Halloween – University of North Georgia Press

Frankenstein’s Influence Over Two Centuries

While living in Switzerland, Lord Byron (Yes, that Lord Byron) held a writing competition among some close friends. The goal: Write the best horror story. Among the close friends were John Polidori, author of The Vampyre, and Mary Shelley. Unknown to Lord Byron, Shelley would eventually craft one of the most influential books of all time—Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus. Frankenstein’s influence reached not only into the literary world, but also far into pop culture making reader and consumer alike question the power of science.

Frankenstein has always been a ubiquitous book of discussion whenever the science fiction genre comes up in conversation, but that conversation wouldn’t even be possible without Frankenstein. Brian Stableford from the University of Pennsylvania and Brian Aldiss, author of many anthologies and science fiction stories, argue Frankenstein was the first ever science fiction novel. Since Shelley created the catalyst for the science fiction genre, without Frankenstein, we wouldn’t have many of the great stories we do today such as H.G. Well’s The Time Machine and Frank Herbert’s Dune. These stories, much like Frankenstein, rely on science as the literary tool which moves the story along.

If you’re familiar with the mad scientist motif, Dr. Frankenstein’s depiction in Shelley’s novel is said to be that of the first mad scientist. And this is where Frankenstein has influenced pop culture the most. Picture all the TV shows and movies that play off the mad scientist motif. There’s a lot. Without Frankenstein, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy movies like The Fly or The Rocky Horror Picture Show. There have also been movies based entirely on the concept of Frankenstein such as Son of Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, The Ghost of Frankenstein, and so many more. Speaking of movies, Frankenstein may have been the first ever horror movie to be filmed. Though its title of first horror film might be only slightly surprising, the creator of the first Frankenstein movie was none other than Thomas Edison.

While Thomas Edison’s film may be a thing of the past, Frankenstein is still influencing current pop culture. In more recent history, Frankenstein has influenced dozens of musical works and has been referenced an uncountable amount of times. “Weird Al” Yankovic, a parody artist, has a song titled Perform This Way which references Frankenstein in its lyrics stating, “Don’t be offended when you see my latest pop monstrosity. I’m strange, weird, shocking, odd bizarre. I’m Frankenstein. I’m Avatar.” And who can forget the ever-present-at-every-Halloween-party-song Monster Mash where a mad scientist tries to teach his new creation some groovy dance moves?

Besides music, Frankenstein has entered the airwaves in the form of radio broadcasts since 1931. The first ever broadcast of Frankenstein was a thirty-minute adaptation by Alonzo Deen Cole aired during a segment called The Witch’s Tale. This radio adaptation spawned many other adaptations, with the most recent being a broadcast in 2014. This broadcast featured different voice actors taking on the roles of Dr. Frankenstein, the monster, and Alphonse.

On paper, Frankenstein has been the subject for many novels like William A. Chanler’s sequel which picks up in the artic after Victor’s death and Stephen King’s IT where King’s monster takes the form of Frankenstein’s monster. In comics, DC and Marvel have printed issues featuring Frankenstein’s monster or loose adaptations taking part in their universes. DC’s first use of Frankenstein was an eight-page adaptation of the movie Son of Frankenstein, making it an adaptation of a spinoff. That’s a lot of remixing! Marvel has used the monster of Frankenstein in its X-Men series and even created a five-part comic which recreates the original story of Frankenstein.

Though Frankenstein’s use in pop culture is often times gimmicky and playful, there is much we can still learn from the original story, and the snippets we encounter through movies, radio broadcasts, and comics are reminders of Frankenstein’s message. Since Frankenstein’s monster is treated so poorly throughout the novel, we ask ourselves about our own humanity. Are we actually the monsters? Shelley was able to introspectively look at herself and her humanity which provokes us to do the same. Shelley makes the reader confront how they may have changed someone’s life by living our own. While Frankenstein may be rustic at 200 years old, it provides a message that will never fade: be accepting and kind to those around you, and you will change the course of history for the better.

