With the spookiest day of the year just around the corner, people are putting up decorations and carving pumpkins. People will be running willy-nilly around the neighborhood dressing up as random characters. With the Halloween season, there’s plenty of horrifying forms of entertainment that can get you hyped for trick or treating and that includes books! This month is a time for Creepy Classics, the oldies but goodies with monsters and scares. This week’s focus is on Mary Shelley’s classic: Frankenstein (otherwise known as The Modern Prometheus).

Frankenstein is a well known horror novel by Mary Shelley. The book was published in 1818, and has been a major influence on the horror genre and media as a whole. Frankenstein’s monster is one of the most recognizable and iconic Halloween characters along with ghouls like Dracula and the Wolfman. The book has received much acclaim and has been deemed a classic. While you may have seen the movie or the monster, the book is very different from any adaption.

The book is about an ambitious scientist named Dr. Frankenstein. One day, he endeavours to bring the dead back to life. He steals body parts from corpses to create the monster. Unfortunately, his fear of his creation and guilt for “playing God” leads him to hate his creation. The monster as a result struggles to find out why he exists and begins to attempt revenge on his creator.

The two major characters in the book are, of course, the creator and his creation. Dr. Frankenstein is a good man at heart and loves science. He is a very likeable main protagonist and he does his best to attempt to right the wrongs he’s committed even at the cost of his own life!

Then there’s his creation: Frankenstein’s monster. While many modern portrayals of the monster see him as a big guy who only moans and groans and walks with his arms pointing outward, the original character is actually far deeper than that. He is capable of showing emotions and understanding concepts like loneliness, rejection, sadness, and vengeance. This allows him to give heartfelt speeches that show his personal struggle to find meaning in the world.

Frankenstein is perfect to read on Halloween, a horror novel with a powerful story of struggle. It is truly a Creepy Classic!