What happened to the village and people there? : Mount Pelee burst out a super heated cloud of gas and rock. The turbulent cloud raced down the mountain faster than a hurricane hugging the ground and heading for the coastal city of Saint Pierre about five miles it blasted everything in its path leaving a blazing inferno. Within a few minutes, over 30,000 people had died from being suffocated and inhaling toxic fumes and severe burns.

                 About the survivor:  "Cyparis said that the cell he occupied in the St. Pierre prison was an underground dungeon, which had no other window than a grated aperture in the upper part of the door. On the morning of May 8th, while he was waiting for breakfast, it suddenly grew very dark; and almost immediately afterward hot air, mixed with fine ashes, came in through the door-grating and burned him. He rushed and jumped in agony about the cell and cried for help; but there was no answer. He heard no noise, saw no fire, and smelled nothing except "what he thought was his own body, burning." The intense heat lasted only a moment, and during that time he breathed as little as possible. There was no smoke in the cell and the hot air came in through the door-grating without any noticeable rush or blast. He had on, at the time, hat, shirt, and trousers, but no shoes. His clothing did not take fire, and yet his back was very severely burned under his shirt."

What happen after the eruption? :    Shortly after the eruption, the area of St. Pierre was completely abandoned. But slowly, families were drawn to the ruins by the cheap price of the land, and the desire to rebuild the city. It is worth noting that the first building to be constructed among the ruins was a hotel, mostly thanks to the touristic activity which developed after the disaster. Many travelers were eager to see the world famous volcano and the damages of the eruption.
Until 1923, the area of St. Pierre developed as a neighborhood of Caret, then recovered a full administrative status, but never regained the population and the activity of before the catastrophe. In fact, the increase of the population observed during the 1920's was stopped by the eruption of 1929-1932.
St. Pierre currently has about 6,000 inhabitants, and the ruins are still a constant reminder of the1902 tragedy.

What stories are there of this volcano? if any: There are many stories of ghost sightings among the ruins of St. Pierre. And often, those stories are linked with treasures hidden in the basement of destroyed houses.
Don't expect to find some sort of validation of those stories here, but we can only ascertain that some people made some interesting findings in St. Pierre while constructing their homes.

What kind of volcano is it? :  Mt. Pelee, a stratovolcano made mostly of pyroclastic rocks (rocks that have been spit from the volcano) is on the north end of the island of Martinique. Martinique is part of the Lesser Antilles volcanic arc. The arc is formed by the subduction of the North American Plate under the Caribbean Plate. Space Shuttle photo of Martinique with Mt. Pelee on the north (left) end of the island.

What’s its biggest eruption? : Mt. Pelee is famous for the May 8, 1902 eruption which killed 30,000 people and destroyed the city of St. Pierre. This is the largest number of casualties for a volcanic eruption this century. Photograph of Mt. Pelee by Heilprin, May 26, 1902.

What is Mount Pelee known for? : Mt. Pelee is also notable for the growth of volcanic spines, rigid columns of solidified lava pushed above the throat of the volcano. This view from the south section of St. Pierre looking up to Mt. Pelee. Note the volcanic spine at the summit of the volcano. Photograph by Heilprin.
The spine began growing in November 1902. It reached a maximum height of about 1,000 feet (305 m) before it collapsed in mid-1903. Photograph by Lacroix.

When did it last erupt? : The most recent eruption of Mt. Pelee was from 1929 to 1932. Frank Perret established an observatory at the volcano to study the eruption. His observations contributed greatly to the understanding of pyroclastic flows and the growth of volcanic domes.