Erik is the titular phantom and main antagonist of the story who develops into a tragic character. The text introduces Erik through his persona as the Opera Ghost, a figure more of legend than a real man. Erik torments the Opera under this disguise, extorting money from the managers and wreaking havoc amongst the superstitious artists. Raoul, who only knows Erik secondhand, perceives him as a one-dimensional monster, a murderer, and lunatic kidnapper who abuses Christine’s impressionability. Christine and the Persian—however frightened they are of him—know that Erik is more complex and feels a full range of emotions. Erik has a history of violence and unchecked cruelty in countries from Persia to India, but after the Persian saved Erik’s life, he hasn’t directly killed anyone himself, though he continues to play dangerous games that end in the fatalities of Joseph Buquet and Philippe de Chagny.

Erik and Raoul both love Christine obsessively and are foil characters. Erik is the monstrous mirror to Raoul, acting out his obsession with force for most of the text. Erik wants things to go exactly his way, and so he threatens others into submission—not just Christine, but the managers and Carlotta too.