Frankenstein's Castle
Dec 23 2017 at 1:26pm EST
         This is a much better view of the Castle. There are interior areas of the Castle, but I think they were closed because of the season. I recall reading a pamphlet that mentioned a tour fee, but there wasn't anyone around today looking to give tours. I would love to have toured the Castle! The team from Sy Fy Channel's Ghosthunters team has visited it, so I know it's more extensive than what I saw today.

         The Castle itself was built in the mid-1250's. The Castle was split into two parts in later days, with two families living in each wing. The castle was used as refuge and a hospital afterward, falling into ruins in the 18th century. The two towers that are so distinctive today are a historically inaccurate restoration carried out in the mid-19th century.

         In 1673, Johann Conrad Dippel was born in the castle, where he was later engaged as a professional alchemist. It is suggested that Dippel influenced Mary Shelley's fantasy when she wrote her Frankenstein novel, though there is no mention of the castle in Shelley's journals from the time. However, it is known that in 1814, prior to writing the famous novel, Shelley took a journey on the river Rhine. She spent a few hours in the town of Gernsheim, which is located about ten miles away from the castle. Several nonfiction books on the life of Mary Shelley claim Dippel as a possible influence.

         Dippel created an animal oil known as Dippel's Oil which was supposed to be equivalent to the "elixir of life". Dippel attempted to purchase Castle Frankenstein in exchange for his elixir formula, which he claimed he had recently discovered; the offer was turned down. There are also rumours that during his stay at Frankenstein Castle, Dippel practiced not only alchemy but also anatomy and may have performed experiments on dead bodies that he exhumed. There are rumours that he dug up bodies and performed medical experiments on them at the castle and that a local cleric would have warned his parish that Dippel had created a monster that was brought to life by a bolt of lightning. There are local people who still claim today that this actually happened and that this tale was related to Shelley's stepmother by the Brothers Grimm, the German ethnologists. However, none of these claims have been proven to this date, and some local researchers doubt any connection between Mary Shelley and Frankenstein Castle.
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