I am officially in holiday mode now! After what has been a ridiculously overwhelming and hectic few months at work, I’ve finally got a proper week off – and boy, is it needed! We decided to visit Bath on our way down to our week’s stay in Cheddar Gorge, and visit Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein!
Despite the ridiculously hot weather we’re having this week, the museum itself was dark and cool… like me. No, but seriously, it was a welcome change. I do not deal well with the heat! It was also chilling in other ways (yes, I am full of puns today). As we wandered round, there were five museum floors each dedicated to a different element of Mary Shelley and Frankenstein… plus an extra spooky basement…
Mary Shelley, the Ultimate Goth
Floor 1 had us feeling sorry for poor Mary! She was the daughter of two very strong people who were a feminist and anarchist respectively (which in itself was very cool) but she had such a sorry life! She was a widow by the age of 24 and had suffered so much other loss by that point that no wonder she wrote such a ground-breaking Gothic horror fiction.
Floor 2 was dedicated to early critiques of Frankenstein and Shelley’s literary influences, plus a really creepy ‘mourning room’ featuring a really gross and fascinating story about her husband’s death. (TW: Creepy AF) He died at sea, and when he washed up on the shore he was identified by a small book of poetry he held in his pocket. When they cremated him, it was recorded that his heart didn’t burn, and remained intact due to being calcified by tuberculosis. It was eventually found along with sheaves of his poetry 30 years later in Mary Shelley’s desk, upon her death… (Yikes!)
Truly the House of Frankenstein…
Floor 3 had a huge scene depicting Frankenstein’s Monster in a lab filled with curios (which is exactly my aesthetic and I absolutely loved it!) It also had a small room focusing on the earliest theatrical adaptations of Frankenstein. Floor 4 was dedicated to Frankenstein movie history and memorabilia (which to be honest, I skimmed through as I was very drawn to a pinball machine in the corner!) and Floor 5 had a small old-fashioned theatre, showing the first ever 1910 silent film adaptation of Frankenstein (which was hilarious).
We then went to the basement which contained an immersive theatre experience, which I completely NOPED out of because I am a sensitive soul, and couldn’t deal with a single jump-scare. Overall, it was an excellent museum though and I’d thoroughly recommend it! We then wandered off to a local board game cafe for a bit of lunch (I didn’t take any pictures unfortunately!) before heading onward to Cheddar!
Finally in Cheddar!
We’re here for the week now, and very much looking forward to the rest. As soon as we arrived I immediately got out of any excess clothes I could and we relaxed on the terrace with drinks. Tomorrow we’re heading off to Cheddar Gorge (one of my favourite places in the world) to visit the caves and explore. Until tomorrow! <3
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