Celebrate Franken Fridays with us! Frighteningly fun events are held each Friday to celebrate Frankenstein’s 200th publishing anniversary. Connect with us on social media using the #FrankenFriday tag.

Upcoming Events:

Friday, Oct. 19:

11 a.m. to noon, Library 134, Gainesville Campus—Visiting artist Drema Montgomery, who creates art by assembling various found objects, will demonstrate her work and correlate it to Dr. Frankenstein’s manufacturing the monster.
Noon to 4 p.m., Forsyth County Library and Cumming Campus—Frankenstein-themed rock art by World Literature II students
1 p.m., Library 134, Gainesville Campus—English faculty panel including Dr. Diana Edelman, Anita Turlington and Dr. Kasee Laster
TBA, Student Resource Center 311, Oconee Campus—The Many Faces of Frankenstein: media and roundtable discussion with Drs. Dan Cabaniss, Stephanie Rountree and Shane Toepfer

Friday, Oct. 26

11 a.m., Library 134, Gainesville Campus—”Frankenstein and Posthumanism” faculty panel featuring Dr. Lynn Berdanier, Dr. John Hamilton, Dr. Jeanelle Morgan, and Dr. Kristin Yager
Noon to 3 p.m., upstairs lobby, Cumming Campus—PoeDown and costume contest
Noon, Library 134, Gainesville Campus—“Monster Theory” faculty panel featuring Dr. Jeff Pardue, Dr. Phil Guerty, Dr. Patsy Worrall
3-5 p.m., Mount Hope Cemetery, Dahlonega Campus—“Secrets from the Grave” guided tour of Mount Hope Cemetery.

Mary Shelley: Her Life and Works

Mary Shelley was born on August 30th, 1797, to Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin. Her mother, a renowned philosopher and feminist, died only a month after her birth. Raised by her father and a stepmother that she was not fond of, Mary’s early years were dark and lonely ones. Despite this, she distinguished herself by her thirst for knowledge and her love of writing. Throughout her childhood and adolescence, she kept a journal in which she composed short stories about the grounds of her father’s estate and philosophical concepts from her education.

When she was seventeen years old, Mary met Percy Shelley. What followed was a tumultuous affair that resulted in Percy leaving his wife and Mary running away from her father. Her stepsister, Claire Clairmont, accompanied them. For the next two years, Mary suffered greatly as she endured poverty and ostracism from society due to her relationship with Percy. The greatest tragedy, however, came when her first child was born prematurely and died on February 22nd, 1815. In a deep depression, she withdrew from Percy and began to ruminate on what would become the theme of her greatest work: the idea of bringing the dead back to life.

In an effort to repair relationships with family members, the couple decided to marry in 1816. During this time, Mary returned to writing. Her first published work was a travel narrative, History of a Six Week’s Tour, which detailed two journeys that the couple took: one to Europe in 1814 and another to Geneva in 1816. During their stay at Byron’s estate in Geneva, an eerie incident gave Mary the inspiration she needed to start work on her most famous novel, Frankenstein.

After a year of feverish work, she finished writing her story in May 1817. Due to her gender and the nature of the work, she chose to publish anonymously to avoid censure. Initially titled Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, it was published in January 1818 with a small run of only 500 copies. Despite this, it sold extremely well and gave Mary ample motivation to continue writing.

During this time, Mary Shelley’s life was in a constant state of upheaval. Percy, having run through most of his funds, was in danger of being sent to debtor’s prison. Her stepsister Claire was now pregnant with Byron’s illegitimate child. Facing the very real threats of prison and the potential loss of their remaining children, the Shelleys and Claire decided to move to Italy.

