COVE

Castle Frankenstein

Credit: Odenwald Tourismus

Based on a True Story?

Description:

“Two centuries after author Mary Shelley conceived "Frankenstein," its gothic echoes can still be found across Europe. Castle Frankenstein near Darmstadt, Germany, was the birthplace of alchemist Conrad Dippel, whose purported experiments on the human bodies may have inspired Shelley.” (Malathronas)

                While not directly related to Mary Shelley’s rendition of Frankenstein, Castle Frankenstein is reportedly what inspired her to write her seemingly original gothic novel. From the town of Gernsheim, on the eastern banks of a languorous meander in the Rhine, it was once possible to see the steep slate roof and towers of Frankenstein castle, positioned on a hilltop 10 miles away. In 1814, a few days after her 17th birthday, Mary Shelley very likely gazed up at the fortress during the several hours her party spent resting in the town. She and her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley eloped to France and Switzerland but overspent and were returning to England by riverboat through Germany.

During their three-hour stop at Gernsheim, it’s unlikely they climbed up to the summit, but it is possible that she heard grisly tales of the alchemist and physician Johann Konrad Dippel, who was born in the castle. Dippel invented an animal oil that he claimed was a universal medicine and theorized about transferring souls between dead bodies with the aid of a funnel.

Works Cited

Latson, Jennifer. “Did Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Have a TRUE-LIFE INSPIRATION?” Time, Time, 1 Jan. 2015, time.com/3648440/mary-shelley-frankenstein-history/.

Malathronas, John. “Frankenstein's Monster Inspires Travel Trail.” CNN, Cable News Network, 20 June 2016, edition.cnn.com/travel/article/on-the-trail-of-frankenstein/index.html.