Why are there 6 million corpses under Paris?

A cellar wall of a property bordering Les Innocents split open under the pressure of excess burials and spring rains, causing a gush of half-decomposed bodies and disease to flood into the basement. Within months, authorities ordered the closure of Les Innocents and the city's other cemeteries.



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This isn't the first time that people have been lost in catacombs. According to Buzzfeed, legend has it that Philibert Aspairt died after getting lost in the underground maze of the Paris catacombs in 1793 — and his body wasn't found until eleven years after his death. (Ironically and tragically, close to an exit.)

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In September 2004, French police discovered an underground movie theatre run by La Mexicaine De Perforation. The makeshift theatre contained a movie screen, a well stocked bar, and a kitchen. Telephones and electricity were brought in from an unknown location.

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Hygiene. Both catacombs were dug largely for hygiene reasons. Rotting bodies in the middle of a city is not ideal, especially when they start piling up as they did in Paris. Both catacombs were created to avoid disease, but in Rome, they thought ahead.

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However, the strong smell of the Paris catacombs is apparently what all the initial signs were warning sensitive visitors about. At best, it could be likened to the dusty, incense-infused scent of old stone churches, but with an underlying malaise that can only be attributed to the contents of multiple cemeteries.

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There Remain Many Mysteries Surrounding Paris's Catacombs Remember, this is a place of burial and heartache, so remain as respectful as possible while touring underground.

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This unique accommodation will be offered for a single night only, to the person (and their mate/spouse/death-obsessed partner) who best explains to the host why they're brave enough to sleep under the dirt.

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