# So, who decided Frankenstein was set in Transylvania? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 23, 2003, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-decided-frankenstein-was-set-in-transylvania/203254 "2003-09-23T04:41:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-decided-frankenstein-was-set-in-transylvania/203254/41 "2003-09-24T00:25:44Z")
Ah. At least \*_Michael Ellis_ remembers in time that **Eve** is Margaret Dumont, not Gillian Anderson . . . ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-decided-frankenstein-was-set-in-transylvania/203254/42 "2003-09-24T00:27:00Z")
. . . and that her cough pills prevent her from previewing . . . ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-decided-frankenstein-was-set-in-transylvania/203254/43 "2003-09-24T00:30:43Z")
And anyway, isn’t it illegal to hypnotise an opponent in a sword fight? I demand a do-over. Or a makeover. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-decided-frankenstein-was-set-in-transylvania/203254/44 "2003-09-24T00:36:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor \* > \*\*I have a tuxedo, a cane, a _red silk lined_ cloak, _and a top hat!_ HO-HO! > > And several medals, awarded by fictional-but-real-sounding European Orders! > > Top that! \*\* One my canes is carved of the darkest wood and a serpent winds about it. I bear a ring out of a mysterious past. Finely crafted of silver, it is the face of a man a turban upon his brow and a forked beard upon his chin. Depictions of Muhammed are forbidden. But there is a definite religious air to the piece. Is it Moses? Jesus? Satan? I have also a celluloid cigarette case black behind, and ivory before. It is marked with a cockatrice rampant. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-decided-frankenstein-was-set-in-transylvania/203254/45 "2003-09-24T00:42:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DocCathode \* > \*\*I have also a celluloid cigarette case black behind . . . \*\* That’s OK. I’m sure your pants disguise it quite well. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-decided-frankenstein-was-set-in-transylvania/203254/46 "2003-09-24T00:45:18Z")
Well my clothes bear the symbols of my glorious ancestry. Half-scotch, half-soda, and half-Nelson. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-decided-frankenstein-was-set-in-transylvania/203254/47 "2003-09-24T00:54:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Michael Ellis \* > \*\*And anyway, isn’t it illegal to hypnotise an opponent in a sword fight? \*\* No. I cite the precedent of Aristede vs Collins. I have acted within the law. You have not. Try to accept defeat gracefully. Why do I bother to debate possessions? Eve is no foolish girl to be won by baubles. I shall outdo you with nothing more substantial than words. Anniversary ÁI look at my watch and hurry, I don’t want to be late, Don’t want to miss a minute of my time with her, It was just like this the night we met, The full moon making the clouds glow like Japanese lanterns, I wandered through that beautiful night, Drinking it in like fine liqueur, When I saw her we were both drunk on it, Tonight is not for wandering, Tonight I have a destination, precious and important, I was singing when I saw her first, She was dancing, My song and her dance were so perfect together, I pass the church where we were wed a year ago, Past the church and into the cemetery, Four weeks and six days ago, a bullet ended her dance, A gunshot the last song she ever heard, I open the door of her tomb and enter, Slowly, I open her coffin, A gentle kiss on her cheek, And I sing her favorite song softly into her ear, They say all good things must end, But true love never dies. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-decided-frankenstein-was-set-in-transylvania/203254/48 "2003-09-24T00:58:10Z")
That’s a mighty pretty speech there Sherlock, why not hang it up by the fireplace. You can hang yourself too while you’re at it, you upstart. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-decided-frankenstein-was-set-in-transylvania/203254/49 "2003-09-24T01:14:46Z")
Upstart?!?!?! This regrettable incident has plunged our two countries into WAR!!! ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-decided-frankenstein-was-set-in-transylvania/203254/50 "2003-09-24T01:22:35Z")
I wasn’t talking to you, **Ike**. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-decided-frankenstein-was-set-in-transylvania/203254/51 "2003-09-24T02:30:07Z")
OK, now I am totally confused. I’m going to toddle off to bed now with my Playbill and try to figure out who’s who. [gunshots . . . duels . . . poison rings . . . now we’re at war . . . no wonder Helen of Troy had an unlisted number . . .] ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-decided-frankenstein-was-set-in-transylvania/203254/52 "2003-09-24T02:33:52Z")
