Chills and thrills in spooky Paris

Want to enjoy a spine-tingling side of the city of light? Paris has plenty of weird and wonderful places to visit. Discover the chills and thrills in spooky Paris – from an ancient burial site with the bones of 6 million people to a haunted manor house…

Catacombes de Paris

Head 20 metres underground to the extraordinary Catacombes de Paris, home to the bones of some 6 million people stacked in a macabre maze of dimly lit galleries and narrow passageways. This is the largest ossuary in the world. In the late 18^th century, King Louis XVI sanctioned the removal of bones from the city’s cemeteries which were so packed that they were a health hazard. One of them, the cemetery of the Holy Innocents had been in use for 10 centuries. Bones were taken to be stored in a former quarry. By 1809 the catacombs were opened to the public for visits and now receive more than half a million people a year. catacombes.paris.fr

Père-Lachaise Cemetery

You might not think this a fun place to visit but it is a beautiful cemetery with walkways made for strolling. Here you’ll find the graves of celebrities like Oscar Wilde, whose tomb is protected from fans keen to kiss the stone which could cause damage, Jim Morrison of The Doors (there have been several claims of his ghost being seen) and Frederic Chopin (though his heart is in a church in Warsaw).

In the centre of the cemetery is the impressive mausoleum the Russian baroness Élisabeth Démidoff. According to legend, after she died in 1818, the wealthy and eccentric wealthy aristocrat stated in her will that if anyone spent 366 days locked in her tomb watching over her, they would inherit a fortune. Food and water would be passed to them through a grill and waste removed that way. Apparently many people took up the challenge – but no one succeeded. Her tomb has now been sealed up…

Traces of a guillotine

From 1851 until 1899, a guillotine was placed on the corner of Rue de la Croix-Faubin, Rue de la roquette in front of the Prison Grand Roquette. Multiple public beheadings were conducted here. If you go there now, you might notice a plaque that marks the history of this gruusome spot, and in the road are five slabs of stone embedded in the tarmac – this is where the guillotine was installed…

Musée de la préfecture de police

Unlike the Crime Museum at Scotland yard in London (AKA the Black Museum) the Paris museum of crime is open to the public. In the 5^th arrondissement the Musée de la Préfecture de Police, on the 3rd floor of the police station retraces the history of criminology from the 17th century to the present, plus there are regular exhibitions. A collection of some 4000 artifacts reflect a sorry tale of murder, swindles and scams over the centuries. A collection of weapons, photos, official paperwork, and even the peep hole through which serial killer Dr. Petiot watched his victims die in agony. People who’ve visited this museum say it made them shudder! prefecturedepolice.interieur.gouv.fr/musee

Musée des moulages de l’hôpital Saint-Louis

The fact that children under the age of 12 can’t enter the Musée des Moulages is a hint that this unusual museum isn’t like the others. Housed in the Saint-Louis Hospital, which specialised in dermatology, is a unique collection of 4807 medical wax and plaster casts which was begun in 1867 and ended in 1958. Faces and body parts of captured for eternity in wax, their purpose was to train doctors in dermatology and the masks clearly revealing the patients afflictions. Warts, fungus, skin disesases, syphilis, a multitude of skin disorders are presented in incredibly lifelike form. This has to be one of the most unique and unusual collections in the world.

Le Manoir de Paris

If you like fun with your terror, you’ll love this walk-though a haunted house near the Gare du Nord train station in the 10^th Arr. Enter the Paris “house of horrors” for an interactive theatrical show – and it gets weird. The rooms are quite dark, there are strange noises, blood-curdling howls and visitors squeal and scream. Not surprising when there are people leaping out right in front of you, dressed in old fashioned costumes, sporting hair-raising make up, some with fangs, others with spooky masks.

The actors aim to scare the living daylights out of everyone. And once you’re in, there’s no going back, it’s one way in and one way out. Children will mostly likely love the spine chilling thrills, the drama, the theatricality, though Le Manoir de Paris doesn’t recommend shows to kids under the age of ten. At Halloween, this is one of the most popular places in Paris! lemanoirdeparis.com