Frankenstein

We are now taking a trip down the Path of the Misunderstood Monsters by looking at Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

Obsessed with creating life, Victor Frankenstein plunders graveyards for the materials to fashion a new being of great strength, which he shocks into life with electricity. However, his creation does not prove to be as beautiful as he had intended.

"Now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart."

His creation is botched and hideous to behold and Victor rejects it to lead its horrible life. After some time though, the creature finds him again and begs him to make a female for him so that he may have companionship. Halfway through creating this new monster, Victor refuses and destroys the companion that he had almost finished. Denied of companionship and desperately lonely, Victor's monster sets out to destroy his maker and all that he holds dear.

Described as a Gothic tale and made into numerous horror films, Frankenstein is a chilling, but at the same time, heartbreaking tale of loneliness and murder. Divided into three volumes contained within this one book, the majority of the story is told from Victor's personal view in the form of diary entries and letters. Written in wonderful language that thoroughly conveys the feeling of horror and fear, the tale of Frankenstein is a wonderful read that I could do over and over and over again.