Goodnight, dear **Eve**. Sleep well, my dear, and remember me on the 'morrow. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-decided-frankenstein-was-set-in-transylvania/203254/53 "2003-09-24T04:07:22Z")
The Hammer Frankenstein movies were set in Germany, too. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-decided-frankenstein-was-set-in-transylvania/203254/54 "2003-09-24T05:28:01Z")
I’m confused. Did we ever figure out why **GIGObuster** thought that anyone thought _Frankenstein_ was set in Translyvania? Speaking of Translyvania, **Eve** might be interested to hear that when I was in college I was philosophy tutor to a Romanian exchange student who came from the Transylvanian region, so…ah… Actually, I don’t think I can take that anywhere interesting. Maybe I’ll just leave now. In a huff. Or possibly a minute and a huff. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-decided-frankenstein-was-set-in-transylvania/203254/55 "2003-09-24T05:43:14Z")
I am beginning to be confused myself **Lamia** , I thought I made clear that I knew already that the classic movies were set in Transylvania, I was complaining why later (much later it seems) movies like _Young Frankenstein_ had references of Frankie being set in Romania, AFAIKR this association popped in cartoons and other movies, One forgettable one: _Transylvania 6-500_. I guess old Mel Brooks gets the “blame” here. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-decided-frankenstein-was-set-in-transylvania/203254/56 "2003-09-24T05:49:10Z")
And right after hitting submit, I notice that I will confuse people more! :smack: Correction: “I knew already that the classic movies were NOT set in Transylvania” ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-decided-frankenstein-was-set-in-transylvania/203254/57 "2003-09-24T06:29:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GIGObuster \* > \*\*I am beginning to be confused myself **Lamia** , I thought I made clear that I knew already that the classic movies were set in Transylvania, I was complaining why later (much later it seems) movies like _Young Frankenstein_ had references of Frankie being set in Romania, AFAIKR this association popped in cartoons and other movies, One forgettable one: _Transylvania 6-500_. > > I guess old Mel Brooks gets the “blame” here. \*\* _Young Frankenstein_ is the only take on _Frankenstein_ I know of that references Transylvania, so that’s probably where the trend started…although I think part of the confusion around here is due to the fact that it doesn’t seem to have been all that big of a trend. Anyway, it just goes to show what kind of trouble people can cause by trying to be funny! Oddly enough, just a couple of hours ago I happened to catch the end of an _Everybody Loves Raymond_ episode in which Ray’s dad, played by [Peter Boyle](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001967/), dresses up as the Frankenstein Monster for Halloween. And in looking at the IMDB entry just now, I see that Boyle hails from darkest _ **Pennsylvania…** _ ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-decided-frankenstein-was-set-in-transylvania/203254/58 "2003-09-27T04:47:29Z")
I don’t mean to bust your chops **GIGO** but you say now that you already knew it wasn’t the classics…and you thought it was clear etc. But originally your position was **"Mmm, more searching points to other reviewers mentioning that the movie was set in a German/Austrian village, can someone verify if the 1931 movie was set in Germany? If that is so, then this movie was not the one that originated the Transylvania connection; even tough it is true that it came after Dracula."** I think this may be part of the confusion. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-decided-frankenstein-was-set-in-transylvania/203254/59 "2003-09-27T05:27:07Z")
Nah **t-keela** , that was just giving **Dogface** the benefit of the doubt, I had seen the classics and I knew they were set in Germany, but **Dogface** replying so fast made me doubt: maybe Universal just made the German setting not so obvious? (I wondered) However, as others showed, **Dogface** was dead wrong. So, that was NOT my original position. As no other contender has appeared, I will have to blame _Young Frankenstein_ (1974), as the guilty party. AFAICR cartoons from the 70’s, and later pop references, put Frankie in Transylvania and I know think it was due to the popularity of the Mel Brooks movie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-decided-frankenstein-was-set-in-transylvania/203254.md?page=2)