Haunted sites in paris

Posted: 02/09/2007--25/11/2008 || Rate this Article: 3 || Views|| Sign In || Register ||Hello Guest

When one thinks of Paris, images of romantic couples sipping coffee at one of the many outdoor cafes and holding hands as they stroll towards the Eiffel Tower are strong in our minds. After all, Paris is hailed as the City for Lovers. As easy as it is to chalk up Paris as a city made for romantics, it is equally easy to forget that it is also the city of fantastic works of art, wonderful displays of architecture and famous structures that date way back. With its abundant history and its past brimming with both famous and infamous characters, Paris is also known for its many local haunted sites. Here are a few of the sites you can visit that may give you a glimpse into the paranormal.

Known to locals as LEmpire de la Morte or, simply, the Catacombs, this macabre network of tunnels is located beneath Paris and is approximately 300 kilometers long. The Catacombs began in an attempt to build up Paris. In order to erect buildings and structures, materials were needed, so workers would quarry underground, eventually hollowing out the city below and creating the catacombs as they are known today. In the 1800s, it was discovered that the cemeteries were getting extremely close to being full, so a decision was made to transport some of the older dead bodies to these catacombs. If you are brave enough to venture into these tunnels, you will see bones upon bones and skulls stacked up throughout. Those who have visited the tunnel and some security guards have reported hearing strange voices throughout the tunnels, as if some of the dead have awoken. There is also a tale of a young man who explored the tunnels alone, leaving behind his video camera and a tape of him running from something. It is said that he has never been found.

Located outside of the city is the famous Palace of Versailles. The royal family of France lived here from the late 1600s to the late 1700s during the French Revolution. Some visitors of this historic landmark in the early 1900s reported that upon walking through the grounds of the palace, they become temporarily transported to an earlier time in history, as far back as the 1700s. These visitors were filled with an unexplained sense of sadness and were witness to various ghosts of the past dressed in period clothing. Others simply report seeing ghosts of spirits past walking through the grounds who disappear when confronted.

There is a beautiful and famous theater in Paris called Place de lOpera which was built in 1875. Known the world over as the opera house that inspired the world-famous musical The Phantom of the Opera, this opera house has its own lurking spirits, according to local legend. Many have reported seeing an apparition of an older woman who roams through the streets around the opera house. According to the legend, this woman committed suicide when the man she loved left her for a woman who was much younger than she.