Their time in Italy was comprised of both light and darkness. Mary’s second child, a boy named William Shelley, contracted malaria and died in 1819. This, combined with the loss of her third child Clara just a few weeks after birth, threw Mary into an even deeper state of depression. During this time, she focused entirely on her writing as her only source of solace. Her relationship with Percy, already strained due to their financial insecurity and his womanizing, could offer her no comfort.

Her first longer work after Frankenstein was a Gothic novella called Mathilda, which she worked on from August 1819 to February 1820. She sent the completed manuscript to her father with the hope that he would praise it and submit it for publication. However, he was so disturbed by the theme (a father’s incestuous love for his daughter) that he refused and the work was only published posthumously in 1959.

In the summer of 1822, Mary Shelley moved with her husband and her stepsister to an isolated villa near the sea. It was here that Percy revealed to her that Claire’s child, sent to live in a convent by Byron, had died from typhus. Mary was so horrified by the news that she had a miscarriage, which prompted her to once again withdraw from Percy. In response, he chose to pursue a relationship with Claire and to spend the remainder of his free time with his new sailboat. In the midst of Percy’s return from a trip down the coast, there was a violent storm. Waiting anxiously for any correspondence to indicate that all was well, Mary felt the specter of death hover over her once more. Ten days after the storm, his body washed up on the shore. He was cremated on the beach with select portions of his remains taken as mementos by Mary and his close friends. From that point, Mary resolved to sustain both herself and her infant son, Percy Florence, on income from her writing.

For the next two decades, she edited Percy’s poetry, submitted short stories to magazines, and published four novels. The first of these, titled The Last Man, was published in 1826 and focused on a world that has been almost entirely wiped out by a plague. Her second novel, The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck, was historical fiction set during the War of the Roses. Her third novel, Lodore, illustrated the precarious situation of women in a patriarchal society as the wife and daughter of Lord Lodore struggle to stay afloat after his death. Her fourth novel, Falkner, further explored the theme of family as the heroine negotiates a reconciliation between her father and the man she loves.

In 1831, she returned to Frankenstein and published the edition that is most commonly used today. In an effort to make her work less controversial and more acceptable for a mainstream audience, she made a significant number of changes. One notable change is that the characters were now presented as being victims of fate rather than exercising free will. She also changed certain controversial elements, such as Victor’s love interest, Elizabeth, being his blood cousin.

For the last decade of her life, Mary Shelley’s health continued to decline. Debilitating headaches and bodily paralysis largely prevented her from reading and writing. Her last work was a travelogue, Rambles in Germany and Italy, detailing a trip she took with her son and his friends from the university. She died on February 1st, 1851 at the age of 51 and was buried at St. Peter’s Church in Bournemouth.

Although her life was marred by tragedy, she nevertheless left behind a rich legacy as a writer. Throughout her literary career, she emphasized the importance of cooperation and compassion in order to create the best possible world. As her most famous work, Frankenstein perfectly illustrates the responsibility that we have as humans for ourselves, for those around us, and for whatever we choose to bring into this world. For these reasons, Mary Shelley’s writing will remain relevant for centuries to come.

Upcoming Events:

Friday, Oct. 12:

1 p.m., Library 134, Gainesville campus—”The Many Faces of Frankenstein” film presentation by Dr. Candice Wilson of UNG and Dr. Tobias Wilson-Bates of Georgia Tech
TBA, Student Resource Center 311, Oconee Campus—From “Frankenstein” to Fake News: A brief history of science fiction by UNG instructor Derek Thiess
Film screenings of 1931 “Frankenstein” and selections from Films on Demand by Drs. Melissa Schindler and Ann Marie Francis and co-sponsored with the Student Government Association, Forsyth County Library (1931 film) and classroom on Cumming Campus

Thursday, Oct. 18:

3:30 p.m., front of Library, West End Art Exhibit in Library, Dahlonega Campus—Birthday Party for Mary Shelley’s Creature. Reading by Scott Fugate

Friday, Oct. 19:

