Cologny is known as the birthplace of Frankenstein, where Lord Byron had actually rented a mansion named the Villa Diodati in 1816. Mary and Percy Shelley, and Claire Clairmont were staying nearby, and all told ghost stories which resulted in a challenge to write a Ghost Story. This timeframe was also known “The Year without a Summer”, so much time was spent indoors writing.

In the work, Frankenstein, this is where a purchased home is being set up for married Victor Frankenstein and Elizabeth. It is where they both should return home after their honeymoon night in Evian; however, the creature arrives at the cabin and strangles Elizabeth before she could ever return back to Cologny. This new home was meant as a beacon of hope, close enough to Geneva that their lives were not altered too much, yet being engulfed in the countryside safe and tucked away. I think the Villa Diodati made an impact on Shelley, as the retreat she had was reflected in the reference to Cologny in the text.

Mary Shelley, et al. Ghostly Tales From the Lost Summer of 1816 - Frankenstein, The Vampyre & Other Stories From the Villa Diodati. Fantasy and Horror Classics, 2020. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=78f77cc3-880c-33d9-8077-32185067c5f8.

“Villa Diodati.” Atlas Obscura, added by Sandra Lang, Atlas Obscura, 8 May 2018, www.atlasobscura.com/places/villa-diodati. Accessed 30 Sept. 2025

Image of Villa Diodati

 Finden, Edward Francis, after William Purser. Villa Diodati. Ca. 1833. Engraving. Public Domain Image Archive, The Public Domain Review, pdimagearchive.org/images/ee52f7dc-84c1-4cef-ba76-9badc8849309/. Accessed 30 Sept. 2025.