A missing man in the Catacombs of Paris.
Oct 7, 2019 5:45:52 GMT
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Post by hi224 on Oct 7, 2019 5:45:52 GMT
Ever since the release of 1999's "Blair Witch Project," the concept of the found footage movie has been a staple of the horror genre since then. However, the following case is a real-life example of found footage.
For those who do not know, the Catacombs are a series of underground tunnels that are located underneath Paris. The Catacombs were created during the late 18th century to help alleviate the city's cemetery shortage crisis. There are approximately six million bodies buried in the Catacombs alone. In recent times, however, the Catacombs have become a popular place for urban explorers. The people who tour the Catacombs are known as "cataphiles."
One significant example of a cataphile is a man shot some footage of the Catacombs of Paris sometime in the early 1990s. The footage (which was shot on a black-and-white video recorder) itself starts as rather unremarkable with the man exploring around the Catacombs. He even picks up a few bones along the way. As the video goes on, however, the man begins to walk at a faster pace. He eventually begins to run. In a state of panic, he finally drops the camera before running off into the darkness.
Sometime after that, the footage was found by a group of cataphiles. A documentarian by the name of Francis Freedland eventually acquired the video. He later presented the footage on the second episode of the ABC Family (which is now Freeform) show "Scariest Places on Earth" in 2000.
This video is not without its skeptics, however. Some people believe that the footage was a hoax that was concocted by either ABC Family or Freedland. After all, the episode was aired about a year after the release of "The Blair Witch Project." Just like the "Blair Witch" example, it is highly suspect that the footage was shown on a television show instead of being handed over to the proper authorities.
However, there is an argument in favor of the footage being real. Nobody has stepped up after the initial airing of the episode nearly two decades ago, including Freedland himself. I highly doubt that he is making any money from this since he kept a low profile if his IMDb page is any indication. He did appear on a 2014 episode of "Ghost Adventures" that revolved around the Catacombs of Paris. However, Freedland had confirmed that the man in the video is still missing to this very day.
Assuming that the found footage is real, the central question of this post is: what happened to the man? Researching this particular post has been a challenge in and of itself. The footage itself does have a Wikipedia page, so I have to rely on a few scarce sources (which I take with a grain of salt).
While a lot of the sources mentioned above have suggested paranormal connections to the video, I believe there is a more likely explanation that is grounded in reality. The tunnels that make up the Catacombs are between 150 to 200 miles long. It is relatively easy to get lost in said Catacombs. For example, two teenagers had to be rescued from the Catacombs after being stranded for three days. Since the average temperature within the Catacombs is a cool 60 degrees Fahrenheit, it's safe to assume that the man managed to get disoriented before succumbing to hypothermia.
So, what do you guys think? I would love to hear your feedback.
SOURCES: theghostinmymachine.com/2018/04/23/unresolved-the-missing-man-in-the-paris-catacombs-france-found-footage-video-1993/
www.the13thfloor.tv/2016/12/19/the-creepy-story-behind-the-infamous-lost-in-the-catacombs-video/
www.stitcher.com/podcast/parcast/haunted-places/e/52246885
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ai32ZPioN4
For those who do not know, the Catacombs are a series of underground tunnels that are located underneath Paris. The Catacombs were created during the late 18th century to help alleviate the city's cemetery shortage crisis. There are approximately six million bodies buried in the Catacombs alone. In recent times, however, the Catacombs have become a popular place for urban explorers. The people who tour the Catacombs are known as "cataphiles."
One significant example of a cataphile is a man shot some footage of the Catacombs of Paris sometime in the early 1990s. The footage (which was shot on a black-and-white video recorder) itself starts as rather unremarkable with the man exploring around the Catacombs. He even picks up a few bones along the way. As the video goes on, however, the man begins to walk at a faster pace. He eventually begins to run. In a state of panic, he finally drops the camera before running off into the darkness.
Sometime after that, the footage was found by a group of cataphiles. A documentarian by the name of Francis Freedland eventually acquired the video. He later presented the footage on the second episode of the ABC Family (which is now Freeform) show "Scariest Places on Earth" in 2000.
This video is not without its skeptics, however. Some people believe that the footage was a hoax that was concocted by either ABC Family or Freedland. After all, the episode was aired about a year after the release of "The Blair Witch Project." Just like the "Blair Witch" example, it is highly suspect that the footage was shown on a television show instead of being handed over to the proper authorities.
However, there is an argument in favor of the footage being real. Nobody has stepped up after the initial airing of the episode nearly two decades ago, including Freedland himself. I highly doubt that he is making any money from this since he kept a low profile if his IMDb page is any indication. He did appear on a 2014 episode of "Ghost Adventures" that revolved around the Catacombs of Paris. However, Freedland had confirmed that the man in the video is still missing to this very day.
Assuming that the found footage is real, the central question of this post is: what happened to the man? Researching this particular post has been a challenge in and of itself. The footage itself does have a Wikipedia page, so I have to rely on a few scarce sources (which I take with a grain of salt).
While a lot of the sources mentioned above have suggested paranormal connections to the video, I believe there is a more likely explanation that is grounded in reality. The tunnels that make up the Catacombs are between 150 to 200 miles long. It is relatively easy to get lost in said Catacombs. For example, two teenagers had to be rescued from the Catacombs after being stranded for three days. Since the average temperature within the Catacombs is a cool 60 degrees Fahrenheit, it's safe to assume that the man managed to get disoriented before succumbing to hypothermia.
So, what do you guys think? I would love to hear your feedback.
SOURCES: theghostinmymachine.com/2018/04/23/unresolved-the-missing-man-in-the-paris-catacombs-france-found-footage-video-1993/
www.the13thfloor.tv/2016/12/19/the-creepy-story-behind-the-infamous-lost-in-the-catacombs-video/
www.stitcher.com/podcast/parcast/haunted-places/e/52246885
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ai32ZPioN4