Title: Frankenstein, Frankenstein
Author: Will McIntosh
Date of First Publication: October 2010
Place of Publication: Asimov’s Science Fiction, October-November 2010. Dell Magazines.
Type: Short Story
Characters: No Character
Themes: ANDROID; MAD SCIENTIST/MONSTER; SYMPATHETIC MONSTER
Critical Summary: Will McIntosh’s short story begins with Phineas Gage and Darby performing fake presentations of Frankenstein’s monster for money. Darby, pretending to be Frankenstein’s grandson, claims that Phineas is Frankenstein’s monster; in actuality, Phineas is a survivor of a freak accident that left a railroad spike lodged in his head. He cannot remove this spike, or he will likely die, and is trying to creatively make the best of a precarious position.
After their latest presentation, a man named Dexter Wilson approaches them after the show. Darby accepts payment from him in exchange for allowing Wilson an opportunity to question Phineas about the conditions of his creation. Wilson excitedly asks Phineas questions, ranging from details of his creation to Dr. Frankenstein’s nature. Phineas lies creatively, and Wilson leaves afterward, satisfied with the answers to his inquiries.
While moving in their colorful wagon to the next location for another presentation, they come across townspeople who challenge the possibility of Phineas being the real creation on account of the real monster already being there at the town fairgrounds. Naturally, they investigate this and find another: Graves Anderson. Doing the same type of performance with a convincing physique behind it, Graves is a legitimate giant, his body banded with scars on his arms and face. Yorkie, Graves’s diminutive manager, immediately teams up with Darby to combine their efforts. They go on tour bringing their faux monsters together to fight, until yet another act is brought to their attention to challenge them, and they find that it is housed at Tesla’s “Hall of Electricity.” They soon find out that Wilson has succeeded in recreating the experiment. Phineas returns with Graves later, finding a miserable creature. They move it from the hall and its screams of pain attract Wilson’s attention. With Wilson chasing them, they hastily drown it in the water. After the creature is dead, they run from Wilson. Phineas accidentally hits his railroad spike while following Graves under a railroad car, stunning him. In an attempt to get moving again, Phineas agrees to let Graves pull out his spike, incapacitating him. When Wilson catches up to them, Graves attacks Wilson, allowing them both to finally escape. As they leave in a wagon, Graves sees Yorkie recover the drowned corpse, and they vow to destroy or bury the body if they find Yorkie again.
Even though all three emulations of Dr. Frankenstein and the Creature in this story show some sort of thematic connection to the originals, they are all fakes or imitations. However, the story does involve an actual recreation of the experiment by Wilson, where he is able to animate a corpse into a tortured existence. This body, however, is not powerful like the Creature’s body. Instead, it is so weak that it cannot even end its own misery without the assistance of Phineas and Graves. Wilson is the only true mad scientist, while the rest are a group of entertainers.
This recreation takes into consideration the way that the story of Frankenstein has become twisted and changed from its original iteration in modern culture. In a sort of metacommentary, it acknowledges the way that things have changed but also shows the way that this influence has produced new, different horrors, as is reflected in Wilson’s rendition of the reanimated creature.
Administrative Notes: Mark Zschaechner, CSUF; Christian Bazinet (Editing)