11 a.m. to noon, Library 134, Gainesville Campus—Visiting artist Drema Montgomery, who creates art by assembling various found objects, will demonstrate her work and correlate it to Dr. Frankenstein’s manufacturing the monster.
Noon to 4 p.m., Forsyth County Library and Cumming Campus—Frankenstein-themed rock art by World Literature II students
1 p.m., Library 134, Gainesville Campus—English faculty panel including Dr. Diana Edelman, Anita Turlington and Dr. Kasee Laster
TBA, Student Resource Center 311, Oconee Campus—The Many Faces of Frankenstein: media and roundtable discussion with Drs. Dan Cabaniss, Stephanie Rountree and Shane Toepfer

Friday, Oct. 26

11 a.m., Library 134, Gainesville Campus—”Frankenstein and Posthumanism” faculty panel featuring Dr. Lynn Berdanier, Dr. John Hamilton, Dr. Jeanelle Morgan, and Dr. Kristin Yager
Noon to 3 p.m., upstairs lobby, Cumming Campus—PoeDown and costume contest
Noon, Library 134, Gainesville Campus—”Monster Theory” faculty panel featuring Dr. Jeff Pardue, Dr. Phil Guerty, Dr. Patsy Worrall
3-5 p.m., Mount Hope Cemetery, Dahlonega Campus—”Secrets from the Grave” guided tour of Mount Hope Cemetery.

Bringing Horror to Life: The Origin of Frankenstein

The story of Frankenstein started during a rainy summer night in 1816. After a year marked by an extremely long and bitter winter, Mary Shelley and her lover, Percy Bryce Shelley, sought to escape the weather by visiting Lord Bryon’s villa in Switzerland. The three friends wandered around the vast expanse of the lake on Byron’s property, searching for inspiration in the serenity of the natural world around them. Unfortunately, frequent rain showers confined the group to the house.

Victor Frankenstein looks at his creation in horror and disgust. Illustration from the frontispiece of the 1831 edition of Frankenstein. — Illustration from the frontispiece of the 1831 edition of Frankenstein.

Sitting in Bryon’s library by the dim light of assorted candles, cradled by the dull roar of the storm outside, the three writers turned to ghost stories to pass the time. Both terrified and enlivened by the tales of monstrous apparitions and cursed households, Bryon proposed an idea: Each of them should write a ghost story and share it with their peers. From that point on, Mary Shelley pushed herself to write a story that would chill the blood, haunt the mind, and set itself apart from all other works of supernatural fiction that had come before it.

Inspiration did not come quickly or easily for her. The loftiness of her goal and the immense pressure she placed upon herself to see it through forced her into a state of writer’s paralysis. As Percy and Bryon shared the results of the previous night’s work, Mary repeatedly had nothing to show. During this time, Bryon and Percy spoke at length about philosophy; specifically, the concept of life and whether it could be created using current scientific technology and methods. Of special interest to Mary Shelley was the concept of galvanism.

Luigi Galvini introduced the idea of galvanism through a series of experiments on the remains of dissected frogs. Holding a copper probe at one end of the frog’s legs and a piece of iron at the other end, he was shocked to find that the legs twitched as if they were still alive. His nephew, Giovanni Aldini, took his research a step further and applied it to the human body. In a public demonstration in 1803, Aldini subjected the body of an executed criminal to a series of electrical shocks. The result was bone-chilling. The corpse moved as if he were still alive. His muscles spasmed, his jaw opened, his hands clenched, and one eye actually opened due to the electrical shocks.

The men eventually lost interest in the topic and went to bed. Mary, however, remained haunted by the horrific potential of science to give humans power over life and death. She tossed and turned in her bed, finally falling asleep in the middle of the night, but her sleep was far from peaceful. She had a singularly vivid and horrifying nightmare which impressed itself on her mind, described here in her introduction to Frankenstein:

I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life, and stir with an uneasy, half vital motion.

