What makes a good ghost story? A terrifying creature, a dark and stormy night, or the unsettling possibility that something we thought impossible might actually be true? When Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein in 1816, she was taking part in a challenge to write a ghost story. What emerged was a novel that would influence generations of horror writers and become a valuable text for English classrooms.
A ghost story inspired by science
Mary Shelley was just eighteen when she spent a summer near Lake Geneva with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron and others. Confined indoors by poor weather, the group read ghost stories until Byron challenged them to write their own.
But the conversations went beyond supernatural tales. Scientists of the period were investigating electricity and the human body, raising questions about the boundary between life and death. Shelley imagined a student bringing a dead body to life, creating a story that explored the dangers of ambition and the consequences of scientific discovery.
Published in 1818, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus became much more than a horror story. At its heart is a disturbing question: just because we can do something, does that mean we should?
Who is the real monster?
Victor Frankenstein succeeds in creating life, but immediately recoils from his creation. Abandoned and rejected, the creature struggles to understand the world and find companionship. His frightening appearance causes others to fear him, but his experiences reveal a capacity for emotion and a desperate need to belong.
This is where Shelley’s novel becomes particularly thought-provoking. Is the creature inherently evil, or does society help make him a monster? Who is responsible for the suffering that follows?
These questions help explain why Frankenstein is so often studied in schools. It offers rich opportunities to explore characterisation, prejudice, responsibility, ambition and the relationship between individuals and society. Its Gothic conventions also provide a way to examine how writers create tension, fear and atmosphere. These are valuable skills for students learning to analyse literature and develop their own creative writing.
The novel is also firmly rooted in its historical context. Studying Shelley’s concerns about science, morality and human nature helps students understand how literature reflects the ideas and anxieties of the period in which it was written. And because its central questions remain relevant, the novel encourages discussion that reaches well beyond its nineteenth-century setting.
Why graphic novels offer another way in
For some students, nineteenth-century prose can be challenging. The language, narrative structure and philosophical passages may make it difficult to engage with the story at first. A graphic novel adaptation can provide a more accessible route into Shelley’s world, combining dialogue and imagery to help readers follow the plot and understand the characters.
The visual format also offers new ways to analyse the text. Dark shadows, isolated figures, dramatic expressions and bleak landscapes can communicate fear and loneliness while building the Gothic atmosphere. Students can explore how an illustrator presents the creature, encourages sympathy for him or reveals Victor’s growing desperation.
Used alongside the original novel, a graphic adaptation can support rather than replace close reading. Students can compare how scenes and themes are presented through words and pictures, developing their understanding of the choices writers and artists make.
More than a Halloween fright
Frankenstein began with a challenge to frighten friends, but its enduring power comes from the questions beneath the horror. Shelley created a story about scientific ambition, social rejection and the responsibilities we have towards what we create.
This Halloween, a graphic novel offers a visually compelling way to rediscover the classic. For students and teachers alike, it demonstrates that Gothic horror is not simply about monsters in the dark. Sometimes, the most frightening questions are the ones that make us think about ourselves.
Frankenstein: The Graphic Novel by: Mary Shelley
Script Adaptation: Jason Cobley
Linework: Declan Shalvey
Art Direction: Jon Haward
Colouring: Jason Cardy & Kat Nicholson
Lettering: Terry Wiley
You can download free sample pages from our Original Text Frankenstein here.
Frankenstein Original Text Graphic Novel epub also available here.