The Story of the Paris Catacombs Footage 

When you don’t see any more graffiti, you’ve gone too far

People today: “OMG, the catacombs are scary!“ People in the 17th century: "Gonna have breakfast and go build some catacombs."

Her: "Isnt this the most romantic city?" Me: "We are standing above countless corpses." Her: "I know." Me: .......

I'm really surprised that the city has never tried to map the catacombs out. I'm sure if enough people worked together on it it could be done

too much effort to go down there is, no light,water and alot of dirt--stay up top and drink wine and eat cheese

3 essential things he was missing: 1. He forgot torches 2. He forgot a bucket of water 3. He didn't have an iron pickaxe

The catacombs are terrifying. Me and 2 friends explored for about 45 minutes and got the hell out. I’ll never go back down and, don’t suggest anyone else does.

I've heard the story of a teen girl who after attending a new years party in the catacombs of Ukraine got lost and perished, only to have her body found years later.. her body perfectly preserved because even the rats didn't go down that far... I can only imagine the level of fear wandering alone in the darkness for days, crying screaming to no prevail. That's terrifying to me.

I am actually a little familiar with the Paris Catacombs and can confirm that the footage is probably real but not in the way people think it is. Not only is exploring the Catacombs not a good idea but it is also illegal in Paris and it's illegal for a very specific reason. There is a group of explorers that frequent the catacombs that can confirm that whenever it rains the catacombs actually gets really flooded very very fast. Meaning the water can sometimes even go up to waist-length during this downtime. When this happens, explorers are encouraged to run as fast as they can to the nearest exit ladder to safety, however because the Catacombs is practically a maze this is a bit of a challenge. After looking at the footage i notice i can hear the sound of puddles as the man is running. whoever had this camera probably noticed the water levels rapidly rising and was in such a panic to find an escape he probably just dropped his camera on the way out. Honestly that's all I really think it is. Also fun little fact if you venture just far enough into the catacombs you might stumble upon a secret area where all the catacombs explorers frequently meet up to party with music and the like. Theres a bunch of cool things in that secret area from sculptures to replicas of famous paintings to an actual DJ Booth. In reality the Catacombs is not as scary as people make it out to be but it is still a bit dangerous.

I like how everyone is making jokes about this but if they were actually lost in the catacombs they would be scared shitless just like I would be

After watching too many videos and reading up on the history of the catacombs, Its clear he is WAY too deep in them. There's no graffiti, and in the footage it's very clear he's not in his right mind, paranoia and fear quite literally taking him over. I think the idea of some kind of "creature" or whatnot is interesting but...not very plausible. I think he was in there for too long, and as I said he was WAY TOO DEEP and alone, the silence can actually affect your brain. You can hear voices, see things of course, you're going to panic and run. But then again we have so much left to discover in our world so maybe one day there's proof that something is down there, but for now I think his surroundings got to him

Every body gangsta until the minecraft cave sounds start to play

Even if the footage is fake this is beyond one of the most terrifying concepts I can ever imagine a person being in; the tight walls, thin air, pitch blackness- totally horrifying. You bet ur arse I’m never going down there!

Noted, when planning your trip into the catacombs, bring along one person whose sole purpose is to carry enough spare batteries to last until the sun explodes.

Realistic theory: the catacombs usually flood when it rains, and the puddle sounds suggest that he panicked with the catacombs started to flood. Most likely he tried to find a way out but failed, and became just another skeleton in the sea of the dead. Scary theory: Given his panic, and how he started to run, it was suggesting someone or something was down there with him. Also him dropping the camera could show his effort to try to lose weight in order to run faster, or the camera was knocked out of his hands.

I never get tired of learning about the Paris Catacombs.

He probably got into a part of the catacombs that had next to zero oxygen and especially gases that build up over time from no air flow at all, him being down 300 feet below street level, this is a very real possibility. This can cause someone to panic, and breathe faster thus killing them in the process from the deadly air. That's what I think happened. He wasn't being chased, wouldn't you panic if you couldn't breathe?

