Castle Frankenstein is a medieval hilltop castle in the Odenwald overlooking the city of Darmstadt in Germany. “The castle was built before 1250 by Lord Conrad II Reiz of Breuberg” (Castle Frankenstein). He later called himself Frankenstein. His family lived in the castle for 400 years until the seventeenth century when the castle acted as barracks for retired soldiers. The castle then served as a US army base post World War 2. While this castle is not directly mentioned in the novel, the castle was used in the 1931 film adaptation.

King Leopold II of Belgium had brutally seized the Congo for resources such as rubber, ivory, and precious metals in the late nineteenth century. Leopold declared the Congo, the "Congo Free State" during its time of Belgian occupation. Rather than colonize the territory as other imperialist countries did, Leopold conquered and privately owned the entire region. His ownership of the land and its native people was determined by the United States and the European powers of the time (Cox).