Personal Experiences and Introduction

• Josh visited Paris catacombs, Chuck has not (been to Paris 3 times)
• Josh's analogy: Moulin Rouge is to boobs as Paris catacombs is to human bones
  • So many skulls they lose meaning/impact due to saturation
• Josh's story about visiting with niece Mila (actress in Netflix's "Mary")
  • 5-year-old Mila said she'd be scared "if these were real"
  • Same child scared of Disney movie ride but unfazed by millions of human bones

Geological Origins and Mining History

• 45 million years ago: Lutetian period erosion event deposited Lutetian/Paris limestone
• Creamy gray limestone gives Paris its distinctive architectural look
• Mining began ~2,000 years ago on river banks
• Created 32 square kilometers of tunnels (10x size of Central Park)
• 300 kilometers of tunnels total under Paris
• Originally quarries were outside city limits, but Paris grew over abandoned mines

Structural Problems and Government Response

• City built over hollow ground caused sinkholes, building collapses
• 1730s: Parliamentary commission studied disease spread from dead bodies
• 1777: King Louis XVI created Inspection Générale des Carrières (IGC)
• Chief Inspector Charles-Axel Guillaumot tasked with shoring up mines and relocating bodies
• Holy Innocence Cemetery (established 1186) targeted first for body removal

The Great Bone Transfer (1785-1787)

• Bodies moved from cemeteries to abandoned mine shafts under cover of night
• April 1786: Catacombs officially consecrated as "Paris Ossuary"
• Initially bones just dumped through holes into mine shafts
• 1810: New quarry inspector Louis-Étienne Héricart de Thury arranged bones artistically
• Created walls of tibias, femurs, finger bones with skulls facing outward
• No headstones - impossible to identify individual remains
• Famous residents include Robespierre, painter Simon Vouet, fairy tale writer Charles Perrault (Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Mother Goose)
• Bone additions stopped in 1860

Alternative Uses Throughout History

• Monks produced Chartreuse liqueur in tunnels
• Mushroom farming: 1,000 tons annually in 19th century
• Alcohol brewing (beer and spirits)
• Stable 60°F temperature ideal for storage/production
• Prime real estate location with street-level access
• French Revolution: Revolutionaries hid in tunnels
• 1930s: Alt-right group "La Cagoule" used tunnels for hiding/infiltration
• Until 1950s: Many buildings had forgotten basement doors to catacombs
• WWII: Used by both Nazis and French Resistance

Tourism Development

• 1809: Napoleon opened for public tours
• Initially monthly tours for Paris citizens only
• Now open Tuesday-Sunday 9:45-8:30
• €31 admission (~same in USD)
• ~1 hour tour duration
• 500+ steps descending via spiral staircases
• Port-Mahon Corridor features replica fortress carved by former prisoner
• Ariadne's Thread: Black line on ceiling prevents getting lost
• Electric lighting installed 1972 (previously used candles)
• Sodium lighting creates eerie orange-yellow atmosphere

Modern Cataphiles and Underground Culture

• Cataphiles: Urban explorers who illegally access catacombs
• ~100 genuine cataphiles estimated (2015)
• UX (Urban eXperiment): Artist collective founded 1981
• Mexican Perforation subgroup created underground movie theater (20 seats, bar)
• Untergunther subgroup secretly restored Panthéon clock
• Activities include concerts, parties, art installations, murals
• 1800s: 45-piece orchestra performed Chopin's Funeral March (basis for Darth Vader theme)
• 1970s-80s: Punk rock movement adopted underground spaces

Security and Enforcement

• Cataflics: Special police detachment for catching trespassers
• €60-65 fine for illegal entry (about double legal admission)
• True cataphiles often just get warnings
• Tourists face full penalties
• Property owners legally own underground space beneath buildings
• "Cat flaps" (chatières): Reopened entrances created by cataphiles
• Most interesting chambers off-limits to public tours
• La Plage ("The Beach"): Room with sandy floor, painted beach scene

Cultural Impact and Media

• Phantom of the Opera: Underground lake actually exists beneath Paris Opera House
  • 12 feet deep, 60 meters long reservoir built during construction
• Assassin's Creed Unity video game features catacombs
• Various movies filmed there

Photography and Documentation

• Nadar (Félix Tournachon): Pioneer photographer, 1860s
• Invented battery-operated light for artificial lighting
• First photographer to use artificial light
• 18-minute exposures required
• 3-month project starting 1861
• Used mannequin stand-ins for worker photos due to long exposure times

Crime and Mysteries

• 2017: Thieves stole $250,000+ worth of wine from underground storage
• Bone theft historically common (sold to medical students)
• 2017 viral video of "lost" explorer likely faked
• Ghost stories: Philibert Aspairt, 1793 hospital worker who died lost in tunnels
• Legend: Brings candle, hears "welcome" before it extinguishes

Current Status

• IGC still maintains tunnels since 1777
• Occasional collapses but mostly shored up
• Mix of legal tourism and illegal exploration continues
• Over 6 million Parisians' remains housed in catacombs