10-15-2026 Latham's Last Words: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Welcome to Latham's Last Words, where I give you my last words on vintage horror books I've read. Let's look at Frankenstein from 1818!
I learned one thing while reading Frankenstein, and that is everything I knew about Frankenstein's Monster was a lie. Growing up with the green, mindless, moaning representations of the monster I didn't know that was not the truth. I wonder why the monster was changed to be represented that way. Perhaps it was supposed to make him scarier.
Frankenstein's Monster was intelligent and not a mindless killing machine. He was smart enough to teach himself to read and speak. He felt comradery for the family he "lived" with. He felt sadness and loneliness and hatred.
Victor Frankenstein is the true monster here. First, he created the monster. Then abandoned him. Then wanted to destroy him when all the monster wanted was a mate. All of that made me despise Victor and have empathy for the monster.
I won't call it a slow burn, but with the writing style of the 1800s, it's definitely a story that takes time to build. And I believe whole heartedly that all fans of horror should read it at least once.
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