The more you know....Paris

Paris is full of history and with so much of it certain parts of it are often overshadowed.

From serial killer barbers to the real phantom of the Opera this blog post is made to educate you and keep you in the know because the more you know is almost always beneficial.

Location of the Guillotine

If you know anything about Paris then you know about the guillotine. You know... the iconic blade that chopped off peoples head blah blah blah.

Anyways the marks of where the guillotine once stood, can still be seen at Rue de la Roquette and Rue de la Croix. Which its not the most exciting of things but its kinda cool.

Did you also know that King Louis XVI suggested the idea of adding an angled blade to the guillotine? Its ironic because he got killed by it a few years later.

Also did you know the last time someone got guillotined was in 1981?

When I found that out I was shook.

The Real Phantom of the Opera

Who would have thought that this story/movie/play/opera was actually based off a true character.

So the first true aspect of this story is the Opera House that it take place in.

In case you didn't know it took place in Opera Garnier one of the most famous Opera Houses in the world, which of course happens to be located in Paris.

The second aspect of the story that is true is the fact there was actually (supposedly) a man that worked/lived in the Opera house with disfigured face and like the story he fell in love with a young beautiful singer but unlike the story, when he tried to get with her she rejected him, so with great sorrow he locked himself in one of the underground chambers beneath the opera and was later found dead.

Ya... His ghost is definitely haunting the opera.

The Baker and the Barber

Ok, this next one is kinda scary and there are multiple horror stories written similar to this one but, there's a good chance this is the original especially because it took place during the middle ages.

Basically at Ile de la Cité,(the little island in Paris) there was a baker and barber shop right next to each other and during this time period the Bakers shop specifically was iconic due to its amazing meat pies.

Well what was in the meat pies you may ask? Apparently Humans. Disgusting and gross I know.

But the thing is nobody knew this except for the barber who had teamed up with baker in order to commit the crime of the century.

The barber would kill his customers (I'm assuming by slitting there throats ) and then bring them down to the basement that he shared with the baker who would then grind them up and use them in his meat pies.

Eventually their little operation was found out and as a result not only were they burned alive but their shops were also burned to the ground.

The only thing that remained of their shops after that were the foundations and guess what it still exists today!

Although hard to get to you can find the old remnants of the buildings in the Paris police motorcycle garage.

Like I said hard to get to but people have done it before so good luck.

Messynessychic.com

The Real Nicholas Flamel

If this name sounds familiar then your probably a Harry Potter fan if not then get on it.

Anyways in Harry Potter specifically the first one which is Harry Potter and Sorcerer's /Philosophers Stone Nicholas Flamel is mentioned as being the person who invented the philosophers stone.

Hopefully you are educated enough to know that the world of Harry Potter is a fantasy world but whats funny is Nicholas Flamel actually existed.

He was actually a French scribe and it wasn't until after his death that people began to believe that he was an alchemist that discovered the philosophers stone granting him immortality (which is kinda dumb in my opinion because how was he immortal if he was dead?)

He died in Paris in the early 15th century but his house still stands and is currently the oldest stone house known to date in Paris. (Pretty cool if you ask me )

The Devils Door

Notre Dame is very iconic without it and the Eiffel Tower Paris just wouldn't be the same. Not only is it a beautiful building but it also is very old and took over 200 years to complete.

While doing my extensive research I came across the story of Notre Dame's front doors being called the "Devils Doors."

Interesting considering that Notre Dame is a cathedral and a place of worship, but anyways that really caught my attention so I looked deeper into it.

Apparently a metal smith, named Biscornet, around the 14th century was put up to the task of making the doors so he did and once he was finished Parisians were shook.

The people were so amazed by his work that they started to believe that there was no way humanly possible that Biscornet did it, so naturally they accused him of selling his soul to the devil in exchange for the doors.

Crazy to think right?

This accusation spread and people began making up things to go along with the story.

For example some of the priests claimed that the doors wouldn't open until after they sprinkled Holy water on them.

Eventually when Biscornet died people said it was the Devil coming to claim his end of the deal.(*insert eye roll*)

There are countless "The more you know" things about Paris but those are my favorite that I researched. Eventually there will be more post like this so stand by if you are interested if not then I'm disappointed in you but its cool.