Down a set of dimly lit narrow stone steps one will find the vaults underneath Saint Michan’s Church, where dozens of coffins lay – and one time even a mummy ready to shake your hand.

First built in 1095 as a Viking chapel, Saint Michan’s in Dublin, Ireland then became a Catholic church until the Reformation.

The walls of the vaults contain limestone, which dries the air and creates the ideal conditions to slowly mummify the remains of all within over time.

Among the remains are a 400-year-old nun, a thief whose feet and right was severed as punishment, and 6’6″ tall crusader who visitors were encouraged to shake the hand of until 2017.

Interestingly, a visit to the crypts at Saint Michan’s is said to have inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Take a look below:

Photo credit: Jennifer Boyer via Flickr
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