Title The Phantom of the Opera Author Gaston Leroux Cover Art Dewynters Ltd. London Publisher Harper & Row - 1988 First Printing Grosset & Dunlap - 1911 (?)
	Title The Phantom of the Opera Author Gaston Leroux Cover Art --- Publisher Signet Classics - 1987 First Printing ---
	Category Horror Warnings None Main Characters The Phantom, Christine Daaé, Viscount Raoul Chagny Main Elements Ghosts

Summary 1

"The Opera ghost really existed. He was not, as was long believed, a creature of the imagination of the artists, the superstition of the managers, or a product of the absurd and impressionable brains of the young ladies of the ballet, their mothers, the box-keepers, and the cloak-room attendants or the concierge. Yes, he existed in the flesh and blood, although he assumed the complete appearance of a real phantom; that is to say, of a spectral shade."
---From the author's Prologue.

Summary 2

Filled with the color and theatrical spectacle of the Paris Opera House at the turn of the century, and the ageless fascination of love transformed into murderous obsession, this classic work of mystery and suspense remains a riveting journey into the dark regions of the human heart. The tale begins as an investigation into the strange stories of an "opera ghost," legendary for making the performers at this great Paris art emporium apprehensive when they sit alone in their dressing rooms or walk alone in the building's labrynthine corridors. Some even think they've seen the ghost in evening clothes moving in the shadows. But it isn't until the triumphant performance of sensual Christine Daaé - and her startling disappearance - that a sense of dread begins to pervade the dim backstage areas and subterranean passages of the glorious opera house. In an ever increasing pattern of fear and violence, the Phantom of the Opera begins to strike, but always with the beautiful young singer at the center of his macabre desires. A story thaqt has captured the imagination of audiences in adaptations throughout the century, Phantom continues to thrill audiences to this day as an unparalleled work of sheer entertainment.

I fell in love with the tale of the Phantom of the Opera when I went to see Andrew Lloyd Webbers musical adaptation. Years later I still know all the words by heart. I then searched for the movies, books and anything else related to this monster who was more victim than villain. Ranked alongside other horror classics such as Dracula and Frankenstein, this book is a must read.