Frankenstein took hold of popular culture from the moment it was published. Every generation finds within it a vibrant, on-point conversation, be that 19th-, 20th-, or 21st-century readers. Famously about a creature made from gathered body parts, it too is a collection of fragments, blending genres, literary methods, even pieces of other literature. Little wonder then that authors have felt free to borrow from it as well, adding their own shards to the literary body that is Dr. Frankenstein and his lonely, vengeful, sorrowful creature.

As Halloween approaches, there is perhaps no better time to meet these two men, follow them across Europe, onto the ice of the polar North, and consider how reading shapes a life, what we owe one another, and how the horrific is perhaps best seen in a bloody mirror. To aid in that expedition, here are books, comics, films, and websites to explore.

Books

M Is for Monster by Talia Dutton (Abrams)

Frankenstein: Junji Ito Story Collection by Junji Ito (VIZ Media)

Destroyer by Victor LaValle, art by Dietrich Smith (BOOM! Studios)

The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon (Gallery/Scout Press) 

Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi, translated by Jonathan Wright (Penguin) 

Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match by Sally Thorne (Avon) 

Monster by Barry Windsor-Smith (Fantagraphics) 

Frankissstein: A Love Story by Jeanette Winterson (Grove) 

Films

Frankenstein, directed by James Whale, 1931. Starring Boris Karloff, this film created the visual image of the creature as a green-skinned monster with bolts in his neck and introduced the phrase “It’s alive!” Don’t miss Whale’s 1935 sequel, The Bride of Frankenstein.

Young Frankenstein, directed by Mel Brooks, 1974. Starring Gene Wilder, the cult favorite pastiche remains on multiple funniest film lists.

The Spirit of The Beehive, directed by Víctor Erice, 1973. Showcasing the range of stories Shelley has inspired, this film is set in the wake of the Spanish civil war and explores the impact of Whale’s film on the life of a young girl.

Websites

The Morgan Library & Museum created an exhibition “It’s Alive! Frankenstein at 200” to celebrate the story at is marked its bicentennial in 2018. It focused on the creation of the novel and its literary descendants. Still online is a useful teacher curriculum. 

The National Library of Medicine explores the scientific lineage of the novel in an online exhibition. There is a digital gallery of medical devices, the scientific quest to understand the principles of life, online activities, and a resources page. 

The New York Public Library offers a digital edition of the first edition of Shelley’s novel, published in 1818. It opens with a letter in which an explorer writes his sister: “You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings.” Biblion: The Boundless Library, also from the NYPL, offers “Frankenstein: The Afterlife of Shelley’s Circle.” It is an online exhibit that considers the connections between Shelley and our modern age. 

Nord University in Norway hosts an online exhibition focused on the novel’s Arctic setting and content. The exhibit includes an image gallery, Arctic maps, and details on polar science.