Catacombs, A Scary Dangerous Place To Be Halloween Or Anytime

I won’t be surprised if I hear the sound of scraping metal and concrete during the night this weekend!  It’s Halloween time and instead of goblins flying around, the cataphiles will be crawling down to the Catacombs.

This scene plays out my 8-floor balcony every year.  They have to be quick to avoid any patrolling police, but I was able to catch a photo of some before they disappeared underground.

They congregate below with several other cataphiles wearing powerful headlights, like the ones miners wear, tugging on the heavy manhole covers that are supposed to guard the catacombs against their entry.

Some will be going down into the dark round hole, while others are coming up, dusting off their heads full of dirt and debris.

I have seen up to 10 to 12 of them before!   None were the men in blue, or revered “eboueurs” that take care of the sewers of Paris,  nor wearing green vests as city repairmen do.

These folks are diehard cataphiles, rather small but passionately devoted urban underground explorers. Their descent into the catacombs/quarries of Paris is illegal.

Halloween time often prompts newcomers to try their luck.  These initiation rites carry the risks of concussion, fractures, cuts, or being caught.

The worse fate is being lost in total darkness. Some check white maps to assure which direction to take once down before they tightly grip the ladder that will deposit them into deep black tunnels.

They risk getting fined if caught, and even worse and more dangerous is getting lost and trapped in the bowels of these convoluted dark labyrinths, where some have died.

There was one who died in 1771 looking for old bottles of Chartreuse liqueur that were buried beneath the Chartreuse monastery, whose body wasn’t found till 11 years later.

His skeleton is buried there and a memorial plaque was erected in his memory, honored as the father of cataphiles.

The extremely popular ossuary, known as the Catacombs of Paris has long tunnels of stacked arrangements of bones under Place Denfert Rochereau, which is a very macabre experience and can be visited for a fee.

This ossuary use to open into the rest of the quarries, but those openings have been sealed off to prevent cataphiles from entering.

There are over 200 km of quarries that crisscross underneath Paris. Some date back to Roman times of the first century  B.C. and were continued to be dug way beyond the medieval and middle ages.

They were burrowed into to provide the growing city of Lutece , later known as Paris, with giant stones to build buildings.

As Paris grew, so did the network of underground tunnels expand. The majority of them are found south of the Seine in a huge concentration in the 14 th arrondissement, where I live.

Monasteries also used them to hide various articles and as storage for wine and liqueurs. Occasionally the Carrières des Capucines Monastery, now underneath Hôpital Cochin allows visitors.

Later they were used to hide members of the  French Resistance during WWII, and some of the carrières were invaded and occupied by the Nazis as well.

Besides the complex network of metro tunnels, sewers, and piping,  this vast maze of hollowed-out quarries comprises the swiss cheese infrastructure of below-ground Paris.

The mere fact that Parisian structures stay upright would be miraculous, if not for the constant surveillance of these snaking tunnels to ascertain their structural strength and integrity.

Right next to the Denfert Rochereau metro is the bureau of   Inspection Generale des Carrieres.   It was founded after the huge collapse of Rue Denfert in 1774.  These engineers are in charge of controlling and inspecting the quarries throughout the year.

Along with the engineers, they employ specially trained police patrolling underground called appropriately enough cataflics, as flic is French slang for a cop. A  large majority of them are women.

The cataphiles play a cat and mouse dance with the cataflics, and for some it provides more adrenaline to the descent.

If caught they are ticketed 60 to 3o0 euros.  There are also clandestine groups and some solos who regularly explore the quarries year-round, including risking taking tourists.

About a year ago, 3 cataphiles were found dehydrated and practically delirious from being lost and trapped 20 meters underneath the cemetery of Montparnasse after being reported missing.

Portable cell phones are worthless there, as telephone signals do not penetrate so deep underground. Maps are only so good if you can correctly interpret them and have a good sense of direction.

Many of the underground signs of streets above have been stolen, and cataphiles often dig new tunnels to connect others, that the engineers may not have yet documented on maps.

The underground photos you see are not mine, as I do not want to risk being involved in illegal entry, getting trapped, lost, hurt or worse, however interesting they may be to explore.

Besides, dark watery enclosed underground areas ”sont pas ma truc”(aren’t my thing).  Some of the quarries are flooded with water up to the waist, which complicates walking through them, in addition to possible dangerous contaminates.

Some of the cataphiles reportedly are respectful of the environment, but others leave behind trash, food, bottles, etc.  Many go down to have drug-filled parties and desecrate with wall paintings and graffiti.

There are such well-visited areas of the catacombs, that they have names such as the “chateau” or “plage”(beach), which is partially flooded.

Supposedly,  one of most popular entrance areas to visit and parts to explore happen to be across the avenue from my apartment building, as seen in my photograph taken around 3;3o in the morning!

That explains why I have seen this sort of scene multiple times, always in the wee morning.  At first, I wasn’t sure that was an access to the catacombs quarries, but after researching the subject it all fell into place!

Strangely, a day or so ago, I saw someone with a power saw going around the manhole cover, and briefly wondered why they did not have a protective barrier, nor green vests, which they usually do, if they were bonified city workers.

Now I am concerned they might have been clandestine cataphiles undoing a manhole that may have been previously sealed.

The avenue I live on is actually a part of the ancient Roman route south towards Orleans and beyond.  It started near Notre Dame Cathedral across the Seine in the left bank on the present Rue Saint Jacques and continued south all the way down into Spain.

Metro line 4 is underneath and goes under the old defunct Petit Ceinture rail that circled Paris till 1934. So whether it is above ground or underneath, there is a lot of coming and goings around the clock.

In the past after seeing the first group of cataphiles, I was awakened again about an hour later, this time to heavy metal music.  Looking down saw some more, less in number but looking more in the partying mood than the previous bunch.

I’ll be anticipating some more Halloween cataphile activity this weekend, but who knows? At least there aren’t any trick or treaters to tend with as the Parisian children, in general, don’t do

Halloween.

I was lucky to get a real bright orange Jack o Lantern imported from Germany this year, instead of Potimarrons, seen in the photo, which are excellent for delicious soups, or au gratin.

Last Sunday I graced my dinner table with a succulent apple gateau, which offered contrasts of tart apples, flavoured with Calvados and sweet creme Chiboust topped with caramelized sugar and walnuts.

This benevolent and kind witch will probably be grounded this Halloween, 2021 due to a significant breakdown. My broom is broken and my sidekick witch’s hat blew off onto the metro rails, so neither of us will be flying around Paris this Halloween.

The majority of French do not celebrate Halloween, as the church is disapproving of the whole idea here.   Most of the Halloween celebrations here in Paris attract Anglo ex-pats and French friends.

All Saints Day which occurs the next day is a Catholic and National holiday where businesses will be closed.  This solemn day is where French families will be heading to cemeteries to put flowers on their relatives’ graves.

Happy Halloween hugs to all!

PS. This is an updated post.