The Phantom of the Opera detective mystery entitled "The Mystery of the Yellow Room" in 1907, and four years later he published "Le Fantôme de l’Opéra". The novel was first published within newspapers before finally being published as a novel in 1911. The setting of "The Phantom of the Opera" came from an actual Paris opera house that Leroux had heard the rumors about from the time the opera house was finished. The details about the Palais Garnier, and rumors surrounding it, are closely linked in Leroux's writing. The underground water tank that he wrote about is accurate to this opera house, and it is
The Phantom of the Opera opera house is believed to be haunted by an entity known as the Phantom of the Opera, or simply the Opera Ghost. A stagehand named Joseph Buquet is found hanged and the rope around his neck goes missing. At a gala performance for the retirement of the opera house's two managers, a young little-known Swedish soprano, Christine Daaé, 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, recognizes her as his childhood playmate and