• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.
Having travelled on the Paris Mėtro a few times (and getting a bit bored at work this afternoon) I tried Googling for ghosts on the Paris Mėtro to see if there was anything to compare with the creepiness of the London Tube.

Well, apart from a handful of "ghost" (i.e. no longer used) stations, there didn't seem to be much in the way of Fortean experiences to be had on the Mėtro.

The infamous Catacombs, on the other hand, have dozens of web sites devoted to supernatural goings on. Imagine getting lost in 200 miles of labyrinthine tunnels paved with human bones!

Paris in general really doesn't seem to go in for ghosts. We went on the only Ghost Tour there is advertised earlier this year and it was mostly just gruesome tales of murder rather than ghost sightings. For all the trauma that went on here during the Revolution, WWII and the late 60s you would think the place would be crawling with phantoms.

I pass a phantom stations on my regular commute on Line 10, Croix-Rouge, and usually always have a glance at the platform to see if I can see anything lurking in the shadows.

Here is some pictures and info about the abandoned stations. Surprised more haven't been shut down, there are some where you can literally stand on the platform and see the two stations either side along the tunnels.
http://street-culture.fr/2012/03/abandonned-metro-stations/

They sometimes do some cool stuff with the abandoned stations. They did this recently for promoting the film Prometheus.

There is one mystery on the Metro. Here is a summary which I have stolen from reddit rather than type out an overview myself.

On the evening of May 16th, 1937, Laetitia Toureaux headed for a bus stop after leaving a dance hall in a Parisian suburb. She cut a striking figure as she boarded- 29 years old, in a green suit, white hat, and gloves. Twenty four minutes later, she arrived at a metro station, the Porte de Charenton, and boarded the first-class car bound for central Paris. While the other cars were full, the first class carriage was empty. The train departed at 6:26PM, and 45 seconds later arrived at another station, the Porte Dorée. Six passengers entered the first class car and found Laeitita Toureaux, mudered, with a 9 inch dagger in her neck. No one had exited, no one else was in the car. So who killed her?

Within days of her murder, police had uncovered strange information about her life. She worked in a glue factory by day and frequented dance halls or bal musettes by night. Some viewed Laetitia as a naive, innocent victim, but most saw her as a heartless social climber, marrying her late husband without his family's knowledge or assent. In addition, though she was faithful to him during their marriage, after his death she had numerous affairs. She also, strangely, was known by some acquaintances as 'Yolande".

Interestingly, Laetitia was also a sometimes informant for a Parisian detective agency "Agence Rouff". Bal musettes were known to attract pimps, prostitutes, and drug dealers.

However, most beleived she had been killed by the French facist terrorist goup, Comité secret d'action révolutionnaire, also called La Cagoule. When the police raided La Cagoule on November 15th, 1937, several members claimed knowledge of Toureaux's murder, stating she had been an informer and had been identified.

"It appears that sometime in 1936, Laetitia, now known as “Yolande” and working for the police to infiltrate illegal, right-wing political groups, became the lover of Jeantet, the Cagoule’s arms smuggling expert. Jeantet ran a garage near Montmarte and commanded a fleet of cars he used to smuggle arms from Geneva to Paris. By the spring of 1937, the Cagoule began to suspect Toureaux of deceit and set a trap for her. News of an upcoming arms run was leaked to her, but when the car was stopped at the Swiss border, it was empty. The ruse cost Toureaux her life."

However, there has never been any arrest for her murder, and French police files on the case are sealed until 2038. Why was Laeititia killed, and by whom? If the police knew her killer, why was there no arrest? And how did a killer escape from a train car unnoticed?

Here is an excellent write up where I got most of my information.

Here is a Good Reads review on the book, Murder in the Metro by Gayle K. Brunelle and Annette Finley-Croswhite.

Here is the Wikiedia article on "Locked Room Mysteries", which has a small blurb about the murder. Nothing more than the article, just interesting that it's included.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Unresolved...o/the_impossible_murder_of_laetitia_toureaux/
 
Paris in general really doesn't seem to go in for ghosts. We went on the only Ghost Tour there is advertised earlier this year and it was mostly just gruesome tales of murder rather than ghost sightings. For all the trauma that went on here during the Revolution, WWII and the late 60s you would think the place would be crawling with phantoms.

I pass a phantom stations on my regular commute on Line 10, Croix-Rouge, and usually always have a glance at the platform to see if I can see anything lurking in the shadows.

Here is some pictures and info about the abandoned stations. Surprised more haven't been shut down, there are some where you can literally stand on the platform and see the two stations either side along the tunnels.
http://street-culture.fr/2012/03/abandonned-metro-stations/

They sometimes do some cool stuff with the abandoned stations. They did this recently for promoting the film Prometheus.

