Welcome, Weirdo's. This is Weird Darkness. Here you'll find stories of the paranormal.

Supernatural, legends, lore, crime, conspiracy, mysterious, macabre, unsolved and unexplained.

Coming up, we'll look at a brief history of the classic Lon Cheney film, The Phantom

of the Opera, and how the film itself is a haunting attached to it.

Now, bolt your doors, lock your windows, turn off your lights, and come with me into the

weird darkness. On September 6, 1925, the silent film classic The Phantom of the Opera, starring

Lon Cheney, had its premiere at the Astor Theater in New York.

It was the first film adaptation of Gasto-Lauree's 1910 novel of the same name.

Directed by Rupert Julian, it told the story of The Deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris

Opera House, causing murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star.

The film remains most famous for Cheney's ghastly self-divized makeup, which was kept a studio secret until

the film's premiere. The story was remade several times, most notably as a stage musical

turned film about a much more romantic phantom than the monster that Cheney played.

The film came about almost by accident. In 1922, Carl Lemell, the

president of Universal Pictures, took a vacation to Paris. During the trip, he met author

Gaston Leroux, who was working in the French film industry, and Leroux gave him a copy of his book.

Lamele read the book in one night and immediately bought the film rights as film industry, and L'Rowe gave him a copy of his book.

Lamelle read the book in one night and immediately bought the film rights as a vehicle for

Lon Cheney.

Production began in 1924, but it did not go smoothly.

Cheney and the rest of the cast had strained relations with director Rupert Julian. A limited premiere was held

in Los Angeles in January, 1925, but due to poor reviews and audience reactions, its

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