|
|
|
Comprehensive and Unofficial Fan Site about the Phantom of the Opera |
|
I have studied this mysterious Phantom for many years. He promised me he would not cause any trouble as long as he is let alone. As long as you remain a friendly spirit and his faithful audience, he will not harm you. I must warn you that, while the Opera Ghost is relatively harmless these days, he still loves to do mischief. Our beloved Trap Door Lover has many secret passages about this place. Beware the Siren! I will keep watch, but I may not always be able to help you. |
|
Castaigne Books Movies Musicals Children's Adaptations Musings Trivia Phunny Phantom Website Updates Links Search 
|
A story of Erik and the intentions of this Website Who exactly is this Phantom? Where exactly does he live? Where did he come from? What was his childhood like? What kind of person is he? Why does he wear the mask? How can he be so loving one moment, so sinister the next? With Erik, his only crime is to be born different in ways that both mesmerize and horrify. He can be at one moment both angelic and demonic. With or without true love, Erik still remains Erik. He is a prodigy repeatedly struggling against societies that boast of enlightenment yet still wallow in conformity and superstition. Time and time again, he encounters cultures that pride themselves in being civilized while creating outcasts from their own intolerance for those who are different. Oftentimes his abilities are exploited by those in power; he then becomes their convenient scapegoat and is condemned in the name of law and order. His story is about a yearning for love in spite of his differences. By this, I do not mean only his physical differences, but also his psychological, spiritual, and intellectual differences as well. Part Orpheus, part Hermes, and part Hades, Erik is an extremely gifted person whose abilities are almost godlike. Yet in countless ways he is still all too human, a "mere mortal." He can be both frightening and vulnerable, macabre yet pathetically romantic. An unusual combination of the Dr. Faust, Don Juan, and Don Quixote with an aura almost reminiscent of both Count Dracula and Frankenstein's Creature, Erik's moral ambiguity is so extreme that he could just as easily qualify as an anti-hero as he would an anti-villain (a relatively new term in Wikipedia). Some days in the past, I also leaned towards the Byronic hero. These days, my two key terms for him are "shadow self" and "catharsis." Erik is like water, forever changing, and so my own definition could easily change as early as hour from now. My web site is a motley assortment of the many aspects of Erik's character and portrayals. This includes novels, fan fiction, poetry, historical insight, fun trivia, movies, and musicals. It will not be exclusively based on the Broadway hit composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. While I adore Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical and I am eternally grateful to him for bringing the Phantom worldwide attention, there are countless Web Sites available on that understandably popular version of the story. Victor Hugo once said, "Happiness is knowing we are loved for ourselves, or rather in spite of ourselves." Love comes in many forms and expresses itself in many ways. You need not be one who "drools" for him. Like me, and at least one portrayal of the daroga, it is a site for people who would love to be his audience. This site is just as much for people who simply admire him as a gifted person, those who want to ease the pain of a tortured soul, people who would like having a man like Erik as their friend, dry-humoured people with an irresistible need to root for fictional villains, and even for those who, in the spirit of Special Agent Fox Mulder of X-Files fame, either believe or want to believe that he actually existed and may even possibly still be alive. Come on, come all! This is Erik-friendly country! P.S. - If, perchance, you have come simply out of curiousity about his face, I have a chart for you. I understand the inevitable curiousity. It got Christine herself into trouble. On the other hand, I hope you also follow in the spirit of Erik's story to see the gifted musician, magician, architect, and healer as well. I hope you mingle long enough to see past the "freak show." In any case, I have descriptions, but no photos, here. |
Disclaimer: The artwork on my site had been given to me by other fans as a gift. The occasional soundclips in the background at some pages are freebies from Partners in Rhyme. The locust graphic and rose background on this front page as well as the curtain backgrounds used elsewhere on this site were freebies from old sites that are no longer in existance. No copyrite infringement is intended on the YouTube videos I embedded at the Phunny Phantom section. For all practical purposes, this site has been abandoned. I have seen quite a few newer versions I could have added, but I decided it is best to retire for good from this project. For seriously fun quality "completist" phandom, I could not recommend anything better than the YouTube channel PhantomReviews. Whoever he is, he has been able to "pick up the ball and run with it" in ways I would have loved to do. Check out his channel. He appreciates my quirky ways I used to engage in. :O) This web site has been brought to you today by the letters "O" and "G," and by the number "5." |