The SpineChiller Collection 045 (TGMG) Download issue

An Eaglcmoss Publication I, THE + < H ,/~4,a\ja/.m r/ M, Rci!mding's never been soa: A

Subscriptions/Back Numbers Simply write to The SpineChiller Collection, PO Box 1, Hastings, TN35 4TJ, enclosing a cheq ue/ postal order made payable to Eaglemoss Publications Ltd for the cover price x the number of parts you wish to receive (minimum subscription 12 parts). Or call our credit card hotline on 01424 755 755- UK Enquiries Subscriptions/Back Numbers Customer Services: oi424 755 755 UK Trade Enquiries Gary Neale 01715811371 Australia and New Zealand Subscriptions: Write to the relevant address below or call the order hotline, Please enclose a cheque/money order for the cover price x the number of parts you wish to receive (minimum subscription is 12 parts). Back Numbers: Either ask your magazine retailer to order the copies for you or. in case ofany difficulties. write to the relevant address below, enclosing a cheq ue/money order for the cover price x the number of parts you wish to receive. Australia Enquiries Telephone: (03) 9872 4000. Address: The SpineChiller Collection, MC Box 460, Eastern Mail Centre. VIC 3110. Please make cheques payable to Bissett Magazine Services P/L. New Zealand Enquiries Telephone: (09) 625 3010. Address: The SpineChilier Collection, PO Box 24013, Royal Oak. Auckland. Please make cheques payable to Mercury Direct Marketing. South Africa Subscriptions: Please call the order hotliiie Ol'l (011)6521807. Back Numbers: Please write to T he SpilleChiller Collection, Private Bag 18, centurion, 0046. enclosing a cheque/money order made payable to Eriglulnriss Publications for the cover price x ilIL' number of parts you Wish to lrlfi!lVl' Singapore, Malaysia, Malta & Cyprus FizKl' lallillllilarar available from your ' ail/lll' VtaIrIilLaf Credits . Dead Fall lrnm Still More ScaryStories (or when Youare Home Alone @1997 by RGA PublishingGmup. Inc. Key To Strands: Front Cover-FC. Super Scary StoryaSSS. Our Haunted World-OHW. Strange But TrueaSET. PqueyPUZ, Classic SeriaioCS, The UnexplainedaTU. Photographsa: Bridgeman Art Library (The Wallace Collection) SBTi(tI); Bruce Coleman Ltd [Franco Banli] Tuzibr). [Jane Burton) TU2(tr), (Pacii!c Stock)TU1(bl]; Corbis UK (Bettmanrl)0HW1(bl). (UPI) DHW2(CI): Eaglemoss Publications Uohn siren) ac; Mary Evans Picture Library Ltd SBTlicr. bl), SBTzlbr], CS3(tr); Fortean Picture Library OHWzibc). TUI(br); The Ronald GrantArchives TUiitc):lmagesColourLibrary (Charles WalkerCollenion] TU2(bI): Katz Pictures (Mansell/Tirne InElSBthll]. Ilustntlonsa: Luigi Galante (Virgil Pomiret Agency) FRONT COVER(b), CSIaA: Lee Gibbons TU1-2lbg):lohn Higgins SSSI'7,SBTl-Z(bgli Kev Hopgood OHW3-4: David Millgate FRONT COVEthlilerry Paris CSi(t), PUZi~2: Tony Smith (Virgil Pomlret Agency) onwi-z; David Wyatt (Sarah Brown Agency) OHWi(cI) ' While the publishers have made every eiiort to contact all copyright holdersoiillustraiions published in this issue, we would be pleased to hear from any that we have not been able to locate. Editorial and distribution ofi!ces Eaglemoss Publications Ltd. 7 Cromwell Road, London SW7 2HR A(c) i998 Eaglemoss Publications All rights reserved Printed by (SM lmpacl. England Colour origination by; Colourscan, Singapore PUZZLE ANSWERS l i i i . y l SUPER SCARY STORY l a i i l l snoor our; Trigger's. li's the only home with o double lerrer. BANK JOD': ii rhey keep their ielt hand on the wall or oil limes. then they will eventually come to the vault. If they still keep their left hand to the well. they can evenruolly get out. GRUESOME GROUP. (From leir lo right) one gangster has a bullet hole through his broln: the next has o missing eon : rhe next has on extra finger: the next has odd ~ n\7 coloured eyes, the nexi a missing eyebrow. one ,7, l a3 i!nally the gangster in rhe ioregroond hos o krilie in his back! STICK~UP!: n. The iorol oi the diglls in each _., , serial number moves up in s; lrorn 20 to 25 ro W 30 to 35, so the In)! one mus! mini 40. CURRENCY CRlSIS Pound is the missing currency (see grid) Next week in SUPER SCARY STORY Grim Reaper i OUR HAUNTED WORLD Crcccc 'Erc We Go, Earwig~0l STRANGE BUT TRUE Winchester House l OUR HAUNTED WORLDI l i i l i THE UNEXPLAINED Dead Fall Germany A Close Shave! STRANGE BUT TRUE Princes in the Tower CLASSIC SERIAL Frankenstein i l l l Chapter I a l Monsters of the Deep PUZZLES Cory Gangsters y CLASSIC SERIAL Frankenstein Chapter 2 THE UNEXPLAINED Alien Animals PUZZLES Creepy Crawlies he redaorange glow above the tall western hills suggested a dazzling sunset. But it was only three Oaclock in the afternoon, far [00 early for the sun to be going down. The clouds of billowing black smoke that now blackened the sky, the wail of distant emergency sirens, and the thunder of lowai!ying planes now coni!rmed Eddie Harcourtas worst fears. The canyon was on i!re. This had not been a good year for the residents of Laguna Beach, the quiet, picturesque seaside community in California. That winter had seen half the normal rainfall, resulting in classic drought conditions. Water rationing had begun in early Spring. People were being advised not to wash their cars or water their lawns. Some restaurants were even charging for a glass of tap water. The long, hot summer had left the hills and canyons surrounding Laguna Beach as dry as a desert. A stray spark from a caras exhaust or a cigarette tossed casually away could start a massive blaze. And since many of the homes in the fashionable coastal town were worth half a million dollars 01a more, the cost ofjust a Single i!re could easily rise into hundreds of millions.

