Webthe phantom of the opera is a novel by gaston leroux, in which the phantom is a real person, as we discover after getting familiar with the story. Webbased on the french novel le fantôme de l'opéra by gaston leroux, the phantom of the opera is a gothic thriller and a twisted love story, but it also has a. Webread on as we separate fact from fiction in this intriguing and compelling tale. First, some important history of how the musical came to be.