This Halloween one lucky couple can spend a romantic night in what is essentially the world’s largest grave, courtesy of alternative accomodation site Airbnb.
The offer is an invitation for you and your special someone to stay in Paris’ famous Catacombs, a dark subterranean world 65 feet below ground which holds the corpses of six million of the city’s former inhabitants.
The giant tomb consists of a network of tunnels and connected caves stretching hundreds of miles, and lined with the bones of the dead. Ick! The two prize winners will first spend their time exploring the dark tunnels before being treated to “a dazzling culinary experience while enjoying a private concert in the most incredible acoustics under the earth.”
Next the guests will be told fascinating ghost stories about the Catacombs before laying down for the night. Breakfast is also included. Yum!
According to the blurb on the Airbnb site, you’ll become the only living person ever to wake up in the Paris Catacombs. That’s sure to impress people at parties!
Although the idea of staying in a 200-year-old grave would terrify most people, horror-lovers will surely relish this unique opportunity. If you want to be considered, all you have to do is explain why you think you could brave a night in the Catacombs before the competition closes on October 20th.
To further pique your interest, here are a few facts about the Paris Catacombs.
1. The Catacombs were built in the late 18th century. Mass graveyards around Paris were overflowing, and so the bodies were exhumed and arranged in the existing underground tunnels of the city’s ancient quarry.
2. Only a portion of the Catacombs is open to the public, with secret entrances all around Paris.
3. Graffitti found in the tunnels dates back to the French revolution!
4. Not all of the tunnels have been mapped, so getting lost if you enter illegally is pretty much guranteed.
5. During WWII both the Nazi’s and the resistence kept bunkers in the tunnels.
6. There’s a legend about a man who got lost and died down there in 1793. Philibert Aspairt’s body was found 11 years after his death and it’s said he was actually close to an exit.
Spooky!
