The Catacombs- the only word for it is "creepy"

I'm not sure how much anyone knows about the Catacombs in Paris. It's this long, underground ossuary/ burial ground 20 m underneath Paris. At one point in Paris's history, the cemeteries were getting overcrowded and the residue from so many decaying bodies was polluting the water systems in Paris. So they had this great idea to relocate all of these bodies and move them undergound. At first it was just a dumping ground, but eventually the government decided to artistically arrange them. And thus became the Catacombs- it's actually miles and miles long, but only a portion of it is open to the public. It's a very, very strange experience- being underground, it's dark, damp (the ceiling is dripping and the stones on the ground are wet), and you're surrounded by thousands of bones. To add to the atmosphere, there are all these stones with quotes about death written on them.


Bear with me here, because my french is still not too strong- but I think that says something like, "Come, men of the world, come in demure silence, with a calm soul, to be hit by the voice which will raise your spirit- here is the greatest of master, the tomb, holding the school of truth." Inspirational, isn't it?

Also, this picture is an example of what the majority of the Catacombs looked like- this huge pile of bones, labeled with the cemetery from where they came.

Very, VERY creepy.