Plot twist, its actually where dads go for milk when they never come back

idea: play the footage backwards. then you can find ur way back.

Imagine you're walking in water in the dark and you stop, and hear footsteps running towards you

"Your sanity is now dangerously low. Make sure to stay in the light and try to make progress."

He panicked and hyped himself up to the point where his own echo caused him to imagine he was being chased.

I swear on my life and everything that I love. I saw/heard this footage years ago (with headphones in) and *immediately* before he drops the camera and starts running, you can hear a woman’s voice say “are you scared?” Its literally making my eyes water just thinking of it. I listened to it dozens of times, with my eyes open, and closed, and at different speeds. I don’t know if the footage was messed with in some way, but I KNOW I heard that voice ask “Are you scared?” the very second that he drops his camera and runs. I cannot even imagine that kind of fear and helplessness.

UPDATE: He finally emerged December 2020 and returned back down to the catacombs almost immediately. He said that all things considered it was actually better down there.

This happened way back in 199🌲

Dude If you're lost in the mines Just dig up You'll eventually get to the surface

"Paris, the capital of France, home of... well, French People" me: INtereSting

Now I've never been into the catacombs, but feel down a rabbit hole and ended up researching them way to much. From what I found, the catacombs act a lot like storm drains when it rains, and can fill up with water up to the stomach rather quickly. Seeing how the water was flowing past the camera, I think the explorer just noticed the water level rising and panicked, making a break for an escape ladder and leaving his camera behind.

To people saying these images make them uncomfortable - please never go there. Friends and I thought it would be a funny expedition but it's traumatizing. It smells like death, and i don't mean it smells bad (of course it does) but it feels so overly cursed and ominous, every sound make you want to scream and cry. The holes can be so small you can't even go through, you get lost, you can't call the emergencies.. please, for the love of god. don't go there.

Had this on my bucket list, then watched “As above so below” and scratched it off

Fun Fact: The host for the show 'Scariest Places on Earth' is Linda Blair. The girl from the Exorcist movie.

it’s always scary and sad when you find the footage or evidence of someone who was lost but never find evidence of them being around

guy probably just spooked himself, dropped his cam n run... you know that feeling when you go downstairs late at night, its dark and quiet... then on the way back upstairs you find yourself scurrying up the last few steps because you feel something behind you.

"down there, if your light dies, you die with it" tight line. . .

200+ miles of tunnels and Mr. Freeland after venturing through 6 of them, finds the spot. Nah, nothing fishy about that

0:33 nobody ever talks about the face here so maybe thats why he became spooked

Even if this footage is fake, it still freaks me out because it's a pretty convincing depiction of a situation that has happened to people before, and is likely to happen again in the future. There is precedent to show these unfortunate events do take place. Great video, Mike. I haven't seen anyone actually cover this one before. Very interesting.

He probably found the philosopher stone but got trapped for greediness.

If ghosts exist, that would be the place. Millions of dead bodies over hundreds of years. Spooky stuff.

One day there needs to be a massive group that goes down there and explores the damn thing. Lots of equipment to keep track of where you’re at, nobody staying alone, taking every single precaution and marking everywhere you’ve gone.

modern man: gets lost in the catacombs ancient greecians: hold my string

*I believe he began to panic when he couldn't find his way back. succumbed to a lack of oxygen upon running. It's been over 25 years, his body likely deteriorated into just bones.*

Regarding batteries running out when you're exploring, it reminds me of a rule of thumb I once read about concerning cave diving: divers use a third of their oxygen going in, so they have a two-thirds supply to get back with. If I were exploring the catacombs, I'd use a similar rule of thumb concerning the batteries. About the video: The Blair Witch Project came out in 1999; this seem very much in that vein - even the figure on the wall reminds me of the mysterious crosses in The Blair Witch Project. It could be coincidence, but what we see of the catacomb video seems rather derivative, to me. I doubt it's real.

i cant imagine how surreal it is to see literal bones in huge masses like that underground

Imagine being down there at the time where all the bodies weren't completely decomposed..

