"The Opera Ghost really existed... Continued
Newspapers and Magazines of the day
Le Matin 1883, L'Écho de Paris 1884 sadly both were founded too late.
Le Petit Journal
(1863-1944)
and the question of a vampire story
Le Petit Journal was mentioned in the missing chapter from Le Gaulois, The Magic Envelope/L’enveloppe magique. It was a daily Parisian newpaper (1863 -1944). It was a more compact daily Parisian newspaper orginally non political, founded by Moïse Polydore Millaudhe in 1863, who was the owner of La Presse, an early penny paper (a cheap tabloid-style newspapers that was mass-produced, famous for only costing 1 cent while most typical news papers cost around 6 cents). Le Petit Journal was one of four major daily French news papers. At 5 cents and issues it contained national and international news and information, various extraordinary events, chronicles, entertianment, serials and horoscopes. Mme. Giry is found to have a copy of Le Petit Journal and a section folded down to the story La Fille du Vampire/The Vampire Girl. This portion of the newspaper was called 'feuilleton' in French which is a section of the paper that has gossip, literature, latest fashion, clever quibs or remarks called 'epigrams', literary games and art criticism. In English papers this section became known as the serial story and often would feature the lates 'pennie dreadful'. The name 'feuilleton' later came to mean Soap Operas. There is a section in fact a section in Le Petit Journal called 'feuilleton'. ☞
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There doesn't seem to be a story known as 'La Fille du Vampire' at least not in Le Petit Journal. Despite that it does not mean it is not based in truth. Pennie dreadfuls were a very real thing. Leroux was a smart man, he would have known people knew there was no story such as 'La Fille du Vampire' in the Le Petit Journal, but this does not mean he was not hinting at something that was indeed real. In the January 26, 1867 edition of Le Petit Journal there is a stroy that pops up called «Les Légendes et les Réalités, Des Cimetières» or "Legends and Realities Of Cemeteries" that features vampires in it. I have already stated that I believe the real story took place before 1881 and well we know Erik was in Paris during the Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871. And The man known as the Persian was seen in Paris 1868.
☜ (Excerpts from the article January 25, 1867, translated by me)
....The Vampire was a dead man who, comes out of the grave, to suck the blood of the living... -- Rien ne se communique plus promptement que la superstition, le fanatisme, les sortiléges et les contes de revenants. /-- Nothing communicates itself more readily than superstition, fanaticism, spells and the tales of the ghosts. ...He goes out at midnight, this so-called hour of creation of the dead. He rises from his pit, and will slip out with some sleeping girl. He has risen from the Jewish Lilith of Isaiah, which eats newborn children, from the Arab ghoul, which threatens the youngest and most beautiful, of all the evil genies who, like the hyena, do not live on anything but dead bodies.... ....The Vampire wasn't like a normal corpse, inert, pale, decomposing. The Vampire was found cheerful in his coffin, strong and disposed, eyes open, face flushed, hair, beard and nails still growing... with a trace of red blood on his lips....but remaining, in spite of these vital signs, in the complete stillness of death... |
I think that is more then enough proof to show that yes they had little stories about vampires in Le Petit Journal. Curiously enough there is a story by the name of «La Fille Maudite» "The Cursed Girl" which mentioned vampires
L'Époque
(1865-1869, 1937-1946)
In Gaston Leroux's novel Le Fantôme de l'Ópera he used the name of L'Époque newspaper for the newspaper that announced Raoul and Christine's engagement. Leroux also wrote "Erik is dead"/«Érik est mort» however that news paper only ran from 1865-1869. The novel's story was said to have taken place in 1881 -1875. However 'temps' means: time, weather, era, period of time and 'epoque ' means: era, period of time.
"The Vicomte halfheartedly read it: “Grand news in the Faubourg² The Opera singer, Mlle. Christine Daaé, and Vicomte Raoul de Chagny are engaged to be married. "
The newspaper was founded at 10, rue du Faubourg-Montmartre. By 1880 there was copies 22,000 sold. It become one of the most important newspaper of the Third Republic (1870-1940), establishing itself as the leading newspaper for elite.
"The Vicomte halfheartedly read it: “Grand news in the Faubourg² The Opera singer, Mlle. Christine Daaé, and Vicomte Raoul de Chagny are engaged to be married. "
The newspaper was founded at 10, rue du Faubourg-Montmartre. By 1880 there was copies 22,000 sold. It become one of the most important newspaper of the Third Republic (1870-1940), establishing itself as the leading newspaper for elite.
