It's Alive

So Frankenstein is a big part of Halloween (and Frankenteen is a big part of Glee) but many people don't know that the creature made up of dead people's parts and brought to life by a mad scientist is not really Frankenstein.

The book Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus was written by Mary Shelley in the 1800s. In her book, Frankenstein refers to Victor Frankenstein, the creator of the creature not the creature itself. The monster he created has no name, no identity. The scientist guy--well, he was kind of the protagonist and kind of the villain too.

There have been many renditions of the creature and the story over the last 78 years.The most popular version of the creature is likely Boris Karloff's portrayal of him in 1931. The theme from Shelley's book is recurrent in our culture--what make a human? Where does a soul come from? Where do we draw the line with technology and medicine? Can you really make a woman from a Barbie doll and a really good computer? (John Hughes, Weird Science)



My favorite Frankenstein story is surely Young Frankenstein, the Mel Brooks paraody from the 70s. If you are tired of all the scary gory Halloween movies out this time of year, cut yourself a break and rent Young Frankenstein. You have to like campy movies and parody to enjoy it, but it's a classic.


Sometimes when I'm editing my manuscripts I feel like Frankenwriter. Cut and Paste and a little maniacal laughter are not abnormal writing practices, are they?