Monsters are fascinating. The idea of monsters has been around since the beginning of mankind and we continue to think up new and more terrifying monsters. But where did they come from? Who thought up these beings made to scare us? Well, some creatures are based on folklore, some to explain the unexplainable, and some purposely made just to scare us.

Frankenstein is one such monster.

First, please be aware (if you have not read the gothic novel by Mary Shelley, first published in 1818) that the name Frankenstein refers to the mad scientist who created the re-animated monster. In the book, the creature is never given a name. But today most of us refer to the creature as Frankenstein.

Mary Shelley grew up surrounded by literature and books: her father owned a bookstore where authors and intellectuals converged and Mary was able to meet many of the writers of her day. Plus, both her parents were writers as well. When she was 16, she fell in love and ran off with a writer, Percy Shelley. They traveled much and Mary even wrote her first work based upon her travels.

One cold evening, while they were with friends Lord Bryon, John William Polidori, and Claire Clairmont near Geneva, Switzerland telling ghost stories, the idea came about for each of them to write a scary story to frighten the others. That night Mary had trouble thinking of what to write but then the idea came to her, probably inspired by recent scientific and medical breakthroughs of the time, the Industrial Revolution, and the contemporary interest in alchemy.

She began writing the story and when her husband read it, he encouraged her to write a full novel. She did. And it was an instant success. She was 19 years old at the time.

If you have not yet read Frankenstein, you should. The story is compelling and poses some interesting comparisons between conflicts in the story and in real life. It’s not just a good story that spawned an entire genre of horror stories, but a piece of literature that deserves a deeper analysis.

Regardless of the background of how Frankenstein came to be, he continues to be a central horror figure in our culture - and rightfully so.