The Best Books About the Paris Catacombs

The best books about the Paris catacombs fall into three camps: narrative nonfiction that takes you inside the tunnels (Robert Macfarlane's Underland, Will Hunt's Underground), history that explains how an empire of death came to exist beneath the city (Fabrizio de Gennaro's The Paris Catacombs, Paul Koudounaris's The Empire of Death), and fiction that puts the ossuary's atmosphere to work (Andrew Miller's Pure, Jeremy Bates's The Catacombs). Here are seven titles worth your shelf space, and who each one is for.

7 books about the Paris catacombs and underground Paris

1. The Paris Catacombs: A Secret History of Underground Paris — Fabrizio de Gennaro

Full disclosure: we publish this one — but it fills a genuine gap. Most catacombs books stop at the bone walls; de Gennaro treats the underground as a stage for two centuries of hidden history, from the French Revolution to the Cagoule affair of the 1930s, when a far-right secret society stockpiled weapons in cellars beneath the city. Originally published in Italian as Parigi Sotterranea (also available in French), The Paris Catacombs is the pick for readers who want documented secret history rather than travel writing. Available as an ebook on Amazon, Apple Books, Google Play, and Kobo.

2. Underland: A Deep Time Journey — Robert Macfarlane

Macfarlane's award-winning exploration of the world beneath our feet includes one of the finest chapters ever written about the off-limits catacombs: days spent crawling through flooded galleries with Parisian cataphiles, sleeping wedged into stone shelves far below the streets. Best for readers who want gorgeous, meditative prose — Paris is one stop on a much longer journey into deep time.

3. Underground: A Human History of the Worlds Beneath Our Feet — Will Hunt

Hunt is a journalist who fell in love with tunnels as a teenager, and his travelogue moves from New York subway tunnels to Australian mines — with underground Paris and its cataphile subculture as a highlight. Faster and more reportorial than Macfarlane. Best for armchair urban explorers curious about the people who sneak into the quarries today.

4. The Empire of Death: A Cultural History of Ossuaries and Charnel Houses — Paul Koudounaris

The famous inscription at the catacombs' entrance — "Stop! This is the empire of death" — gives this lavishly photographed Thames & Hudson volume its name. Art historian Koudounaris places the Paris ossuary in a worldwide tradition of decorated bone chapels, from Palermo to Bohemia. Best as a reference and coffee-table book for readers drawn to the art and theology of displayed bones.

5. The Catacombs of Paris — Gilles Thomas

Thomas is one of the leading historians of the Paris underground, and this compact illustrated guide covers the ossuary's history, the quarries, and the wall engravings visitors walk past without noticing. Best as a companion before or after an actual visit to the official circuit.

6. Pure — Andrew Miller

Winner of the Costa Book of the Year 2011, this novel follows Jean-Baptiste Baratte, a young engineer sent in 1785 to demolish the overflowing cemetery of Les Innocents — the clearance whose exhumed bones would fill the catacombs. Atmospheric, unsettling pre-revolutionary Paris. Best for literary fiction readers who want the origin story dramatized.

7. The Catacombs — Jeremy Bates

From the bestselling World's Scariest Places series: a group of friends descends into the illegal tunnels to investigate a piece of disturbing found footage, and things go very wrong among the six million dead. Pulpy, claustrophobic horror. Best for thriller readers who want the catacombs as a monster, not a museum.

Quick facts about the Paris catacombs

• The ossuary holds the remains of an estimated six million Parisians and was consecrated as the official Paris Municipal Ossuary on April 7, 1786.
• The bones occupy only a small corner of a former limestone quarry network stretching roughly 300 km (186 miles) beneath the city.
• The public route is just about 1.5 km, some 20 metres underground; the rest is closed but still explored illegally by "cataphiles".
• The catacombs were born of crisis: street collapses over abandoned quarries in the 1770s led to a royal quarry-inspection service under Charles-Axel Guillaumot, while the reeking, overflowing cemetery of Saints-Innocents forced Paris to move its dead underground. The site opened to visitors in 1809.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best book about the Paris catacombs?

It depends on what you want. For the hidden history of the tunnels themselves, Fabrizio de Gennaro's The Paris Catacombs; for literary travel writing, Macfarlane's Underland; for a visit companion, Gilles Thomas's guide.

Are there novels set in the Paris catacombs?

Yes. Andrew Miller's Pure dramatizes the cemetery clearance that created them, and Jeremy Bates's The Catacombs is a popular horror thriller set in the illegal tunnels.

How much of the catacombs can you actually visit?

Only about 1.5 km of a roughly 300 km network is open to the public. The forbidden sections — and the cataphiles who roam them — are vividly described in Will Hunt's and Robert Macfarlane's books.

Is The Paris Catacombs by Fabrizio de Gennaro available in English?

Yes. Translated from the Italian Parigi Sotterranea and also available in French, the English ebook is sold on Amazon, Apple Books, Google Play, and Kobo.