Inside Paris’ terrifying 120-mile maze of catacombs littered with 6 million bodies… and some explorers NEVER come out
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UNDERNEATH the bustling city of Paris lies a maze of abandoned catacombs that are as eerie as they are endless. The Sun has spoken to those who have witnessed the over six million bodies lying in the depths for themselves. Their stories included the inescapable claustrophobia they felt, the overwhelming existential terror, and how one explorer wasn't far away from not making it back out.
![[More than 200km of tunnels interlink under southern Paris]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2014-shows-woman-visiting-catacombs-331529991.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
One of the daring adventurers told The Sun how they got lost for an hour in the endless murky maze. More than 200km of tunnels interlink under southern Paris despite numerous collapses and manmade blockades. Two major networks interlink, providing a playground for daring explorers stretching from Montparnasse to Porte d’Orléans and beyond.
![[Terrifying video has shown the twisty corridors and pitch-black darkness of the tunnels]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/saint-marcel-boulevard-gallery-leading-891862997.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The catacombs are home to a mysterious yet grisly history, involving death, disease and decay, and have also inspired a wave of morbid curiosity. The first-ever scientific study of the area undertaken has unearthed an estimated 5 to 6 million people.
![[The only known case of a death down in the catacombs dates back to 1793]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/cr-nes-et-ossements-expos-959211850.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
It is thought that their bones were dumped down quarry shafts at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th. Phillipe Charlier, who led the project, spoke of how the space was turned into a burial ground when there was no other option left for the city.
Phillipe said: “Our research is looking at 1,000 years of the history of public health in Paris and its suburbs, of the medicine and surgery people underwent and the illnesses they suffered. “The story goes people would be drinking, eating or dancing in a cellar tavern or cabaret when a wall would collapse and decomposing bodies fall in on them. Just imagine the scene.
![[It is thought that the bones were dumped down quarry shafts at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/1785-paris-decided-solve-problem-958468923.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
