Throughout France, tales abound of murder, mystery and ghostly hauntings. Paris has its fair share of spookiness.
Palace and gardens of Versailles
An easy one for starters: The Palace of Versailles is
haunted by one of France’s most famous queens, Marie Antoinette, beheaded
during the French Revolution. There are numerous reported sightings of her ghost
wandering the gardens, or in her royal bedchamber.
Père Lachaise cemetery
Also on the predictable list, but a cemetery is a good place
to visit if you’re looking for ghosts. Opened in 1804, Père Lachaise cemetery
in Paris has more than 300,000 tombs and graves and is the final resting place
of many famous people including Édith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, Molière and Marcel
Proust. Visitors report eerie feelings and ghostly apparitions – ghosts that
seem to like the limelight are reportedly Chopin (whose headstone is invariably
decorated with flowers placed by visitors), and Jim Morrison, the American
singer, songwriter, and poet, best remembered as the lead singer of the Doors.
Paris catacombs
Beneath the streets of Paris is one of the eeriest places in
France – the Paris catacombs. Opened in the 18th century, the catacombs are one
of the largest graveyards on record, containing the remains of over 6 million
people. It is a maze of dark passageways with walls lined with skulls and
skeletons that is enough to give anyone a fright.
Le Musée des Vampires
Le Musée des Vampires is possibly the only museum anywhere dedicated
to vampires. It is a private institution run by vampirologist Jacques Sirgent,
and is packed with grisly paraphernalia collected from some of the internet’s
odder websites, as well as local flea markets and even some graveyards. Some of
the finest (and scariest) pieces in the collection include a mummified cat and
an authentic, 19th-century vampire protection kit.
Jardin des Tuileries
The neatly trimmed box hedges, marble statues, and gurgling
fountains give no hint that here lurks one of France’s most infamous spectres?
The Red Man of the Tuileries, as he is known, a butcher murdered on the orders
of Catherine de Médici for the crime of knowing too much about the private
affairs of the crown.
Pet cemetery (Cimetière des Chiens et Autres Animaux Domestiques)
This somewhat bizarre 'tourist site' is located in Asnières-sur-Seine, a commune in the suburbs just to the northwest of Paris proper. Open in 1899, this is the last resting place of dogs, cats, some horses, at least one monkey, a sheep, a hen and several other deceased pets.
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