“As above, so below” = one of the better horror movies I’ve seen in a while; based in the Paris catacombs.

I think it would be lovely if he explored spooky places occasionally on the channel-legally of course. He could probably even get private tours of castles & the like during the lockdown, focusing on the more macabre elements connected to the locations.

I would never think about exploring a place deep under ground with unknown amount of dead

Whether fake or not, Mr Friedland said he gave up after six miles...six miles! wow... I think I would have given up at the entrance, so kudos to him. Thanks Mike, another fascinating vid.

3:43 "It's been reported that the footage is from Nineteen Ninety-Tree..." Ah yes, 199🌳, I have fond memories of that year.

Dude. You don't understand how much this tripped me out. I was watching "Above, So Below" (horror movie about the Paris Catacombs being the gate to hell) RIGHT NOW, and was like, "Hey, where's the Paris Catacombs footage that I remember?" And I couldn't find it right away, so I clicked on your face, because "HEY MIKE!" (every time you say "Hi, my name's Mike," we immediately go, "HEY MIKE!" in response. But then got TOTALLY confused by the title and thought RU-vid was lagging or something. My brain could NOT compute that you were actually talking about EXACTLY what I was watching/looking up. Oi, that was hard on me brain,

I’ve always been fascinated by the catacombs and the number of bodies that were put there but I don’t think I could go that far in. I’m claustrophobic so I will just be happy seeing videos about them.

This is nothing.. Once i lost my house in minecraft Edit: thanks for 1 like

I cant say about the authenticity of the Paris Catacombs but my father, as a child and his 2 friends stumbled on some in Sicily and scared the hell out of all of them. This was back in the 50's. They were exploring and found an entrance that brought them to a lower level of the town, into a church ruin. They thought they were opening huge cupboard doors thinking they would find old books or something and as they opened them them they encountered skeletons of dead priests etc In a panic they got disoriented and almost couldnt find their way out.. One of his friends was sick for months and the other two were so freaked out with fear that they never ventured near that area ever again.

I always look forward to your content Mike, and you never disappoint !

I rented a haunted house but man, I'm not ever going down in those catacombs.

This guy probably just at home chillin lol

What if we kissed 😘 iN tHe pArIs cAtAcOmBs

The moment you said it was found by a film maker and said film maker goes down to the exact spot that was filmed and he said he omitted footage makes it a definite hoax.

The quality of research in your videos is astounding

"Paris home of......well French people " Well true

Dude looks like Charlie sheen and Quentin Tarantino’s lovechild

This is the most informative comment section ever

Tie a string the entrance and let it flow where you walk. When you are done, follow the string back to the exit

"Oh look I found a videotape that might be evidence in a missing person case. Should I take it to the police? No, I think I'll give it to a cinematographer." Completely plausible.

Friedland looks like Dr. Oz's doppelganger but with crackhead energy

First of all let me say that I love your videos and voice! Those pauses! Those silly jokes! I have been down in the ‘illegal’ catacombs for at least 10 times, the shorter being 12h little trip, the longest almost 3 days napping there. They are the best thing about Paris, there is plenty of amazing street art (once stumbled across a man building a miniature city as an hobby going there every week), but you do need light food and a good map -how to find one is the big secret, but it is doable-. What probably happened is that he found an entrance, got lost and finally found someone that showed him an exit. Not sure why he left the camera behind but seem legit and very plausible to have happened. Peace.

One thing for sure, you wont catch my happy ass down there!

Cam recorders back in the 90s were expensive, and I would assume the owner would have registered that camera with the manufacturer for warranty purposes, so WHY NOT contact the manufacturer with the serial number for that camera to see if the owner can be determined?

He noclipped out of reality and was in the back rooms, the poor guy walked too far.

Love your work! Very interesting video.

That "he" drops his camera - his only source of light - means it's absolutely fake. I think Freedland saw a good way to get some attention.

Imagine being lost down there in the dark with no light and all that history of death down there with you and your mind running wild. You wouldn't last long.

You could have tried to have trace the camera. The serial number could be traced to a distributor and possibly an owner if there was a warranty... My bet is the trail will lead to Friedland.

