# I: Is It the Ghost? explained — The Phantom of the Opera > Chapter companion for The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. ## What happens At a gala performance marking the retirement of managers Debienne and Poligny, the ballet girls of the Opera panic after little Jammes claims to have seen the Opera Ghost. The ghost legend, fueled by descriptions from the late scene-shifter Joseph Buquet, has grown among the corps de ballet. Sorelli, a superstitious dancer, investigates a noise at her door but finds nothing. Little Meg Giry reveals that Box Five is reserved for the ghost, who is heard but never seen. The chapter ends with the news that Joseph Buquet has been found dead, hanging in the third cellar, deepening the mystery and fear. ## Themes in this chapter ### Superstition and Rationality The ballet girls' immediate belief in the ghost, Sorelli's horseshoe, and the interpretation of Buquet's death as the ghost's work contrast with the more rational explanations offered by managers like Moncharmin. ### Deception and Secrecy The ghost's unseen presence in Box Five, the secret kept by Meg Giry about the box, and the mysterious disappearance of the rope from Buquet's body all point to hidden truths and deliberate concealment. ### Appearance vs. Reality The ghost is described as a man in dress-clothes but also as a skeleton; the ballet girls see a head of fire, yet Meg insists the ghost is neither seen nor has a head, highlighting the gap between rumor and truth. ## Character check-ins ### La Sorelli A principal dancer preparing a retirement speech; she is superstitious and tries to maintain composure amid the ballet girls' panic. ### Little Jammes The first to cry out 'It's the ghost!' after seeing a spectral figure; she is terrified and locks the door. ### Meg Giry Reveals that Box Five is the ghost's private box, where he is heard but never seen; she warns that Joseph Buquet's talk will bring bad luck. ### Mame Giry Mother of Meg Giry; she bursts into the dressing-room with the news of Joseph Buquet's death. ### Joseph Buquet Chief scene-shifter who had described the ghost as a skeletal figure; found dead, hanging in the third cellar, under mysterious circumstances. ### Armand Moncharmin One of the new joint managers; his memoirs recount the discovery of Buquet's body and the disappearance of the rope. ## Key lines > It was the evening on which MM. Debienne and Poligny, the managers of the Opera, were giving a last gala performance to mark their retirement. The story opens on the night of a farewell gala hosted by the retiring opera managers, Debienne and Poligny. _Sets the scene for the chapter's events._ > He is extraordinarily thin and his dress-coat hangs on a skeleton frame. His eyes are so deep that you can hardly see the fixed pupils. You just see two big black holes, as in a dead man's skull. Joseph Buquet described the ghost as extremely gaunt, with a coat draped over bones, and eyes like dark pits in a skull. _This description fuels the ghost legend among the ballet girls._ > Joseph Buquet is dead! The news arrives that Joseph Buquet has been found dead. _The death intensifies the atmosphere of fear and mystery._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_phantom_of_the_opera_se/chapters/i-is-it-the-ghost - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_phantom_of_the_opera_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_phantom_of_the_opera_se/chapters