English-shminglish: Frankenstein

Mary Shelley was in a writing group with her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley and her friend Lord Byron. The writers challenged each other to write a ghost story. They talked about scary things that were happening in the world to help inspire each other. Mary shelley tried to think of an idea, but she couldn't come up with anything. the other writers were busy at work!

Finally, Mary Shelley had a nightmare about a scientist who created a monster that ended up coming to life. According to the legend Mary Shelley had the dream while she was awake! She was afraid of her own dream, and decided to write it down. Her idea turned into a wonderful novel.

Many people think the monster's name in the story is Frankenstein. It's not! In Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein is actually the last name of the scientist who created the monster. Over the years it's almost like the monster claimed the name for itself. Creepy!