You may have already strolled downAvenue Frochot, a stone's throw from Pigalle, where you'll find some superb artists' residences and private mansions. But did you know that a haunted house also lurks there? Number one on this avenue is a picturesque building with a listed neo-Gothic façade, stained glass windows and other charming features, admired for its beauty by passers-by. But passers-by have no idea of its dark, mysterious history of death and disturbing noises.
The story begins in the 19th century, with the presence of composer Victor Massé - after whom a nearby street is named - at the end of his days, bedridden and paralyzed by multiple sclerosis, where he died in 1884. After him, the director of the Folies Bergère bought the house. But his housekeeper, to whom he bequeathed his fortune, was brutally murdered on the stairs with a poker, and her killer was never identified.
Since then, his soul has reportedly wandered the house, with neighbors claiming to hear strange noises. Since the murder, singer Sylvie Vartan is said to have acquired the house for a very short time, disposing of it very quickly after moving in. More recently, literary critic Matthieu Galey bought the house, which he nicknamed"mon tombeau gothique" (my gothic tomb) , where he died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
A death reminiscent of that of Massé almost a hundred years earlier, found on the same spot and in the same position, it would seem. In any case, curse or not, the house hasn't exactly brought luck to its inhabitants. In 2022, its new owner Jean-Jacques Giraud opened the doors of the house to France Culture, where Philippe Baudouin, a specialist in spiritualism, believes that " a leaden blanket falls on you when you enter this house", while Geneviève Delpech, a medium, sees blood on the staircase, which she finds"icy", but says the house is"not cursed".
Still, you wouldn't sleep there on Halloween night...
