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Classic Terror: The Phantom of the Opera

© Susan Jensen

Thanks to Andrew Lloyd Webber everyone knows the story of The Phantom of the Opera. But, how many people have read it in its original form? On a rainy day not too long ago, I picked up Gaston Leroux's novel and read it in one sitting. I'm not going to get literary here, or point out any literary theories--I'm just going to say that it is a fabulous love story and an intense mystery.

Erik, aka the Phantom, is a splendid antagonist. He is horribly deformed and his appearance is ghastly, even monstruous. Yet, he is human, and houses the passion of an ordinary man. His face is so horrendous that he is feared by all associated with the Paris Opera House, where he dwells in its dank basements, but his heart is pure and resounds with a passionate love for Christine Daae. The reader can't help but feel pity and repulsion simultaneously when confronted with such a creature. Interestingly, whenever I ask people what is so compelling about the story, most people say Erik. Perhaps this is because he is complex and so like ourselves in so many aspects.

Erik's love for Christine is so powerful that he will do anything to win her love. He entices her with his voice, and enslaves her by feeding her vanity. However, two things stand in his way: his face and Christine's lover. Eventually, Christine sees past Erik's deformity and even kisses him, but she cannot forsake her lover. This is the romance in the novel, and it is half of the story's charm.

The other half is the mystery. The Phantom's lair is in the catacombs which lurk beneath the Paris Opera House. These basements actually exist and were, in fact, used as a prison during the Franco-Prussian War. Those who have explored them say they exude mystery. This is what Leroux must have felt as he wandered there. The eeriness of the catacombs pervades the novel and lends the Phantom added mystery. Leroux's tale should be read late at night, preferably under a full moon, so that the reader feels the terror in its entirety.

The Phantom of the Opera is a classic tale of horror that is at least as chilling as Dracula or Frankenstein. On Broadway, it has grossed millions, but the book has been largely ignored. It's time to find it in the library and delve into one of the most romantic and horrifying tales of all time.

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