Paris is known as a city of romance and is arguably one of the most beautiful cities in the world, but with Halloween fast approaching one might wonder does Paris have a hidden side? Even a spooky or haunted side? In any city with this much history there are bound to be legends, myths and even ghost stories to be heard. So follow me on a tour through a few of the most eerie locations in the city of love.
Paris was founded over two thousand years ago which means it has experienced an unbelievable amount of history and with history often comes tragedies. Personally I am not a big believer in ghosts or haunted histories of places. I do, however, find it endlessly intriguing to hear a spooky tale attached to a historic place. Nothing can make you feel more like a kid again then hearing a scary story and standing in a place where legend has it something creepy occurred. Haunted tales are almost always associated with some type of amazing (often true) historical story. So when you hear a ghost story you are really getting a history lesson, only much more interesting then anything a textbook could try to explain. For me, the idea of "and people still hear her crying on the third floor" is not nearly as interesting as getting an insight into a real person who lived long ago. Our first stop on our haunted tour of Paris is place where many Parisians end up, Pere Lachaise Cemetery.
Pere Lachaise Cemetery was opened by Napolean in 1804 and now holds over a million graves. This enormous cemetery is the final resting place for many famous and influential people and has become the most visited graveyard in the world. Within these walls there are tree lined walking paths weaving between some ornate mausoleums and gorgeous gravestones. As you meander through the cobblestone paths you will be struck by the sheer beauty of this place. It really is awe inspiring and you have to sometimes remind yourself that you are not in one of Paris's beautiful parks.
Along with how beautiful the cemetery is you will also be able to visit many famous people's graves. To name a few George Melies, Chopin, Proust, Jim Morrison, Gertrude Stein, Oscar Wilde and many more are buried here.
Some tombs have more flair then others. This is Georges Rodenbach, a famous poet and novelist from the 1800s. Here he is depicted dramatically bursting from his grave to grab a rose, apparently this is very appropriate considering his dramatic spirit when he was alive. You will see a handful of regular tombstones at this cemetery however more often you will find artistic, original and detailed graves.
As you might imagine any place that houses this many departed souls and has this much fame would draw a certain ghost hunting crowd. Many tourists seek out this cemetery to catch a glimpse of some of the most famous ghosts to still walk the earth today. There are stories of ghosts tugging on people's clothing if they get too close to their tomb. There have been Chopin sightings and many even claim they have snagged a photo of some of these sneaky ghouls.
Walking around this amazing place you could let your imagination wander. I mean if ghosts were going to hang out anywhere, this is not a bad place to do it.
This being the city of love you should know that even the dead here are romantic. There is a popular story about this cemetery that has to do with Marcel Proust. Proust is buried here and it happens to be the same cemetery as his lover (and famous composer, pianist and conductor) Maurice Ravel. People claim that as night falls on Pere Lachaise, Proust and Ravel rise from their graves and walk the labyrinth of alleys in the graveyard in search of one another. This nightly ritual is both romantic and heartbreaking because it is a very large cemetery and must be a tremendous search each evening.
The next stop on our tour is potentially the creepiest place in all of Paris. We are headed deep beneath the streets of the city of lights to see the famous Catacombs. The catacombs are one of the most fascinating places in the world. Tourists and ghost hunters alike flock to this below ground burial sight to catch a glimpse of the past and the paranormal. When cemeteries in Paris became overcrowded they created the catacombs as a solution to this issue. It is known as the world's largest grave holding over six million human remains. These souls fell victim to famine, war, disease, etc. and were placed below the city.
There are over 100 steps that lead you down to the catacombs. With each step there is more and more of a chill in the air, like a damp basement, you find yourself unsure if you really want to do this. For people, like me who are claustrophobic, this is a bit of a challenging journey. The very narrow spiral staircase leads you down to a very narrow tunnel. This could be enough to turn some people off to the experience all together.
If you pluck up the courage to go down into the catacombs you will follow the long tunnel towards the burial area. While you walk you will have enough time to try to think of other things besides the fact that there is no quick exit strategy in this place. And the fact that you have no cell phone service down here, scary stuff right?
The catacombs have been opened to the public from as early as 1787! People have seemingly always been fascinated by this type of a place. Along with fascination people have always been mischievous when it comes to the catacombs. I can't exactly understand why, maybe it's the darkness, the death or the removal from proper society but it seems when people enter the catacombs they can be looking for trouble. There were countless signs warning against vandalism. I later found out that the catacombs were closed in 1833 due to such an extreme vandalism problem. Besides vandalism there are also many stories of cult activity being held down here.
Due to this issue they erected this sign before you enter. It says "STOP! This is the empire of the dead!" Very spooky way to greet people. The walk to this place was eerie enough without even seeing the bones, but here we go.
As soon as you enter you are met by an almost artistic display of the dead. Skulls and bones arranged in a heart shape (again it is the city of love right?). There are a number of artistic displays throughout the catacombs, various designs made of human remains.
As you walk you will find more and more alleyways filled, floor to ceiling, with bones. I can say with certainty that the most haunting thing about this place for me was the reality of the sheer number of people who are now here. Each skull or femur was a human life. A person who enjoyed meals with their families and who had hopes and dreams. It was certainly enough to give you goosebumps without any ghost sightings at all. As you wander through the walls laced with human remains you are certainly at a loss for words. Nothing can really articulate the feeling of being down there amongst all of those lost souls.
