The novel is partly inspired by historical events at the Paris Opera during the nineteenth century and an apocryphal tale concerning the use of a former ballet pupil's skeleton in Carl Maria von Weber's 1841 production of Der Freischütz. It has been successfully adapted into various stage and film adaptations, most notable of which are the 1925 film depiction featuring Lon Chaney, and Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical.

A mad and disfigured musician hides out in the dungeons under the Paris Opera where he falls in love with a young singer and lures her to his hiding place.

A mad and disfigured musician hides out in the dungeons under the Paris Opera where he falls in love with a young singer and lures her to his hiding place.