In the novel, the Phantom is a deformed man who wears a mask to hide his face. He lives in the catacombs beneath the opera house and uses his musical genius to control the opera singers and stagehands. The Phantom falls in love with a young soprano named Christine Daaé and becomes obsessed with her. He kidnaps her and takes her to his lair in the catacombs. Christine eventually escapes from the Phantom, who disappears into the night.
The fate of the Phantom is left ambiguous in the novel. In the original French version of the novel, the Phantom is said to have hanged himself in the catacombs. However, in the English translation, the Phantom is said to have disappeared into the sewers of Paris.