She finally had come up with the perfect ghost story: A man who, in trying to test the boundaries of scientific potential, creates a monster. Her protagonist, named Dr. Victor Frankenstein, is so hungry for knowledge about life and the human body that he turns to charnel houses and grave robbery in order to experiment on the bodies of the dead. After cobbling together a makeshift human from the remains of deceased criminals, Dr. Frankenstein uses the electricity from a lightning storm to give the monstrous creature life. Horrified by what he has created, Dr. Frankenstein flees from it and sets into a motion of series of tragic events for both his creation and those around him.

On that night in Byron’s villa, Mary Shelley took her worst nightmare and fashioned it into a living and breathing monster that would haunt readers for centuries to come. This Halloween, celebrate the 200th anniversary of Frankenstein’s release by visiting this classic. Find a dark corner, settle down, and see for yourself just why Mary Shelley’s “midnight specter” has chilled the blood and haunted the mind from the moment it took its first lumbering step in her dreams.

Upcoming Events:

Friday, Oct. 5: “Frankenstein’s Originality” by Anne Williams, University of Georgia professor and Gothic Writer

11 a.m. to noon – Cleveland Ballroom, Nesbitt 3110, Gainvesville Campus
2-3 p.m. – Hoag Auditorium, Dahlonega Campus (reception to follow)
2-3 p.m. Student Resource Center 581, Oconee Campus (broadcast from Dahlonega)
2-3 p.m. Cumming Campus (broadcast from Dahlonega)

Thursday, Oct. 11:

5:30p.m., Library Lobby, Dahlonega campus—David Plunkert, artist and illustrator for The New Yorker will present his creative process of illustrating the gothic novel and 200th anniversary edition of Frankenstein with modern influences. There will be a book signing before the event and afterward in the Library lobby.
6 p.m., Rare Books Collections, Library 382, Dahlonega Campus—“The Monster in the Music of Mary Shelley’s Romantic Period.” Aria Performance by Benjamin Schoening, UNG Department Head of Music.

Friday, Oct. 12:

1 p.m., Library 134, Gainesville campus—”The Many Faces of Frankenstein” film presentation by Dr. Candice Wilson of UNG and Dr. Tobias Wilson-Bates of Georgia Tech
TBA, Student Resource Center 311, Oconee Campus—From “Frankenstein” to Fake News: A brief history of science fiction by UNG instructor Derek Thiess
Film screenings of 1931 “Frankenstein” and selections from Films on Demand by Drs. Melissa Schindler and Ann Marie Francis and co-sponsored with the Student Government Association, Forsyth County Library (1931 film) and classroom on Cumming Campus

Thursday, Oct. 18:

3:30 p.m., front of Library, West End Art Exhibit in Library, Dahlonega Campus—Birthday Party for Mary Shelley’s Creature. Reading by Scott Fugate

Friday, Oct. 19:

11 a.m. to noon, Library 134, Gainesville Campus—Visiting artist Drema Montgomery, who creates art by assembling various found objects, will demonstrate her work and correlate it to Dr. Frankenstein’s manufacturing the monster.
Noon to 4 p.m., Forsyth County Library and Cumming Campus—Frankenstein-themed rock art by World Literature II students
1 p.m., Library 134, Gainesville Campus—English faculty panel including Dr. Diana Edelman, Anita Turlington and Dr. Kasee Laster
TBA, Student Resource Center 311, Oconee Campus—The Many Faces of Frankenstein: media and roundtable discussion with Drs. Dan Cabaniss, Stephanie Rountree and Shane Toepfer

Friday, Oct. 26

11 a.m., Library 134, Gainesville Campus—”Frankenstein and Posthumanism” faculty panel featuring Dr. Lynn Berdanier, Dr. John Hamilton, Dr. Jeanelle Morgan, and Dr. Kristin Yager
Noon to 3 p.m., upstairs lobby, Cumming Campus—PoeDown and costume contest
Noon, Library 134, Gainesville Campus—”Monster Theory” faculty panel featuring Dr. Jeff Pardue, Dr. Phil Guerty, Dr. Patsy Worrall
3-5 p.m., Mount Hope Cemetery, Dahlonega Campus—”Secrets from the Grave” guided tour of Mount Hope Cemetery by Thomas Scanlin

