‘Phantom of the Opera’ Box in Paris, France

Atlas Obscura reports on Box 5 at the Palais Garnier in Paris — a theater box permanently reserved for a guest who never actually appears. It belongs to the Phantom of the Opera, the fictional creation from Gaston Leroux's nineteen-ten novel, though Leroux himself insisted until his death that the phantom was entirely real. In the story, Erik demands that Box 5 be kept empty for his exclusive use at every performance. The opera house honors this tradition today, preserving the seat as an iconic, macabre attraction.

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