My Two Cents: THE BONES BENEATH PARIS by Sarah Jules

The Catacombs of Paris are among the world's most infamous tourist attractions. Built in the 1770s as a way to reduce overflowing cemeteries in the city, the catacombs are estimated to hold the remains of more than six million people. The elaborate presentation of bones throughout the catacombs makes it a place of distinctive and macabre beauty, attracting an average of half a million visitors annually.

Among these are May and Jason, the central characters in Sarah Jules's latest Tiny Terrible Tale, "The Bones Beneath Paris." While on vacation in Paris, the young couple take a tour of the underground ossuary. May regards the catacombs as a place worthy of reverence and respect, and she is dismayed to see others in her tour group who treat it as little more than any other tourist destination, posing for selfies among the bones, and pushing and shoving to get to the front of the pack. One such guest goes a little too far, and before you know it, a carefully arranged wall of skeletal remains comes tumbling down right in front of May and Jason. May is shaken by the experience, and even more so when she later reviews photographs Jason took of the event. It appears to show someone--or something--emerging from behind the wall of collapsed bones. What it was, and the strange, sinister effects she soon finds it is having on her, leave May forever changed.

Like all of Jules's Tiny Terrible Tales, "The Bones Beneath Paris" is a short, quick read, and one that's guaranteed to leave you (pardon the pun) chilled to the bone. It's a dark, surreal addition to this ongoing series of stories, and the perfect way to kick off the Halloween season.

"The Bones Beneath Paris" is available here.