The Ghost at the Supper

During the farewell supper for the retiring managers, a strange, cadaverous man appears at the table, causing unease. He announces the death of Joseph Buquet, which shocks the managers. The man is later identified as the Opera Ghost, though no one knows how he got there. The retiring managers, Debienne and Poligny, take the new managers aside and reveal the existence of the ghost, showing them the memorandum-book with the ghost's demands, including a monthly allowance and the use of Box Five. The new managers, Richard and Moncharmin, treat it as a joke, but the ghost's presence at the supper is a harbinger of things to come.