There is one mystery on the Metro. Here is a summary which I have stolen from reddit rather than type out an overview myself.

Some creepy looking locations there McAvennie which are also, in a strange way -cool.

As for the mysterious murder, its a shame Sherlock wasnt around :)
 
Paris in general really doesn't seem to go in for ghosts. We went on the only Ghost Tour there is advertised earlier this year and it was mostly just gruesome tales of murder rather than ghost sightings. For all the trauma that went on here during the Revolution, WWII and the late 60s you would think the place would be crawling with phantoms.

I pass a phantom stations on my regular commute on Line 10, Croix-Rouge, and usually always have a glance at the platform to see if I can see anything lurking in the shadows.

Here is some pictures and info about the abandoned stations. Surprised more haven't been shut down, there are some where you can literally stand on the platform and see the two stations either side along the tunnels.
http://street-culture.fr/2012/03/abandonned-metro-stations/

They sometimes do some cool stuff with the abandoned stations. They did this recently for promoting the film Prometheus.

There is one mystery on the Metro. Here is a summary which I have stolen from reddit rather than type out an overview myself.

Could Paris's lack of ghosts be down to Frances mainly Catholic religion? I don't think Catholics are into ghosts other than the Holy one. Are there less reported sightings in Catholic countries?
 
Could Paris's lack of ghosts be down to Frances mainly Catholic religion? I don't think Catholics are into ghosts other than the Holy one. Are there less reported sightings in Catholic countries?

Good question - are ghosts seen in every country/culture? Do Australian Aborigines see ghosts?
 
Do Australian Aborigines see ghosts?

Monsters, demons and things that are incubus related.

Ghosts per se. Still looking . . . but the above seems such an interesting page!

Are there less reported sightings in Catholic countries?

Ireland is full of spook-tales!

The relative dearth of them in France is sometimes attributed to the Revolution, which gave them lots to think about at around the time our most gothic dreams remained dreams! :)
 
"In 1978, a woman claimed to have found the tunnel and to have seen within it an old railway carriage filled with skeletons"

I used to live just a short distance from the entrance to the Paxton tunnel in the 1970's and all the local kids were aware of this legend. In those days the entrance was blocked by two heavy iron doors which were secured shut by a couple of paving slabs....needless to say, we soon moved them aside and got in.

It was a regular habit of ours to walk a short way in to the tunnel and sit around chatting, sometimes with a bottle of cider to *cough* refresh us. Some of the older (and braver) kids ventured further in but never came across any abandoned carriages, with or without skeletal passengers. Strangely enough, I still lived there at the time this woman claimed to have had this experience yet I don't recall hearing anything about it.

There is one odd thing though: There are a short row of houses, built in the 1960's, near the entrance and every single one of the original households lost a family member in tragic accidents.

Can you remember what sort of accidents these were?
 
"In 1978, a woman claimed to have found the tunnel and to have seen within it an old railway carriage filled with skeletons"

Wasn't that linked to a short experimental tunnel at Crystal Palace?
it was a pneumatic railway were the train was sucked along by low
pressure formed by fans run from a steam loco converted to drive them,
the story went that it sucked the air out of the carriage and they all suffocated
but it is a unlikely story, another theory was that she fell into the cellars
of the old crystal palace that were sill full of stuff left over from old exhibitions
and saw dummies and such.
 
Hello. I've just joined to post this as I found this thread from a Google search, I wonder if anyone can throw any light on this weird experience.

In 2001 I was studying at Birkbeck College and would travel into Russell Square tube from Turnpike Lane every day on the Piccadilly line.

Fast forward to 2005, and 7/7 happened. A few days later, my husband (was my boyfriend in 2001) pointed out how strange it was that in 2001 I'd once called him from outside Russell Square station, slightly panicking because on coming out of the station there had been loads of emergency vehicles around and I'd overheard someone in high-vis wear - ie an emergency services worker - on a Walkie-talkie saying "yeah, there's just bits of bodies everywhere down there".

I've tried to not think about this, I don't really believe in the paranormal (even though I saw a ghost as a small child!) and I feel very sad about it as I knew someone who died in the Russell Square bomb (could I have warned them??), but, I've recently heard about timeslips and wondered if this could have been one? And is it something anyone else has experienced?

Sorry for reviving a very old thread!
 
...Sorry for reviving a very old thread!

It's always good to see some threads revived. And this is one of them.

My intitial thought is that you encountered emergency services dealing with a suicide or accident. A not uncommon occurence all over the London transport network.

Although the way you have recalled what you heard suggests more than one body, I can easily imagine someone appearing to allude to a plural when they are in fact only referring to an individual (in fact I suspect that it's not uncommon mistake in such circumstances - when referring to multiple constituent parts from a single source).
 
It's always good to see some threads revived. And this is one of them.

