105: The Paris Catacombs & the Psychology of Creepy 'Subterranea'

Welcome back to Black Hoodie Alchemy! This week we're blowing the dust off of an episode recorded in early October. Unfortunately, it was temporarily shelved when I got blindsided by 12 hour shifts, 7 days a week for over a month! If you'd like to hear all about that, just give last week's episode a listen. That in mind, I'm now happy to report that I'm rested, back in a normal routine and ready to hit the ground running with more BHA.

This episode, my cohort Chris Fiato and I get into another sprawling, bat-shit crazy and fascinating subject! My research and focus for this episode started with the Paris Catacombs (and this takes up a good half of the runtime or so), but then it quickly spiraled out into the overarching history and psychology of 'subterranea' -- ranging across global history with catacombs, forgotten mines, freedom-fighter tunnels, expansive urban sewer and subway tunnels, and so much more.

I even learned about Buddhist torture chambers, functioning city blocks in Scotland that were buried underground intact with businesses and homes still in operation, and an ancient Turkish city that housed up to 20,000 people with several stories underground.

And to top that all off, as if this episode wasn't sprawling and crazy enough, we take some time to brush shoulders with the fringe-history conspiracy theories of the ancient advanced civilization of Tartaria and the obfuscation of history through "mud-floods." While these topics in and of themselves could warrant an entire episode, we do our best to get into this a bit and make some sense out of it!

We had such an eerily fun time recording this episode, and it's a shame we weren't able to get it out in time for the Halloween season -- but hey, fuck it! It's always a Halloween vibe here at Black Hoodie Alchemy.

That in mind, if you're listening to this when it comes out -- happy holidays and thanks for listening! We hope you dig it.

Sources:

Mary King's Close

Mary King's Close Haunting

MKC II

A Skeptical Look at Tartaria & Mudfloods

People debating Pensacola Tunnels on Reddit

5+ Hr Out-There Look at Pensacola Tunnels and Tartaria

Underground city in Turkey

Lost Tape in Paris Catacombs

Living in Vegas Tunnels

Vegas Tunnels