Hello horror fans - and welcome back to the scariest channel on YouTube - Top 5 Scary
Videos - your guidebook to the strange, the weird - and the worldwide paranormal.
What’s going on guys - it’s a pleasure to have you all here - as per usual, I’ll
be your spirit guide Jack Finch - as we turn our gaze toward the jewel of France - the
city of lights - and find out exactly what lurks beneath its ancient cobbled streets
- in the 5 Most Haunted Places In Paris.
Paris is one of the oldest cities in Europe - dating all the way back to the 3rd century
BC, where it was founded by the Celtic Senones as a trade route across the Seine - one of
the most important rivers in European history maintained by the Celtic Parisii Tribe - of
which the city derives its name.
And as we often find with these types of things - with a lot of history - comes a lot of haunting.
Before we dive into that old thing, though - you know how it goes folks - make sure to
hit that thumbs up button if you’re a fan of this video - or just Me, Kelly and Top
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On with the show - or as the Parisian’s say - erm, allons-y.
Probably.
Kicking off at Number 5 - Theatre de la Ville.
Not gonna lie - this one is equal parts morosely charming and also completely terrifying.
The Theatre de la Ville - meaning, The City Theatre - was opened on the 30th of October
and has a rich history of misfortune and tragedy.
Until the fall of Napoleon the 3rd in 1870 - it was known as the Imperial Theatre and
showcased the dignitary of Paris in all their theatrical glory.
One of the more tragic tales surrounding the theatre, is the story of the French Romantic
Poet and public eccentric - Gerard de Nerval - who is best known for his sordid travel
diaries and his strange habit of roaming the streets of Paris with his pet lobster in hand.
Tragically, Nerval committed a grisly suicide in a particular shady corner of a nearby narrow
street - and in death, it is said that his specter haunts the theater.
Spectators claim to have seen his form pop up on stage in a ghostly ploy to distract
the actors.
Apparently he’s lost his lobster though.
Next up at Number 4 - Parc Montsouris
Parc Montsouris is a picturesque picnic-park in the heart of paris, an otherwise perfect
landscape for tourists and locals alike to enjoy on a hot summer's day.
Opened in 1863 - Parc Montsouris is one of the largest green spaces in Paris, comprised
of four others which were created by Napoleon the 3rd and his Prefect of the Seine - Baron
Haussmann.
They were made to be enjoyed by the ever growing Parisian population - and still are to this
very day.
Strange then, that the grim history of a nearby paranormal hotspot is regularly avoided.
Blending both historical fact and local legend - the name of the parks only tomb - the Rue
de la Tombe Issoire - hints at its most notorious legend - that is Isaure de Montsouris - a
brigand who terrorised Paris during the 9th century - looting and pillaging passing travellers
of the green area.
Eventually he was caught - and his head was lopped clean off by William of Aquitaine - but
it didn’t stop his spirit from continuing his terrifying regime - being one of the most
notorious spirits to have been sighted in modern day Paris, often appearing at the parks
Palais du Bardo.
It may sound like hocus pocus - but, stranger still - in 1911 - the Palais was controversially
sold to the government - but mysteriously burned down before any work could commence
on it.
The work of Montsouris?
Probably.
Coming in at Number 3 - The Man in the Black Coat.
And I just absolutely love this creepy tale - because it reminds me of one of my favourite
films of all time, Midnight In Paris.
It’s not scary in the slightest - but check it out if you haven't, great film.
Anyway, as the legend goes - on one particular warm evening in 1925 - a man named Jean Romier
was sat reading in the grounds of the Jardin du Luxembourg - when a handsome man in a black
coat approached him, and after conversation - invited him to a private concert at his
nearby home.
Romier followed the man to his apartment on the Rud de Vaugirard - where he was treated
to a delightful evening of classical music and poetry.
After enjoying his night, Romier left - and on his way home he went to light a cigarette,
but realised that he’d left his lighter back at the apartment.
He ran back upstairs to the third floor - and knocked on the door, but to no response.
He knocked and knocked - when a nearby neighbour came out of their apartment, annoyed at all
the banging - and told Romier that no one lived there, it had been abandoned for at
least twenty years - after the previous tenant, a talented musician had tragically passed
away.
Since then, any local Parisian will tell you that if you linger late enough in the Jardin
du Luxembourg, eventually - a man in a black coat will invite you to his apartment for
a private concert.
Would you go?
Me?
Nah, I’m alright.
Swinging in at Number 2 - we have the Jardin des Tuileries
Which - while having a beautiful sounding name - is actually the scene of an incredibly
bloody past and dark, dark history.
In the 16th century - the feared and nefarious queen of France, Catherine de Medici - had
many enemies, conspirators who’d like nothing more than to bludgeon her in her sleep and
remove her from the throne.
Because of this - she employed the brute strength and bloody tactics of her henchman, Jean the
Skinner - who rounded up her enemies and set about on a campaign to murder them all.
He did exactly that, and he was very effective at it - so effective, that Queen Catherine
herself started to grow paranoid of him - because he knew so many of her secretes and political
intrigues.
Well - of course - she decided the only course of action was to execute Jean the Skinner
outside her palace at Tuileries.
Since then, The Red Man - also known as the Red Spectre - has been known to haunt the
gardens in his blood red attired.
Marie Antoinette is said to have seen him just before losing her head - and it’s commonly
known that Napoleon consulted him during his rise as Emperor to predict the outcome of
forthcoming battles.
Useful stuff.
And finally - at our Number 1 spot - Les Catacombes.
Because, after all - it can be no other.
There’s no denying that the creepiest, eeriest - most paranormal place in Paris, is the endless
catacomb caverns that wind their way through the streets below.
The catacombs of Paris are a myriad of underground ossuaries that allegedly hold the remains
of more than six million people, which were created in an effort to eliminate the city’s
overflowing cemeteries.
Whether you believe the tales that surround this haunted place or not - there’s no denying
that the Paris Catacombs are an undeniable effigy to the dead - and long lost souls of
the City of Lights.
Although there have been terrifying tales of entire tour groups going missing, people
driven to insanity after being lost in the long dark of its winding tunnels - it’s
much simpler to see the real haunting that the catacombs possess - because the ghosts
are in the very bones themselves, in the million memories that they represent, entire walls
and tunnels built by the skeletal bones of the city’s residents that have passed in
and out of memory through a long, vibrant, rich - and oftentimes bloody - history.
Paris has seen a lot in her time, and the tunnels will keep on going.
Well - unfortunately folks, that’s all we’ve got time for in today’s video - cheers for
sticking around till the end.
If you’d like to continue on with your horror binge, then feel free to hit that playlist
floating shortly above.
As always, it’s been a pleasure - never a chore, making this video for you all - if
you’ve enjoyed it then be sure to hit that thumbs up button.
As per usual, I’ve been your host Jack Finch - you’ve been watching Top 5 Scary Videos
- and until next time, you take it easy.