That’s Strange- V: Not meant for the faint-hearted!

Imagine, being the only live soul on planet Earth surrounded by 6 million dead...

While you imagine, I’ve experienced being one. Though I’ve always been on the lookout for strange places, this one was more scary than strange! Let me tell you about The Catacombs in Paris…

All that glitters is not gold and this holds true of Paris. For underneath the glitterati of this fashionista city is a dark reality. While some people warned me not to visit, some suggested it’s worth trying once. So, one afternoon, I bought a ticket to The Catacombs. As soon as I entered this labyrinth of murky galleries and narrow corridors, I wasn’t sure of what was coming. My feet trembled for a while but soon, I was at ease seeing other visitors in the vicinity. A word of caution- if you’re a first-timer, don’t go alone! I saw a faint light coming from the end of the tunnel and finally let out a sigh of relief.

The first sight of the Catacombs was too much to handle. What appeared as logs from afar were actually a pile of bones, millions of them, stacked on top of each other. There were skulls lined in a row and it appeared as if they were all staring at me. A few steps closer to the eerie human remains and I could see a decayed tooth on a skull’s jawline. The most anxious part of this tour was the morbid silence spread across every corner. Though I could hear visitors’ whispering, but that was all.

Constructed in the 17^th century, The Catacombs were created to dump the human remains from Paris’ overflowing graveyards. It wasn’t open to the public till the 18^th century when visitors were allowed in to a section of the ossuary. You’ll find millions of Parisians’ bones and skulls inside the gigantic network of tunnels and caverns. However, the story of The Catacombs doesn’t end here. Deeper in, there are tunnels spread across 400 miles, entry to which is still a mystery. There are manholes at different locations that are still unknown to people.

Things at The Catacombs change at the stroke of midnight, when a group of youngsters walk out together to explore these mystical tunnels. It is believed that the group has been able to navigate different ways to get inside these tunnels. Carrying candles and maps, they venture out at this underground ossuary to party until wee hours of the morning. I did meet one of the youngsters at a local pub later that night but I wasn’t too keen on his daredevil adventure.

Not the safest of places at midnight, someone mysteriously disappeared from The Catacombs some time ago…