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The Truth About the Catacombs of Paris

My Journey Through the Catacombs of Paris. Photos by Kyrsta Morehouse

By Kyrsta MorehousePublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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Photo by Kyrsta Morehouse. Catacombs of Paris 

While in Paris, I decided to adventure into the Catacombs of Paris. Like most people, I expected a fun and spooky adventure in a haunted underground world. But what I experienced was far more powerful!

The journey was prefaced with a 2 1/2 hour long wait in line. Standing out in the heat in a line wrapped around the building we patiently waited our turn to descend the stair case (Well worth the wait). Due to the long wait and line I expected it to be packed shoulder to shoulder once inside, but strangely it was quiet and empty. My group of 4 others and I were seemingly alone in the vast tunnels.

The first thing that hits you as you walk through the tunnel to the first opening is the cool damp air. The scent of dirt and mildew fill your senses, the dim light and pebble path make you uneasy, yet it's not a feeling of being unsafe, rather a feeling of being apart of something bigger that you can't really understand.

Soon, you get to the heart of the catacombs: the bones. The feeling that overcame me at the sight of them was something I did not expect and something I'm not sure if I can explain (it's something you really need to experience for yourself) but I am going to try. A wave of emotion ran through me; before entering I knew there were bones and I thought of it as a spooky thing, but suddenly being surrounded by them it was the most emotional thing I have experienced. It hits you that each of these bones is from a real person. The catacombs we can walk through are only a portion of what there is, and paths have been cleared out for us. But before, everything was filled. I can't even imagine how many people surrounded us. There was a wall a few feet thick and as tall as the ceiling just made of femurs, each person only has 2 so imagine how many people made up that wall. You walk through walls made of bones, some are placed in artistic fashions while others are just strewn about. You're surrounded by death.

Photo by Kyrsta Morehouse. Catacombs of Paris

We saw small skulls, old skulls, skulls with bullet holes, ribs, arms, legs, everything. The tunnels are quiet except for our foot steps for the most part. We were all speechless as we silently and slowly made our way through the bones. Standing in front of a skull with an execution bullet wound to the forehead, tears started to pour out of my eyes. I wasn't necessarily crying, but tears kept falling. You can't really pin down what emotion your feeling because you feel so many (shock sadness, anger, curiosity, wonder, depression, all mixed into one).

Another element of it was nature. Down below Paris, you see the effects of time on bones. You see them worn and weathered, water dripping onto some and calcifying with the salt, bright green moss and mold growing on dead rotting bones; its the juxtaposition of life and death at its finest. The world goes on above as if nothing happened: cars driving overhead, children crying, people rushing to work; seemingly unaware of the thousands of graves they are walking above.

I know I highlighted a lot of sadness and negativity, but its a journey I would make again in a heartbeat. There is also something beautiful about it that I cant really put my finger on. It's death being turned into art, it's their deaths still be learned from and remembered today, it's the feeling of being connected with hundreds of people who died before you were born. It's a feeling that will always stay with me. It haunts you and inspires you.

I left the Catacombs in almost a trance trying to sort through how I felt from what I expected going in. Looking through my pictures I feel those feelings as if I had just stepped my first foot into the tunnels, it truly is something that will stick with you for the rest of your life and I highly encourage you to go and experience it.

Photo by Kyrsta Morehouse. Catacombs of Paris

Photo by Kyrsta Morehouse. Catacombs of Paris

Photo by Kyrsta Morehouse. Catacombs of Paris

Photo by Kyrsta Morehouse. Catacombs of Paris

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About the Creator

Kyrsta Morehouse

Kyrsta is an award winning, internationally published makeup artist specializing in special makeup effects. kyrstamorehouse.com @kyrstamua

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