In 1931, the quintessential movie version of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein hit theaters. It starred Boris Karloff as the monster and spawned a whole series of sequels. Since then, Frankenstein’s monster has become a terrifying icon in popular culture, especially around Halloween. Readers learn the original story of Frankenstein and how the book’s content connected to the science of the day. Haunting images of the monster and movie stills from Frankenstein and other films engage readers’ imaginations as accessible language allows even reluctant readers to find out more about this modern monster.
