Seven ghost villages in France you can visit to scare yourself

Hidden deep in a forest, lying under the waters of a reservoir, isolated, abandoned, ravaged by war, France Dozens of villages that everyone has forgotten. Only the stones testify to a past existence, to the life of men and women before the age of electricity. Our selection takes you to visit these ghost places on a beautiful rainy autumn day for even more excitement.

Chartreuse de Vaucluse (Jura), 45 meters underwater

In 1139 Carthusian monks seized a corner of the forest on the edge of Ain to establish their monastery. Over the centuries, the house, hostel, monastery and chapel of the lay brothers turned into magnificent and elegant buildings located on a wide esplanade. The construction of an electrical dam in 1968 forever destroyed this former glory, which had become a farm during the Revolution. Experienced divers sometimes prowl the dark depths of the lake, among giant catfish and old forgotten stones. But be careful, chartreuse lies at depths of 45 to 65 meters and diving must be supervised by a specially approved club. Experiencing the ultimate thrill should not lead you to neglect safety.

Goussainville Vieux-Pays (Val d’Oise), a walled village at the gates of Roissy

The opening of the Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport in 1973 marked the death sentence of this town of 1,000 people. The village is located at the end of the runway, and the incessant sounds of planes push most of its residents to move. Dozens of abandoned houses, walled clearings, shaky roofs, labeled facades create a deserted atmosphere. The large bourgeois house behind the church looks like a slum. Goussainville’s Old Country attracts a host of inspiring artists for wild video clip shoots and fashion photoshoots. But the village is not entirely ghostly. We have enough residents left to keep the elementary school open. This group, numbering 350, struggles to maintain social life and organizes the Jazz au Village festival every year.

Cumières-le-Mort-Homme (Meuse), a commune “dead for France”

Little or nothing remains of this village, devastated by the Great War. For more than a year the French and Germans fought tirelessly to hold or capture Mort-Homme Hill. The station, town hall, mill, oil factory and houses are being destroyed under constant bombardment. In 1917, Cumières was nothing more than a field of shattered stones and decimated piles. Today there is a fir grove on the site. While wandering among the trees and seashells, suddenly the columns and part of the wall of the old church rise, you come across the foundations of an old house or the bed of a mill. Although nature seems to have regained its rights, landscapes are plagued by the tragedy of war. There are nine municipalities in total you gave these have disappeared from the map.

Ile-aux-Marins (Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon), a painful memory of Newfoundlanders

The difficult past of cod fishermen is revealed along with the strong winds that drive this confetti of land. Positioned as a lookout point overlooking the harbor of Saint-Pierre, the island is slowly rising from the ashes to save the memory of Newfoundlands from Normandy and Brittany. More than 600 people lived on haddock until the last sailor returned to land in 1965. The brightly painted wooden houses and the gravels set up for drying fish remained abandoned for a long time, that is, thirty years. Since 1990, Saint-Pierre associations and residents have been taking action to save buildings that are still standing, such as churches or schools. The island can be visited taking the boat From May to October, we can hear the sailors lamenting as they shuttle and are sometimes carried away by the wind.

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Le Poil (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), a village that makes you dizzy

More than 1000 meters above sea level, perched on a steep ridgeline, the hamlet of Poil resembles a lost paradise. But it takes a strong heart to get there. To reach the village, it’s a rutted road wide enough for a 4×4 vehicle to wind past the edge of the cliff. Or what is left of it? Blackberries and bushes covered the half-destroyed houses. The Association des Amis du Poil patiently restores the dry stone ruins and preserves it in memory of the self-sufficient farmers here. Difficult conditions, isolation and lack of running water and electricity drove the last inhabitants of the war-torn war into exile. There are still four spirits in the village who welcome hikers who come to enjoy one of the most beautiful walks in Haute-Provence PR.

Occi (Haute-Corse), stone lace and poetry

A road runs through the deserted bush above the village of Lumio in Balagne. Behind a bouquet of holm oaks, the stone lace of the ghost village of Occi emerges. Houses with collapsed roofs and hollowed-out walls blend into the protruding ridges of the granite massif. The blue of the sky and the blue of the Mediterranean in the background. Its last resident, Fra Felice, died between the two world wars, giving life to its legend. Belonged to the secret Carbonari society, III. He knew Napoleon personally and buried the treasure. It didn’t take long for the looters to arrive. They found no ingots, but they took lintels, doors, and anything else that could be sold or reused. All that remains are piles of stones, tightrope walkers and the poetry of this place.

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Issandolanges (Puy-de-Dôme), a medieval melancholy

In the heart of a sparse fir forest lie the ruins of a medieval village forgotten by all. Issandolanges preserves traces of its medieval past in its bakery, chapel, mill and castle walls. The terraced streets of the village form a ghostly path through which you can see the foundations of old houses. Only the murmur of the Dolore river and the chirping of birds break the melancholy of the hamlet, which has been abandoned since 1936. The name of the village is unclear and no linguist has managed to solve this mystery. To get there, follow the path from Issandolangettes into the forest and follow the music of the stream.

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