The article deals with the interaction of humourous and frenetic motives in Fantomas novel cycle by Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain (1911–1913). It shows how the book reflects, on the one hand, a certain predilection of the ‘belle époque’ for a demonstration of repulsive aspects of death and, on the other, the influence of Grand Guignol theatre aesthetics. Fantomas novels are thus juxtaposed with Gaston Leroux’s prose.
