10 Dark Hidden Things Found Under Major Cities
By Olivia Harrison
6 months ago
Mines of Paris, France - an underground graveyard
Image Source: Reddit
Did you ever see the horror film As Above, So Below? Well, this is where that was based and filmed. The Catacombs of Paris are iconic for this dark nature. The Parisians used to bury their dead right under the city in the 1700s, the bodies of the elite and the poor lined up deep in the depths of the tunnels.The Catacombs of Rome, Italy - spectors of death
Image Source: Dark Rome
With an increasing city in the second century, it meant there were more bodies to buy, and while cemeteries can be useful, the Romans found it a much more fitting tribute to buy their dead right under their feet in man-made tunnels. Considering the bodies were buried so long ago, it's impressive they have managed to keep themselves together to the present day!Odessa Catacombs, Ukraine - more than just tunnels...
Image Source: CNN
Under the city of Ukraine sits more than 2,000 kilometres of tunnels, with at least 1,000 entrances, a secret to the world. What started as an opportunity to move around the city quickly became a place to dump your deceased and dead. It has since become an underground shelter, a museum, and the bodies keep turning up...Mary King's Close, Scotland - just enough room for ghosts
Image Source: Reddit
Edinburgh is a very cramped city now, so can you imagine what it was like in the Victorian age? When the elite of the city decided they wanted to lay new foundations for their beloved capital, they decided where better to go than on top, not factoring in the hundreds of people already living down there. Now it is a site of ghost stories and mysteries.Wieliczka Salt Mines, Poland - a land frozen in time
Image Source: Reddit
Lady Haversham would love it here. Now considered the longest active salt mine and home to one of the world's oldest active business ventures, the mines act as a religious place of healing and guidance, all the while serving sea salt to any who may fancy some for their table.Hellfire Caves, England - satanic rituals to be seen
Image Source: Reddit
While they may sound as though they're out of Stranger Things, these caves can actually be found in a sleepy village in England. They are man-made caverns extending 260 metres underground. Though the town may have been sleepy, it produced members of the Hellfire Club who would meet in the caves. Rumours speak of black magic, orgies and satanic rituals.Cheddar Caves, England
Image Source: Reddit
Discovered in 1898 by Richard Gough, who subsequently had a cave named after him, these caves boast a cute name. But what lies beneath, in the very entrance to the caves, are several human skeletons. Who knows who these corpses were? Who knows how they found themselves there?Abandoned Tube Stations, England - mind the gaps!
Image Source: Reddit
These carved out shells of yesteryear have been described as creepy, ugly and dangerous. They permeate the city, left abandoned for unknown reasons, but have had residents of sex workers, go-go dancers, and even film crews. There are over 40 sites that have been abandoned.Lawrence Hill, England - an excursion into mystery
Image Source: Bristol Live
Over twenty years ago, a historian, after hearing stories in his town for years about a hidden city, ventured into the unknown, plummeting under the streets of Bristol to find an eerily intact Victorian landscape. Few know what happened in the depths of the city, the secrets lost to the past.Burlington, England - open in case of nuclear war
Image Source: Skyspace
Under the town of Wiltshire lives an underground escape hatch, created for the very purpose of providing shelter if there was ever a nuclear war or an invasion (it's looking more likely everyday). This 35-acre underground site was only declassified in 2004.Portland, Oregon - a quirky city built on lies
Image Source: Reddit
These tunnels are up for much discussion and even more speculation. Few can agree on what exactly this underground city was used for: a place to kidnap men in order to sell them into slavery? Or a place of shenanigans and misbehaviour due to their links with opium dens?Gibraltra, Spain - space for anymore?
