death of the scene shifter
The supernatural is definitely more unsettling than the reality. The ghost is given credit for inexplicable events in the story like the death of the scene shifter, Joseph Buquet. The fact that everyone in the Opera claims to have met the ghost gives more credence to these stories. The ghost is described as having no eyes, just dark sockets whose ends were not visible. The skin was also draped over its bones and had a yellowish hue, which gave it a startling look. The ghost also made Sorelli put a horseshoe on the table in front of the stage-door-keepers box, which everyone entering the Opera had to touch before gaining entry. This shows how the perceived ghost had driven fear into the people in the Opera House.
The Opera had experienced several tragedies that defined its history. The most recent occurrence had been the dramatic kidnapping of one of the singers in the Opera, Christine Daae, the tragedy that befell the Chagne brothers with the younger one disappearing and the murder of the elder one. The evidence alluded that the younger brother had killed the elder one, which was not convincing, seeing as the brothers worshipped and loved one another. Several people were also massacred under the commune and buried near the Opera’s crypt. Workmen digging in the substructure of the Opera had also uncovered a corpse that the writer believes was not a victim of the commune.
The Opera House was a vast place with areas that were not frequented by the people working there. This is seen when Pampin, the fireman, ‘had ventured a little further than usual’ and then encountered the ghost. There are several cellars in the House that Pampin went to inspect from where he met the ghost. The fact that the cellars had to be inspected gives the House a mysterious aura. The Opera House also had several dark corners and ill-lit corridors where the people believed the ghost could be hiding. The gas lamps used to light the House could not sufficiently dispel the darkness, which left most of the Opera dark, which created the eerie atmosphere.
‘The Opera ghost really existed.’ This use of the supernatural Gothic element in the story allows the discarding of reason and creates the element of the unknown, which intensifies the fear and mystery. The various encounters with the ghost by the characters in the opera house creates a sense of foreboding and leaves one at their wits end what the ghost’s next actions will be. The characters themselves have different images of the ghost’s appearance that makes it more mysterious as one wonders what the ghost really looks like.
Children are seen as honest characters who usually recount a story the way it really happened without distorting the details to suit them. A child’s tale often reinforces what has been going on in the minds of other people. In the story, the ballet girls’ encounter with the ghost and their subsequent cries of terror convinces Sorelli and the reader that the ghost is indeed real. They also further create a sense of fear and horror when they tell Sorelli not to open the door as the ghost was standing right outside. Meg Giry, one of the girls, holds Sorelli back and implores her not to open the door, and this intensifies the feeling of fear in the story.