In the hushed, cavernous third floor of Spokane's Central Library, the legend of an iconic monster is creaking back to life.
On display through Nov. 16, "Discover Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature" is a small exhibit on loan from the National Library of Medicine. Interpretive panels sketch an outline of author Mary Shelley's life and reveal how she came to write the beloved novel Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus. The exhibit details some of the marvels of science happening during her lifetime, like person-to-person blood transfusions and galvanism, the application of electricity to beheaded animals and humans that resulted in twitching and other physical movements.
Galvanism in particular is central to Shelley's work. In the story, young scientist Victor Frankenstein uses electricity to bring his assembled corpse to life.
"By the glimmer of the half-extinguished light I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs," Shelley describes from his viewpoint.
Instead of rejoicing in the life he created, the scientist is horrified and abandons the wretch. What follows is the story of how the "thing" became a monster that we're still fascinated with, more than 200 years after Frankenstein was first published in 1818.
"I always love Halloween, and I always wanted to do something for adults every year," says Vanessa Strange, Spokane Public Library's adult services manager who works with fellow librarians to develop programs across all of the city's branches.
When Strange found the touring Frankenstein exhibit was available, she snagged it for October.
"I thought it would be cool to have the mad scientist lab look," she says.
Strange supplemented the exhibit's panels with items from the library's archives. In addition, Petunia & Loomis, a local antique store calling itself "Spokane's only year-round creeptown," loaned some items for display. While you can't purchase the exhibit's replica skulls or slides of early anatomical drawings, Petunia & Loomis' goods are for sale, including some mad scientist-esque equipment and vintage copies of Frankenstein.
Strange sees Shelley's work as still quite relevant today.
"There's a lot to think about in terms of what makes a person," she says. "There's things like AI, and what does that do with what we think of as personhood, and what we get to do. Shouldn't the robot get to do the hard stuff and we get to do the creative stuff? When you start to think about scientific advances, who's an outcast? Who's a person that has feelings? All these things still tie in."
Like in Shelley's time, at the beginning of the 19th century, Strange thinks we should keep questioning ethics about science and medicine.
"Having a fear of science, having a fear of technology, maybe sometimes that's a good thing," she says. "Maybe sometimes it's not. There's a lot of those things going on now that are in the story as well."
Complementing the exhibit are books unearthed from the library's archives dating to the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries and covering occult topics like palmistry, exorcism and witchcraft. One tome even debunks magic and offers alternative explanations for the supernatural.
To augment the Frankenstein exhibit, Strange and her team have also planned seasonally spooky programs throughout October at both the Central Library and other branches around the city.
This month's Lilac City Live talk show, for example, features a local paranormal investigator. There's also a ghost story writing workshop with Debra Magpie Earling, author of the acclaimed novel Perma Red, this year's Spokane is Reading title. Another highlight is a session on how to research your home if you suspect it might be haunted.
"It's fun for Halloween," Strange says of the exhibit and events. "We want to share it with people, and we hope that it sparks something that improves their life in some way." ♦
SPOOKY LIBRARY PROGRAMS
More info at spokanelibrary.org
Lilac City Live
Thu, Oct. 17 at 8 pm, Central Library
Ghost Stories: A Writing Workshop with Debra Magpie Earling
Fri, Oct. 25 at 10:30 am, Central Library (register online)
Who is Haunting Your House?
Wed, Oct. 30, 5:30 pm, South Hill Library
