Urban Exploration - The Michel House

We received photos from a traveler and compiled them into a historical summary.

Returning from several days of exploring around Ganges, in the heart of the Cévennes—it's not exactly nearby, and I’m quite exhausted. I was arriving in Saint-Hippolyte when I spotted a lady hitchhiking. "Where are you headed?" I asked. "To Bessèges," she replied. A stroke of luck for her; it’s right on my way, and I’d be saving her a good hour.

This lady is what today's neuropathic society would call "marginal." She has lived without money, eaten plenty of nettles, and lived on the fringes of society. In truth, many positive things emanated from her words. Discussing our respective activities, I explained that I visit abandoned houses.

She then told me she knew of one. Very isolated. "I used to go there to nick some wood," she told me. "He died ten years ago anyway. It's surrounded by barbed wire. There's a river down below."

Following her lead, very early this morning, I hit the road. I tried especially to get there before the market in the inevitable-help-me-city, which is hosting a torrential deluge of tourists on this holiday weekend—unbelievable! The house is on high ground, with plenty of brambles to push through to get there. That’s nothing.

The disappointment, however, was seeing that it's become a dumping ground. Everything has been turned upside down, nothing is legible anymore—in short, the usual story, even in the most remote countryside imaginable.

This was the home of Michel. He was born on September 23, 1943, and passed away on December 15, 2010, at the age of 67. His final days were spent at the local hospital, which is actually more of a highly medicalized nursing home (EHPAD); he died there. His partner, Geneviève, stayed by his side until the end.

A persistent rumor claims that he ended his life in the house, in the presence of his grandchildren. These allegations are false and defamatory.

He is buried, alone, in the village's small cemetery. His partner cannot be located due to an extremely common surname. The house is absolutely packed with bats, bearing witness to the fact that life continues within this abandonment; every evening, the dance begins again.