Le Temps
(1861-1942)
Le Figaro
(1826-2019)
Le Gaulois
(1868-1929)
Gaston Leroux originally published Le Fantôme de l'Ópera in Le Gaulois.
Le Petit Parisien
La Vie Parisienne
La Mode Illustree
Other Vampire
stories of the time
Two very real and popular stories at the time where the Gothic novella Carmilla (1871) by Sheridan Le Fanu, a tale of a lesbian vampire and the 'penny dreadful' Varney the Vampire; or, the Feast of Blood (1847).
Varney was a serialized gothic horror story written by James Malcolm Rymer and Thomas Peckett Prest (1845). It was first released in a weekly cheap pamphlets known as 'penny dreadful' and published in a book form in 1847. The main character Sir Francis Varney the vampire was known to have fang like teeth to which he plunge into his victims necks. He also leaves 2 puncture wounds, has power of hypnosis, superhuman strength, and comes through windows to attack sleeping maidens. He can eat normal food but points out it does not agree with him. The story of Varney revolved around the Bannerworths family who was now in ruin due to the father dying and another families. He is describes as loathing his condition and through out the stories he gains some sympathy as a victim of circumstance. He tries to cure himself but fails and ends up committing suicide by throwing himself into Mount Vesuvius,after he left his life story with a sympathetic priest. Which oddly he has a lot of origin stories that changes with every time he dies and revives. One such story is he was cursed with vampirism after he betrayed a royalist. Another is a Medical student named Dr. Chillingsworth applied an electric current to Varney's hanging corpse and brings him back to life.
Varney inspired many vampire ideals we know today. Including the sympathetic vampire. It is no doubt Leroux read this and most likely Érik did too and it would seem this it most likely the 'penny dreadful' Leroux was alluding to in Le Petit Journal. All one has to do is read a quote from it to see the similarities between how Erik is described and how Varney is described. "...It throws up the tall gaunt figure in hideous relief against the long window. It shows, too, upon the one portrait that is in the chamber, and that portrait appears to fix its eyes upon the attempting intruder, while the flickering light from the fire makes it look fearfully lifelike. A small pane of glass is broken, and the form from without introduces a long gaunt hand, which seems utterly destitute of flesh..." "....The figure turns half round, and the light falls upon the face. It is perfectly white— perfectly bloodless. The eyes look like polished tin; the lips are drawn back, and the principal feature next to those dreadful eyes is the teeth—the fearful looking teeth— projecting like those of some wild animal, hideously, glaringly white, and fang-like...." |
The story appeared in the English literary magazine The Dark Blue between 1871-72 and later was reprinted in Le Fanu’s short story collection In a Glass Darkly, published in 1872.
The protagonist is Laura, daughter of a wealthy widower who lives in a castle located in the Styria forest. When she is 6 Laura says she was bitten in the night by a beautiful visitor she dreamed about. Fast forward 12 years later and Laura's father's friend General Spielsdorf, is supposed to come stay with them but Bertha the niece of Laura's father's friend mysteriously dies suddenly. Her death is investigated meanwhile a young girl is brought inside from a carriage accident and is recognized by Laura as being the girl from her dream, her name is Carmilla which is an anagram of Mircalla, who is a vampire. Carmilla is an odd one who sleepwalks and doesn't pray. She is recognized as being a spitting image of a relative's 1698 portrait of the Countess Karnstein or Mircalla. Laura begins to have nightmares has nightmares about her mother saying “Your mother warns you to beware of the assassin” and a large cat who bites her on the chest. Laura starts to get sick and when a doctor is called he tell him not to leave her site. General Spielsdorf tells about Bertha's death at a costume ball, that she met a young women named Mircalla and her mother who asked is she could stay with them and since she got along so well with Bertha. The General concludes that Bertha was killed by a vampire. |
In 1865 the French novelist Paul H.C. Féval (1816–1887), famous as a writer of horror and crime novels and short stories, referred to what he called "L'Affaire de la Rue des Marmousets", in the introductory chapter to his book "La Vampire". Which basically was a French Sweeney Todd.
La Femme immortelle by Pierre Ponson couverture