Wednesday, October 05, 2011

FRANKENSTEIN CASTLE

There really is a Frankenstein Castle. "Burg Frankenstein" is located in the hills just south of Darmstadt, Germany.
 
The legend of a monster and mystery of creation. The town of Darmstadt is about half an hour from Frankfurt, a winding road takes you up a mountain to the ruins of a castle called Frankenstein. An original fortress was first built in the 10th Century. The current castle was constructed beginning in the 13th Century with additions in the next two hundred years. Abandoned as a residence in the late 1600's, serving for awhile as a prison and then completely forgotten and a ruin ever since with some walls, an intact though damaged distinctive tower and a small chapel, said to be haunted.

The Darmstadt Castle Frankenstein was resurrected in romantic age of the 1800’s as a part of the era’s fascination with gothic and romantic literature and the publishing of Mary Shelley’s famous novel of “Frankenstein” in 1818. The inspiration for Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s brilliant, haunting work has been the subject of speculation ever since it’s first printing. Connections of the name of the novel with an actual place have been tantalizing, though never proven. The novel of Frankenstein has very little to do with a castle, which was more an invention of James Whale’s iconic version of the story in the Universal film with Boris Karloff, indelibly etched as the monster and castle as a romantic setting for a film. 

Mary Shelley’s inspiration is more complex. In the novel, Victor von Frankenstein is not German at all but Swiss from Geneva. Her story was most famously begun at Lake Geneva in the summer of 1816. The science student's undetailed creation of an unnamed “creature” were carried out at Ingolstadt University and most of the story takes place in Switzerland, the Alps, and on a ship. There is a suggestion that Mary Shelley visited the Darmstadt Castle Frankenstein ruin on a boat trip down the Rhine River in 1814. There is no record of a visit to Darmstadt, or mention of it in her journals. She perhaps may have heard from Byron, who spent more time in Germany than the Shelleys, of the castle and its legend of physician, crackpot theologian and alchemist, Johann Dippel, rumored to have tried to raise the dead by experimenting with human corpses in the castle in its days as a prison. Dippel was trying to discover the alchemist's "Elixer Vitae" potion of eternal life from blood and body fluids. 

Since 1972, the castle has hosted annual Halloween parties to pay homage to the monster of Frankenstein, the student whose god-like ambition was eternalized in a literary milestone. 

Monday, October 03, 2011

MONSTER MONTH IS HERE

It is October; Monster month, so I can declare,
I love
Frankenstein.
Ever since I was just a kid I loved Frankenstein, I read Mary Shelly's novel "Frankenstein - or the Modern Prometheus" when I was about 12 years old. And have reread it several times over the years. Shelly completed the novel when she was only 18 years old. Even with her husband's connections it took over a year to find a publisher for her novel.
Of course Frankenstein is the name of the Doctor that created the monster, the poor monster never had a name other than "Frankenstein's monster", no wonder he had issues.
But what I really love is Frankenstein movies. There have been over 100 movies (believe it or not) having to do with Frankenstein in some way. No I have not seen them all. There are some good ones some bad ones and some very bad ones. How about "Lust for Frankenstein" 1998, nope, haven't seen that one. There are funny ones "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" or how about "Blakenstein" , haven't seen that one either
The first "Frankenstein" was a silent movie released in 1910, it was a whole 13 minutes long. This short film was thought to be lost until, in 1975, a collector found he had a badly damaged copy. As much restoration that could be done on the film was done and you can now find this film in it's entirety on You Tube.
My favorites by far are the Universal Studios movies made in the 1930's; "Frankenstein" 1931, "Bride of Frankenstein" 1934, and "Son of Frankenstein" 1939. With the famous monster created by actor Boris Karloff.
And of course high on the list of favorites is Mel Brooks "Young Frankenstein" and to make this one even more funny, you should watch the 3 old ones first. There are many subtle scenes that Mel Brooks took from the old ones, like someone descending an enclosed stair case with an unlit candle! who knows where the light source is. Or lightning flashes that can be seen in a dungeon with no windows! great stuff.
If your a purest. The movie that follows Mary Shelly's novel the closest is a 2004 made for TV movie staring Luke Gross as the monster.

SO, HAPPY OCTOBER
Watch a Frankenstein movie.
there are plenty to go around.