My intitial thought is that you encountered emergency services dealing with a suicide or accident. A not uncommon occurence all over the London transport network.

Although the way you have recalled what you heard suggests more than one body, I can easily imagine someone appearing to allude to a plural when they are in fact only referring to an individual (in fact I suspect that it's not uncommon mistake in such circumstances - when referring to multiple constituent parts from a single source).

Thanks Spookdaddy, the thing that's weird is that there had been no disruption on the tube - I'd just got off a train - and nothing in the news. Though it was before the days of smartphones my boyfriend had checked the internet because I was really afraid that something very serious had happened, but nothing. There were also a LOT of ambulances.

I wondered whether there had been a practice run of first responders as I know they do civil emergency training, that was the way i explained it to myself, but I guess there's no way to find out.
 
An interesting account! I don't know if there is a way of checking the details but it is good to have a record of it somewhere. You never know, one day someone might read it who was there and saw what you saw or something. This is one of my favourite threads on FT so thanks for contributing.
 
Hello. I've just joined to post this as I found this thread from a Google search, I wonder if anyone can throw any light on this weird experience.

In 2001 I was studying at Birkbeck College and would travel into Russell Square tube from Turnpike Lane every day on the Piccadilly line.

Fast forward to 2005, and 7/7 happened. A few days later, my husband (was my boyfriend in 2001) pointed out how strange it was that in 2001 I'd once called him from outside Russell Square station, slightly panicking because on coming out of the station there had been loads of emergency vehicles around and I'd overheard someone in high-vis wear - ie an emergency services worker - on a Walkie-talkie saying "yeah, there's just bits of bodies everywhere down there".

I've tried to not think about this, I don't really believe in the paranormal (even though I saw a ghost as a small child!) and I feel very sad about it as I knew someone who died in the Russell Square bomb (could I have warned them??), but, I've recently heard about timeslips and wondered if this could have been one? And is it something anyone else has experienced?

Sorry for reviving a very old thread!


Hi Jeanne,

A traumatic experience, certainly. Sorry to hear you knew somebody who died.

I've got a couple of questions I'd like to ask after to reading your post. If that's okay? Just trying to get my head around the sequence of events, here. :)

So in 2005 your now husband recalls having received a call from you, from around Russel Square Tube Station, describing to him a scene of emergency vehicles, high-vis wearing emergency services workers and (quite specifically) 'bodies' in the Tube Station?

Now I know it's hardly a pleasant topic to rake up, but do you yourself remember making that panicked call to him back in 2001?

Is there any possibility that it could have been in relation to anything else that happened in that Tube Station back in 2001? Because, sure, if you *didn't* make that call, but he remembers it? That's when things start getting a little spooky... :)

Relatedly, I supposed, do you recall making a similar call to him in 2005, in the aftermath of the 7/7 bombings?

Hope it's not too personal an experience to ask you about.

Oh, and if you are interested in the notion of timeslips, or to see if there are any similarities between time slip cases and your own experience, this being the FTMB - we have a thread for that!

Time and Dimensional Slips

That should take you to a post with links to a good number of examples of alleged Time Slips.
 
One of the more ‘out there’ theories regarding the Moorgate Disaster is that the above stated apparition in blue overalls was possibly the cause of the crash.
 
It’s not really the LU, but back in the 80’s I worked in King Edward Buildings postal office, which was situated on Newgate street.

KEB went down several levels into the bowels of the earth, the lowest level being the underground electric postal railway, which was linked up to the main postal offices in central London.

Occasionally I’d get sent down to do a shift on the platform, loading and unloading the driverless trains, It was supposed to be a 2 man job but most of the time I worked the shift on my own.

The platform was dimly lit and very very creepy.

I did hear a story that an older guy working on the platform one evening, was sitting at a desk waiting for the next train to come through, when he saw the apparition of a young boy. He described the boy as being 11-12 years old, was wearing a long blue coat and yellow trousers.

This is where it gets interesting - the post office was built around 1901, and what occupied part of the site prior to the post office being built, was an institution called Christs Hospital, Christs Hospital was not a hospital however, it was a charitable school founded in the mid 1500’s and funded by wealthy Londoners to help take the waifs and strays off the streets and give poor kids a good education.

The school was relocated when the post office was built and still exists, the official uniform today as way back then, was a long blue coat and yellow stockings, pulled up to the thigh.
 
I heard of a story about a seat on a Piccadilly Line where there is a seat that no one ever sits in and that someone did and disappeared. It was some kind of Bermuda Triangle thing going on.

BTW, Dick ,I used to work at the KEB Building in the late 90's-2000's. We had a tour of the sorting office there and we were shown one room that was reputed to be haunted by a black clad monk. Can remember that there was always a corner which seemed darker. I think the building is now owned by some American bank, wonder if the staff there have any sightings?
 
