It is a gothic novel by Gaston Leroux, published in April 1910. The work is inspired by real events and the Trilby novel by George du Maurier, and combines elements of romance, horror, drama, mystery and tragedy. The story is about a mysterious being who terrorizes the Opera of Paris to attract the attention of a young singer he loves. The novel is set in nineteenth-century Paris at the Opera Garnier, a luxurious and monumental building built over an underground lake between 1857 and 1874. The employees claim that the opera is haunted by a mysterious ghost that causes many accidents. The Phantom of the Opera blackmails the two opera managers to pay him 20,000 francs a month and book a private cabin for concerts, since he composes all the operas that appear there or makes musical arrangements.