There are hundreds of miles of the catacombs and if you pay to enter you will only see a small fraction. There are stories of people losing their tour groups, getting lost and never being found again. I would imagine that it would be very easy to get lost in this vast maze of the dead. The catacombs are so vast that miles of tunnels remain unseen even by the staff maintaining them.
The catacombs have played an important role in the history of Paris in more then one way. Of course it is used as a burial site but it was also used during WWII. There was a french resistance who used the tunnels of the catacombs to meet and stay away from the public eye. It was also used as a bunker for the Nazis.
Some research proved that not all people who are sneaking into the catacombs are strictly up to no good. In 2004 the police discovered a movie theater hidden in one of the caverns of the catacombs. It was fully equipped with a large movie screen, seats, projection equipment, horror films, a full bar and food service. Although they never discovered who was responsible (or how they got electricity down there) I think it is safe to say that this is the coolest place to view a scary movie in the world. In 2015 Airbnb paid 350,000 to offer a chance for someone to stay overnight in the catacombs. That sounds like the scariest sleepover ever.
After a certain amount of time down below you start to miss the world of the living, and fresh air and sunshine so you head back up those hundred stairs. With a deep breathe and new appreciation of sunlight you can reflect on your time in the kingdom of the dead. The thing about the catacombs is that with or without actual ghost spottings it is a creepy experience that is possibly the most perfect bucket list item of something to do in Paris in October.
Happily back above ground you can enjoy all that Paris has to offer in the Autumn. One of the best things about Paris are the pretty parks. And this will lead us to our third and final spooky stop, Luxembourg Gardens.
Luxembourg Garden is one of the most picturesque parks in Paris. Here couples picnic on the lawns, children push sailboats around the fountain and people relax in nature in the middle of a big city. Does not seem haunted or scary at all right?
Well you'd be right. Its a lovely place to pass the afternoon and while walking around you would not have even a hint of fear. However as with many places in this city there are ghost stories associated with it and a mass murdered who has close connections with this place.
There is a popular ghost story called "The Man in the Black Coat" which starts in this park. The story goes that a young man was relaxing in the park and a man in a black coat came by and invited him to his house for a night a music and poetry. The man decided to go and spent a lovely evening with his new friend. When he left he quickly realized he forgot his lighter and went back to the apartment where he had just left. The neighbor said that there hadn't been a tenant in that flat since 20 years before. So the legend goes, if you are in Jardin du Luxembourg and a man in a black jacket invites you to his apartment you shouldn't accept, unless you are the kind of person who would like to spend a cultured evening with a ghost. Now this is quite a childish, almost sweet ghost story which is not really based in any truth and certainly doesn't elicit a chill down your spine, however the reality of this park is a bit more chilling.
After WWI there was a man named Henri Desire Landru. He was a single man who had an interest in meeting a widow, a wealthy widow to be more specific. He entered an ad in the newspaper to find a newly widowed woman, with intention to marry. Now after world war one there were quite a few widows and some who happened to be wealthy enough for Landru's liking. He would meet them at Jardin du Luxembourg and court them. After they had become engaged and combined their assets he would take them to his cabin in the woods and these women would never return. He did this 10 times and after each trip to the cabin he would automatically refresh the ad in the paper and head back to Luxeumbourg Garden.
Now the technology of the early 1900s for crime investigation was certainly not what it is today, so even though this person seems to me that he was being kind of obvious in what he was doing no one caught on for far too long. He was dubbed the Lonely Hearts Killer (again city of love). He was eventually caught because he ignorantly purchased train tickets for him and his new lady to the cabin but only purchased a one way ticket for her. This was some pretty damming evidence and he was convicted in 1921 and sentenced to death by guillotine at Versailles. Now when walking around this beautiful garden I can't help but get a little feeling of discomfort thinking of those hopeful widows heading to Luxembourg for a romantic meeting.
Bonus:
Of course there are countless places in Paris that if you ask the right person they will tell you that they too are haunted. Here are a few extra places that have legends associated with them.
1. The Eiffel Tower
Yes, my beloved Tour Eiffel is said to be haunted by a young woman. Unfortunately this beautiful landmark has been the place for quite a few deaths over the years and that is where those kinds of tales come from.
2. Notre Dame
Notre Dame of course has legends about it's gargoyles and of course the mysterious man who lived in the bell tower. The story of the Hunchback of Notre Dame dates back to the 1800s when Victor Hugo wrote this incredible tale. With all the details and "eyes" looking out at you from this church it's no wonder that frightening stories have popped up about this historical cathedral and the ghouls that may reside there.
3. Opera
Opera of course has rumors of a Phantom living beneath the building. This hit Broadway play has been around since the 80s, however the story and the legend were created in 1910. This opulent building has had it's fair share of stories told about it.
4. Versailles
Although not technically in the city of Paris this one needs to make the list because of its proximity and how infamous it is. Ghost hunters and tourists alike have claimed to see many ghosts, including Marie Antoinette, wandering around the halls of the palace and more often the vast grounds surrounding it. The guillotine certainly claimed a great number of lives here so it's no wonder that so many people believe ghosts roam around this historical palace.