Image Source: Reddit
It even sounds like a sneaky secret! In the southern tip of Spain, an underground city was built fit to house 16,000 soldier with enough food to last them around two and a half years. The tunnels spanned 34 miles, and while some parts are open for guided tours, others are shrouded in mystery.Derinkuyu, Turkey - home renovation gone wrong
Image Source: Reddit
After knocking down a wall in his Turkish home, a man found an undiscovered city. Home renovation has never been so fruitful! Derinkuyu, the ancient city he found, is eighteen storeys deep and housed over twenty thousand people, with chapels, school and stables all in tow. There were no other signs of life.Sousse Catacombs, Tunisia - 15,000 burials
Image Source: Reddit
While today we bury our dead in coffins or perhaps cremate their remains, the Roman Empire were digging catacombs in which to rid themselves of the dead. The Sousse Catacombs boast 240 gallery-like rooms over five kilometers, and a staggering total of 15,000 burials.Moose Jaw, Canada - alcohol and allies
Image Source: Reddit
Much like Mary's Close in Edinburgh, what is now a tourist attraction had a rather skeptical past. Moose Jaw was known for its impact on bootlegging, allowing the opportunity to run under the city unencumbered, but it was too known for protecting the Allies during WWII, especially in the event of an attack.Camp Century, Greenland - not so nice ice
Image Source: Reddit
Project Iceworm was a well-kept secret of the US Army during the Cold War; it looked to build a network of launch sites to defend the West from the East. Camp Century is where this project took place. It was abandoned in 1966, when the ice sheets of Greenland became unstable.Underground City, Beijing - retaliation to the Cold War
Image Source: Reddit
The Cold War made the whole world shiver, and what better way to escape it than an underground city? Beijing in particular made sure they had a suitable place of residence just in case anything were to go wrong. As communication worsened between countries, it became more necessary by the second.Petra, Jordan - the Rose City in decay
Image Source: Reddit
Carved in the rose stone, Petra demonstrates the unknown beauty of the underneath of a city. Today, Petra is an architectural phenomenon and a place to hit on the bucket list, but it was once an abandoned place, especially after the Byzantine era, not witnessing its reclamation until 1812. What we can see now is nothing compared to what it used to be.Sarajevo Tunnel, Serbo-Croatian - hope from the darkness
Image Source: The New European
This tunnel, also known as the Tunnel of Hope, was created in the middle of the Bosnian War. It provided an out for troops to access their own supplies, especially guns, food and humanitarian aid. A large chunk was carved out using hands, shovels, picks and wheelbarrows.Cellars of Diocletian's Palace, Croatia - an Emperor's hiding place
Image Source: Reddit
Deep under Emperor Diocletian's palace sits vast cellars of intrigue and mystery. They currently sit as one of the best preserved ancient complexes of their kind, according to Visit Split. They were used as a place to store waste or to press ancient oil and wine for the spoils of the Emperor.Naours, France - everything but the kitchen sink
Image Source: Reddit
In a beautiful little town in France, buried deep beneath the earth, there are a cacophony of underground caves called Naours. Not much is known about their origins, but in its entirety, it could house around 2,600 people and their livestock and provide refuge for whatever needed.The Catacombs of St. John, Greece - the so-called 'death chamber'
Image Source: Thessaloniki Tourism
Discovered in 1844, the catacombs of St John were a ritual burial place for Christians during Roman times. There are three hallways, each leading to an eerily named 'death chamber' which is where the Greek would leave their loved one. They were built out of volcanic rock and kept out of sight of any persecutors.Caves of Maastricht, Netherlands - the spoils of the Netherlands
Image Source: Visions of Travel
Initially dug to mine chalk, these limestone quarries have quite the reputation. While they are home to an array of artworks drawn on their walls, they were also used to store many valuable paintings and armaments which were used against the Germans in WWII.Subterranean Toledo, Spain - sick of the dead
Image Source: Wikipedia
It looks like something out of Assassin's Creed! Toledo boasts a variety of surprises. It houses wells, historical baths, and the Cave of Hercules (opened, according to legend, when Don Rodrigo completed Hercules' prophecy). But it was too a place to bury the dead bodies, caused by the increase in cholera cases.Dover Castle Complex, England - a ghost infested castle?
Image Source: Reddit
The English loved a dungeon, that's for sure! Under the beauty of Dover Castle sits a series of dungeons and tunnels used both as a secret wartime escapes, and to keep prisoners of the crown. Rumour has it that you can often hear the ghostly cries of the long dead captured.Vicksburg, Mississippi - a portrayal of the caves
Image Source: Reddit
What is now an abandoned mall was once a collection of caves. The caves show the harrowing life of the civilians in the Civil Army. When they were surrounded at all times and open to attack, they had to take to a cave-dwellers way of life just to survive.Lost Tombs of Ancient Egypt, Egypt - where's my mummy?
Image Source: Reddit
Egypt wouldn't be Egypt without its abundance of tombs. We have all seen Scooby Doo! But while a large number of underground tombs have been found, more and more are being found every year, begging the question of just how many dead bodies are you likely to find under Egypt?Catacombs of Petrovaradin Fortress, Serbia - comb through to the treasure
Image Source: Novi Sad
Under a gorgeous fort in Serbia sits a maze of underground tunnels. These catacombs are sometimes up to four storeys and roughly ten miles long. There have been rumours about their many access points, some people even suggesting the idea of buried treasure.Catacombs of Znojmo, Czech Republic
Image Source: #VisitCzechia
Described as a labyrinth under the Czech Republic, the Znojmo Catacombs are a series of passageways, cellars and sub cellars with a little known history. What we do know is that they were a place of refuge for those who fell prey to the invading forces of other cities.Catacombs of Domitilla, Rome
