Smooshed-head guy in the Cimetière de Montmartre

In the Cimetière de Montmartre the other day, I noticed while wandering past this tomb that there was something not quite symmetrical about this gentleman's head...



The head is hollow and has been completely smashed in on one side. Click here to see the damage from a few more angles.

Tree growing around tombstone, Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris

I lived around the corner from the Cimetière de Montmartre for a couple years, but I just ran across this tree growing around a tombstone a couple days ago. I love finding scenes of nature reclaiming what once belonged to it.

Click here to see it from a few more angles.

Creepy French ad for hand sanitizer

Not exactly Halloween-related, but I'll take it! Check out this great (and creepy!) fear-mongering ad for hand sanitizer!


I spotted this in the window of my local Parisian pharmacy this morning. The red circle proclaims that this hand sanitizer is effective against the H1N1 (aka swine flu) virus. The metal pole they're all holding onto is clearly meant to be the pole in the Paris Métro (subway), which of course is an excellent place for viruses and bacteria (and apparently werewolves and mummies) to hang out. Touching filthy stuff in the Métro was something that already grossed me out bad enough before seeing this ad, and now it's going to bother me more than ever! Now that's effective advertising!

Spooky crows at the Cimetière de Montmartre!

I was taking some photos at the Cimetière de Montmartre just before sundown this evening, when suddenly a small murder of crows (wow, how often do I get to say that?) alit on some tombs right next to me! Talk about creepy! Finally, there's the Halloween vibe I've been desperately searching for over here.

More Halloween in Paris — Peur sur le Parc Astérix!

Peur sur le Parc Astérix — Fear at Astérix Park!



I saw this poster in the Métro today and thought I should mention it as another thing going on in (well, near) Paris in addition to the stuff I wrote about in my Halloween in Paris article the other day.

I've never been to Parc Astérix myself, but I've heard — somewhat to my surprise — that it's really fun!

Astérix, if you're not aware, is the star of a French comic book series that's been around since the late 50s, about the last village in Gaul (i.e. France before it was France) whose warriors manage to hold out against the Romans, thanks to the magic potion whipped up by the town druid. Astérix comics helped me a lot with learning French in the first year that I lived over here! I'd barely ever heard of him in the States, but he's absolutely huge here. He's practically the French Mickey Mouse. I don't know what they've got going on at his park for Halloween, but that bottom headline on the poster says, "You're going to love being scared!"

Cool Stuff in Paris mentioned on Wired

Hey, neat, Cool Stuff in Paris was mentioned yesterday on Wired Pulse: the daily beat of the Wired world. Exciting!

Introducing Cool Stuff in Paris!

Your host, Manning Leonard Krull

Welcome to Cool Stuff in Paris, your guide to the the coolest and weirdest stuff in Paris, France. This website and blog are a directory of my personal favorite stuff in Paris: strange attractions, creepy museums, awesome restaurants and bars, bizarre public art, fun events and day trips, and much more. My name is Manning Leonard Krull. I'm an American web designer and travel junkie who's been living in Paris since 2005. All the content on the site is written by me, about my real experiences in this amazing city. This is really and truly all my favorite stuff. Subscribe to this blog to see links to all new articles as they go up, as well as snippets of interesting things from my every day life in Paris. You can also follow CoolStuffParis on Twitter to see all updates. Thanks for reading! Safe travels,  

Manning Leonard Krull
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