Phantasmagoria stands as a testament to a specific period of video game history. It was the 90s, CD's had just started to hit the mainstream, and game designers were catching on to the idea that they finally had enough media space to include video recordings of live actors. Phantasmagoria was one of the first to do this, allowing you to control real people in a horror movie.
It has a plot ripped out of The Shining. Adrienne and her husband Don have moved to a new house and Don has gotten possessed. As Don spirals out of control he becomes abusive and erratic, even raping Adrienne in one scene that caused a lot of stir back then. As Adrienne you have to save yourself and undo the curse left on the house.
Of course, you won't be doing a whole lot besides watching videos. One of the drawbacks to this format, which was why it was quickly abandoned after the glamor wore off, is that you can't really do much but sit back and watch pre-scripted videos, with little or no input. Much of the action in the game involves getting Adrienne from one point in the game to another in order to watch the next cut-scene. Also, this game being one of the earliest to utilize the technology, the videos themselves aren't the best quality. Compression technology was still in its infancy, and even though this thing came on 7 CD's, it's still a little hard to watch sometimes.
Still, don't get Phantasmagoria for the game, get it to experience a piece of gaming history. A period where the word CD-ROM meant instant attention.