The Phantom of the Opera, also known as Erik and referred to as The Phantom, is a character from Gaston Leroux’s novel Le Fantôme de l’Opéra from 1909, which has been remade into a movie and musical. Erik is a mysterious, deformed man who haunts a Parisian opera house and falls in love with one of the stars of the show, Christine. Erik captures her during one of the shows after learning she has betrayed him and planned to run away with her lover, Raoul. While holding Christine captive and coercing her into marriage, Raoul and a Persian policeman attempt to rescue her. However they fall into many of Erik’s traps. The Phantom also threatens to blow up the entire opera house, but Christine keeps this plan by cooperating with Erik. Depending on the version (novel, film, or musical), Erik either lets Christine go with Raoul or is bludgeoned to death on the banks of the scenic Seine river by an angry mob.