December, students from Ecole de Mines, a prestigious engineering school in France, are given a key to the catacombs and they are allowed to throw a party. Their only rule is to clean up afterwards.

The catacombs may seem as if it is a haunted chamber filled with human remains but it’s a great tourist attraction for the city of Paris. There is a meaning behind why people would want to come visit the remains of those they have never met but yet, find some kind of amusement from doing so.      

Works Cited:

Alvarez, Stephen. “Under Paris.” Photograph. National Geographic Magazine. February 2011. Web. 22 October 2012

“Catacombs.” The Columbia Encyclopedia. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. Credo Reference. Web. 15 October 2012

“The Catacombs of Paris.” New York Times (1857-1922): 18 November 1857. Web. 11 October 2012

Gup, Ted. “Empire of the Dead.” Smithsonian. April 2000: 106 Gale World History In Context. Web. 13 October 2012

Jopling, W.H. Christenen, V. Moller. “An Examination of the Skulls in the Catacombs of Paris.” Medical History. 8 April 1964: 187-188. Web. 11 October 2012

Russell, Kenneth. “Skulls of the Dead- Paris Catacombs” Photograph. National Geographic Magazine. 1996-2012. Web. 22 October 2012

Shea, Neil. “Paris Catacombs.” National Geographic Magazine. February 2011. Web. 15 October 2012

Links for Further Research:

History of the Catacombs of Paris

http://www.catacombes-de-paris.fr/english.htm

Gives general information on the catacombs

Catacombs of Paris and Rome

http://www.oldandsold.com/articles13/catacombs.shtml

Compares and contrasts the two underground cemeteries

Loving Life In Paris’ Empire of the Dead

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/02/world/europe/wus-france-catacombs/index.html

Some ways of how people enjoy the “underground” lifestyle