I heard of a story about a seat on a Piccadilly Line where there is a seat that no one ever sits in and that someone did and disappeared. It was some kind of Bermuda Triangle thing going on.

BTW, Dick ,I used to work at the KEB Building in the late 90's-2000's. We had a tour of the sorting office there and we were shown one room that was reputed to be haunted by a black clad monk. Can remember that there was always a corner which seemed darker. I think the building is now owned by some American bank, wonder if the staff there have any sightings?

That’s very interesting Cranky.

Was the building still in use by Royal Mail at the time you worked there, as I thought that it had closed as a Post office depot by at least 1998 – could be wrong though, and yes Meryl Lynch / Bank of America are now in situ.

I wonder if the banks employees know, or even care what lies beneath their flashy modern office block – Roman pavements, parts of the old roman wall, the old railway, and I personally believe parts of the old Newgate Goal

Anyway, there were many parts of that old building that were rumoured to be haunted by the staff, there was one in particular called the bag room that was highly unpleasant. Whenever I was told to do a shift in there, I’d sign my name on the attendance clipboard, then bugger off to the pub next door, go back with 10 minutes of my shift to spare, work like crazy and make it look like I’d been there all the time.

What you say about the black monk, I think that was sighted in the old games room, which was on sub ground level 2 – does that ring a bell with you.?
 
Sorry, I should have said a black mass was sighted in the games room, not a black monk.

The guy who saw the mass quite understandably abandoned his game of snooker and legged it out of there – apparently he was genuinely gutted, as he said he was on a 67 break at the time, LOL.

Back on topic. The most frightening experience I had on the tube wasn’t fortean.

It was a Sunday around 5pm on the central line. This would have been in the early 90’s and London not being the overpopulated monster it is these days, It was very quiet, in fact I was the only passenger on the carriage as I travelled west.

At St Pauls, a guy got on the carriage, who was literally covered from head to toe in dried blood and I do mean literally. It was all over him, his hair, his face, all over his clothes, over his hands etc.

He had a very aggressive look on his face and he came and sat opposite and stared intensely at me, for obvious reasons I didn’t want to stare back at him, so I just stared at the floor and prayed the tube didn’t get delayed in one of the tunnels.

Eventually I went and stood by the connecting carriage doors – I thought that if he got up and came at me with a kitchen knife, then at least I’ve got an escape route.

Thankfully, he got off at the next stop.

I dread to think what he’d been up to.
 
....

Back on topic. The most frightening experience I had on the tube wasn’t fortean.

It was a Sunday around 5pm on the central line. This would have been in the early 90’s and London not being the overpopulated monster it is these days, It was very quiet, in fact I was the only passenger on the carriage as I travelled west.

At St Pauls, a guy got on the carriage, who was literally covered from head to toe in dried blood and I do mean literally. It was all over him, his hair, his face, all over his clothes, over his hands etc.

He had a very aggressive look on his face and he came and sat opposite and stared intensely at me, for obvious reasons I didn’t want to stare back at him, so I just stared at the floor and prayed the tube didn’t get delayed in one of the tunnels.

Eventually I went and stood by the connecting carriage doors – I thought that if he got up and came at me with a kitchen knife, then at least I’ve got an escape route.

Thankfully, he got off at the next stop.

I dread to think what he’d been up to.

In a way that is intensely Fortean. The weird behaviour of other humans... Blimey.
 
Sorry, I should have said a black mass was sighted in the games room, not a black monk.

The guy who saw the mass quite understandably abandoned his game of snooker and legged it out of there – apparently he was genuinely gutted, as he said he was on a 67 break at the time, LOL.

Back on topic. The most frightening experience I had on the tube wasn’t fortean.

It was a Sunday around 5pm on the central line. This would have been in the early 90’s and London not being the overpopulated monster it is these days, It was very quiet, in fact I was the only passenger on the carriage as I travelled west.

At St Pauls, a guy got on the carriage, who was literally covered from head to toe in dried blood and I do mean literally. It was all over him, his hair, his face, all over his clothes, over his hands etc.

He had a very aggressive look on his face and he came and sat opposite and stared intensely at me, for obvious reasons I didn’t want to stare back at him, so I just stared at the floor and prayed the tube didn’t get delayed in one of the tunnels.

Eventually I went and stood by the connecting carriage doors – I thought that if he got up and came at me with a kitchen knife, then at least I’ve got an escape route.

Thankfully, he got off at the next stop.

I dread to think what he’d been up to.
I seem to recall an account of some woman who was murdered on a train before it came into the station. Passengers boarded and discovered the body horribly cut up in what must have been a frenzied attack. I think that was in the early 90s. At the time, it was a real mystery as nobody had seen the killer, who would have been covered in blood. Maybe you saw the killer?
 
Back
Top