Now I have to go research catacomb explorers. I went down there (the tourist part) in 1984. Even that was quite creepy - it was in winter and my brother, sister, and I only saw a couple other people while down there (no tour guides). It was so airless and strange. The part that is open is quite macabre because it's a section where the bones have been neatly stacked into walls and are adorned with elaborate skull and crossbones decorations. Lit by gas lanterns and the air is completely still and featureless (not damp, not cold, not hat - just totally neutral). I had no idea that people snuck down there and went off on explorations for miles.

My morbid curiosity is piqued by this video. Give me a month and I’ll be able to tell you anything and everything there is to know about this place. Seriously. As always, thanks for another great video! 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

This is like Hotel California, You can checkout anytime but never leave LoL

Robots could explore it, even more so the sorts of robots we have now that can handle all sorts of surfaces.

My absolute paralysing fear. I wouldn’t go down there for anything. I really would die of fear.

Always a pleasure to watch you .

Some people are just too nosey. You couldn’t pay me to go in those tunnels.

There's graffiti everywhere down there, everywhere!...meaning people have been down there extensively for decades. Kids used to party down there in the 80's.

I live 12,000 miles from these tunnels, with the Pacific Ocean separating me from them and somehow I am convinced that I’m still too close. Dark, unmapped, deep, cramped, absence of any natural light, the air must be thick as molasses, dusty, echoing, dangerous, forbidden, no easy way out. Literally what nightmares are made of. And that’s *before* I even consider the 7 million or so skeletons and every room and passage filled with intact human skills and bones. This one got me.

I just love your personality Mike 😆 "wait, what am I talkin about? Screw that, I'm not going down there". It's sooo eery!

Dude was playing Outlast in real life...

My heart skipped a beat when that film crew stopped at the latter, said the hatch was stuck, and then that they'd have to backtrack 5 or 6 miles. Just a taste of what the person in the footage went through, if indeed it is real.

I love your channel!

The unseen footage needs to be seen. If you’re about to die alone in a dark tunnel, you would say your last words to the camera and hold on to the light it shines.

We currently have, in real life, drones that are capable of scouring the Fukashima reactor cores. We have entire squads getting PhDs in micro robotics designed to survive nuclear radiation. The catacombs are nothing for a drone, so send some in.

Not to be that guy but the film “As Above So Below” is one of the best horror flicks in recent years and depicts the Catacombs in a terrifying way.

Someone got a fancy new camera in 1993 and decided to ditch the old one down there in order to create a mystery as an elaborate joke.. Legend says he is still chuckling to this day.

YES i’ve been looking for this. He’s running and breathing heavy and he drops the cam then it just stops

This is nothing I lost my dad over for 22 years

Always makes me suspicious when film makers just so happen to be handed films of amazing footage. What a coincidence he found the exact room! Lol. Who found the camera and gave it to him again?

Love it - did a spit-take on "Welcome, as always. My name is Mike... also as always."

The thing I am confuse about is, nobody has reported this person missing, not one name has been linked to this person being missing, it's so odd that not one family member has not come out and say "hey this might be the person"

The claustrophobia makes me want to throw up

The movie 'As Above So Below' was inspired by the video and honestly is pretty damn good. Definitely worth a watch if you're interested in the catacombs.

4:50 the guy talking says "occasionally also he stops to photograph rooms full of bones"

Been in a situation like this. The place is no where near as big as the catacombs but an underground cave system in my city. City kept cementing the entrances closed, etc. Every year a new entrance opens. There's a school bus in there somewhere but it's extremely hard to find since that area was closed off. Anyways. There was a hole in the ground, shallow, we slide down the hole. Walked past the standing water, and climbed up a massive hill of dirt and down into the where it tunnels in 2 directions. Multiple tunnels branch off. Tons of dead ends. Eventually we got turned around and forgot we slide down the dirt hill. We found our way out, but that moment when you feel lost, you get this eerie feeling of dread, and panic. Definitely will go in again, this time with batteries and markers if we find the hole again