The Phantom of the Opera

Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux (1868 - 1927) was a French journalist and author of detective fiction best known for writing the novel The Phantom of the Opera (Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, 1910), which has been made into several film and stage productions of the same name. His novel The Mystery of the Yellow Room is also one of the most famous locked-room mysteries ever. In 1911 Paris, the Palais Garnier is believed to be haunted by an entity known as the Phantom or the Opera Ghost. One day, the stagehand, Joseph Buquet, is found hanged, presumably by the Phantom, after boasting about him to the corps de ballet. At the same time, Christine Daaé, a young Swedish soprano, has been tutored by what she believes to be the Angel of Music, sent by her deceased father. On the night of the gala performance for the old manager's retirement, Christine is called upon to sing in the place of the Opera's leading soprano, Carlotta, who is ill, and her performance is an astonishing success. The Vicomte Raoul de Chagny, who was present at the performance, recognises her as his childhood playmate, and recalls his love for her. He attempts to visit her backstage, where he hears a man speaking to her from inside her dressing room. He investigates the room once Christine leaves, only to find that there's no one else in the room.