Who can forget the classic tale of the mad scientist who creates a gorgeously gruesome Creature, only to become frightened and disgusted by his own creation? Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein is one of the most widely taught examples of Gothic literature, yet most readers don't know the true story behind Shelley's most famous work. Was Frankenstein really the product of a writing competition between friends while on summer vacation, as most people believe it to be, or was the story of the scientist and his Monster born out of a much darker mindset?

Episode Highlights:

• June 1816: The year without a summer
• The feminists daughter
• The twisted love life of Percy Shelley
• An empty crib in the nursery
• Vacations in the villa with Lord Byron
• A ghostly competition between friends
• Reviving the dead with electricity
• The waking dream of Mary Shelley
• Giving birth to Frankenstein's monster
• Who was the mad scientist? Who was the Monster?

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