Théâtre de la Ville and the Rue de la Vieille-Lanterne

Paris · Frankrig · Theatre

The poet was found hanged in the dark alley the theatre was built over — and is still said to step onto the stage to distract the actors.

The rue de la Vieille-Lanterne was a narrow, steep alley near the Châtelet, notorious even before Gérard de Nerval was found hanged there on the freezing morning of 26 January 1855. The lane had everything his feverish imagination could want: a genuine Egyptian mummy used as a shop sign by a colour merchant at its mouth, and a tame raven that hopped up and down the steps croaking in the dark. The raven is said to have still been perched on the step beside him when he was found. The alley vanished when the Théâtre de la Ville was built over the site, and that is where the legend moved. Actors and audiences have described a gaunt figure in a coat suddenly standing on stage mid-performance, seeming to want to speak, and then gone.

FAQ

Hvor ligger Théâtre de la Ville and the Rue de la Vieille-Lanterne?

Théâtre de la Ville and the Rue de la Vieille-Lanterne ligger i Paris, Frankrig.