Danger: Women Writing

Okay, maybe it’s the mad scientist I revealed during my recent visit to Mysteries and Margaritas that explains my initial reaction when I think of the monster from FRANKENSTEIN. To me the monster is the doctor, Victor Frankenstein, who assembled the creature from the assorted bits of humans and other assorted animals since the novel makes reference to taking materials from the slaughterhouses.

As a scientist, Frankenstein had a moral obligation to think about the consequences of what he would create much like Oppenheimer and those who worked on the Manhattan Project to create the atom bomb or the fictional scientists from Wardwell Laboratories who decided to experiment on innocent humans in the SIN HUNTER Series.

When I read paranormals or write them, that challenge of monster versus humans is often most interesting when it turns out, like in FRANKENSTEIN, that it’s the humans who are more monstrous than the demons and creatures in the stories.

What do you think of when you think of Frankenstein?  The creature or the scientist?

Some interesting facts about FRANKENSTEIN:

1.  It was originally published anonymously in 1818 and then again in 1823.  It was substantially revised before being reissued by another publisher in 1831.  The 1831 version is the one most commonly read.

2.  The book was subtitled The Modern Prometheus as some scholars believe the book to be a warning against the adoption of science over civility and the expansion of machinery via the Industrial Revolution.

3.  The author, Mary Godwin (later Shelley) was the lover of Percy Shelley who was a friend to Lord Byron.  Rumor has it the writing of the book came about as the result of a challenge issued that each of them write their own supernatural story.

4.  Mary was 18 at the time she created the novel.

5.  The novel was rejected when submitted to both Shelley’s and Lord Byron’s publishers at the time.

6.  The original work was not well-received and when the identity of the author was revealed,  some attacked the work as being a product of her gender.

Hope you enjoyed today’s Dark Side Demon Monday!

Photo Credit:  Frankenstein entry at Wikipedia; Tate Private Collection.

Today’s Dark Side Demon Monday is about an interesting aspect of one of our favorite kinds of demons-Vampires. There are many rituals and myths associated with vampires, but one of the more interesting myths seems to have fallen by the wayside except for Count von Count.

What does Count von Count have to do with the myth? It’s said that if you spread millet, mustard or poppy seeds around the vampire’s grave or your home, the vampire would become occupied with counting the seeds and leave you alone. Chinese vampires share a similar trait, although their OCD traits happen when a sack of rice is placed before them. Much like with the seeds, the vampire would have to count every grain of rice in the sack.

What about Count von Count on Sesame Street? The Count’s job on Sesame Street is to count everything he encounters no matter how annoying he is to the rest of the Muppets! That OCD counting is a nod to the myth about vampires and hot to protect yourselves from them.

Hope you enjoyed today’s not so Dark Demon Side Monday.

The origin of the word demon goes back to the Greek word “daimon” but to the Greeks the word did not have a negative connotation. Instead, a Greek daimon was a benevolent being. The idea that demons were malevolent was one that apparently came about as Christianity spread.

In Scripture and Catholic theology the term demon came to be associated the devil, evil spirits and the fallen angels.

Fallen angels were angels who had been banished from heaven for disobeying or rebelling against God. The most well-known of the fallen angels is Lucifer and is generally thought of as Satan, but in reality, the concept of Lucifer comes from the book of Isaiah. Lucifer, which means “light-bearer” in Latin, is actually a reference to the powerful King of Babylon.

As demons go, Lucifer in his guise as Satan brings fear to many and has been the source of many a bone-chilling fright in novels and movies like the Exorcist. Milton’s PARADISE LOST cemented Lucifer’s identification as Satan and as the leader of the fallen angels. Satan remains a persona banished to hell for his actions and determined to punish the God who exiled him.