Books of Fright

_{Halloween has arrived, and what better way to get into the spooky spirit by reading}_{scary books! Here are some stories that are sure to send shivers up your spine, and have you looking over your shoulder everywhere you go. Happy reading!}

_{The Legend o}_{f Sleepy Hollow-}_{Washington Irving}

Ichabod is a teacher and choirmaster at the little town of Sleepy Hollow. When Ichabod woos a rich man’s daughter, he must lay low because Brom, who is also in love with the rich man’s daughter, is after him. When Ichabod is invited to a party, he comes across the Headless Horseman, and must flee, terrified for his life.

_{House of Leaves}_{– Mark Z. Danielewski}

In this maze of a book made up of unconventional format, such as unusual page layouts with some pages only containing a few words, House of Leaves tells the story of three family members: a blind old man, a young apprentice at a tattoo shop, and a crazy woman. The family faces unexplainable changes in their home, and eventually come face to face with the darkness at its core.

_{Ghost Storie}_{s of an Antiquary}_{– M.R. James}

This collection of eight short stories captures the suspense and horror which defines good ghost stories. The wit and erudition of these eight classics keeps the reader on their toes, and teaches them be wary of every creak in the night. After all, you can never be sure about what lurks behind you.

_Dracula_{– Bram Stoker}

Jonathan Harker, a London lawyer, travels to Transylvania to help Count Dracula purchase an estate in England. Initially impressed by Dracula’s politeness, Harker is soon wary of Dracula’s ability to communicate to wolves in his huge castle. He quickly realizes he is a prisoner in Dracula’s castle, and must find a way to survive this demonic creature of the night.

_{The Shining}_{– Stephen King}

Jack Torrance is hired as a caretaker at the Overlook Hotel, eager for a fresh start, and ready to reconnect with his family and work on his writing. As winter begins to set in, the Overlook Hotel grows more sinister. Danny Torrance, Jack’s five-year-old son, is the only one to notice as the hotel’s horrific past begins to consume them all.

_{The Tell-Tale Heart}_{– Edgar Allen Poe}

This story is told through a nameless, mysterious narrator, who does not sound half as sane as he claims. As we hear about the murder he had committed, there is a beating that grows louder and louder, echoing in the mind. It’s the still-beating heart of the victim under the floorboards, where our nameless narrator buried the dismembered body.

_Coraline_{– Neil Gaiman}

When her family moved into their new home, Coraline Jones knew things were weird. But weird doesn’t describe a mysterious door with a brick wall behind it. Weird definitely doesn’t describe the mysterious tunnel that takes its place. When Coraline goes through, she finds herself in another house, one just like her own. But this perfect world is hiding something dark and sinister, and Coraline might be too late to stop it.

_{A Stranger in the House}_{– Shari Lapena}

Newlyweds Karen and Tom Krupp happily live in upstate New York, but one day, Karen gets into an accident and loses her memory. When they return home, Karen notices things in the house have been moved. Nothing is quite right, and she realizes someone’s been in the house. This psychological thriller makes you doubt everything you know about your own life.

_{The Night Circus}_{– Erin Morgenstern}

This circus appears with no warning; no announcements or advertisements to display it, and it disappears as quickly as it comes. Only open at night, the circus tents hold amazing sights within, but the Night Circus holds a dark secret., and the performers must pay the price.

_{Nightmares: Poems to Trouble Your Sleep}_{– Jack Prelutshy}

Instead of bedtime stories, read a dozen horrific poems to keep you up at night. Ranging vampires to ghouls, these poems cover a variety of creepy stories that will scare even the bravest individual.