Page 7 - Phantom of the Opera

Introduction

"The Opera ghost!"Jammes screamed in terror; and her finger pointed,
among the crowd, to a face so ugly, so pale, with two deep black holes for
eyes.
"The Opera ghost! The Opera ghostl"
The managers of the Paris Opera, Monsieur Pohgny and
Monsieur Debienne, have had enough of this ghost, so they are
retiring. The new managers, Monsieur Richard and Monsieur
Moncharmin, have a choice: do what the ghost wants or suffer
his revenge. And this is a revengeful ghost.
But is there really a phantom in the opera house? Madame
Giry, the box-keeper, is sure there is. She has never seen him, but
she hears him. And the managers receive letters from O.G., who
threatens them if they do not keep Box Five for his use only. The
new managers think it is all a joke until they can find no other
explanation for some mysterious events.
A number of years after these events, which excited the Paris
upper classes at the time, the historian telling this story went to
the National School of Music. He spent hours reading letters,
papers, and Monsieur Moncharmin's Memories of a Manager. He
spoke to many people, including the detective on the case and
the Persian, who knew more than anybody. And here we learn
what he discovered.

Gaston Leroux, the author of The Phantom of the Opera, was very
interested in the Paris Opera, which was designed and built by
Charles Gamier in 1860. The ground was very wet, and large
amounts of water had to be pumped out to dig the deep cellars
over which the Opera was built. It is said that there is still an
underground lake there. In these cellars and on this underground
lake, we discover much more about Leroux's ghost.

v