Subscriptions/Back Numbers Simply write to The SpineChiller Collection, PO Box 1, Hastings, TN35 4TJ, enclosing a cheq ue/ postal order made payable to Eaglemoss Publications Ltd for the cover price x the number of parts you wish to receive (minimum subscription 12 parts). Or call our credit card hotline on 01424 755 755- UK Enquiries Subscriptions/Back Numbers Customer Services: oi424 755 755 UK Trade Enquiries Gary Neale 01715811371 Australia and New Zealand Subscriptions: Write to the relevant address below or call the order hotline, Please enclose a cheque/money order for the cover price x the number of parts you wish to receive (minimum subscription is 12 parts). Back Numbers: Either ask your magazine retailer to order the copies for you or. in case ofany difficulties. write to the relevant address below, enclosing a cheq ue/money order for the cover price x the number of parts you wish to receive. Australia Enquiries Telephone: (03) 9872 4000. Address: The SpineChiller Collection, MC Box 460, Eastern Mail Centre. VIC 3110. Please make cheques payable to Bissett Magazine Services P/L. New Zealand Enquiries Telephone: (09) 625 3010. Address: The SpineChilier Collection, PO Box 24013, Royal Oak. Auckland. Please make cheques payable to Mercury Direct Marketing. South Africa Subscriptions: Please call the order hotliiie Ol'l (011)6521807. Back Numbers: Please write to T he SpilleChiller Collection, Private Bag 18, centurion, 0046. enclosing a cheque/money order made payable to Eriglulnriss Publications for the cover price x ilIL' number of parts you Wish to lrlfi!lVl' Singapore, Malaysia, Malta & Cyprus FizKl' lallillllilarar available from your ' ail/lll' VtaIrIilLaf Credits . Dead Fall lrnm Still More ScaryStories (or when Youare Home Alone @1997 by RGA PublishingGmup. Inc. Key To Strands: Front Cover-FC. Super Scary StoryaSSS. Our Haunted World-OHW. Strange But TrueaSET. PqueyPUZ, Classic SeriaioCS, The UnexplainedaTU. Photographsa: Bridgeman Art Library (The Wallace Collection) SBTi(tI); Bruce Coleman Ltd [Franco Banli] Tuzibr). [Jane Burton) TU2(tr), (Pacii!c Stock)TU1(bl]; Corbis UK (Bettmanrl)0HW1(bl). (UPI) DHW2(CI): Eaglemoss Publications Uohn siren) ac; Mary Evans Picture Library Ltd SBTlicr. bl), SBTzlbr], CS3(tr); Fortean Picture Library OHWzibc). TUI(br); The Ronald GrantArchives TUiitc):lmagesColourLibrary (Charles WalkerCollenion] TU2(bI): Katz Pictures (Mansell/Tirne InElSBthll]. Ilustntlonsa: Luigi Galante (Virgil Pomiret Agency) FRONT COVER(b), CSIaA: Lee Gibbons TU1-2lbg):lohn Higgins SSSI'7,SBTl-Z(bgli Kev Hopgood OHW3-4: David Millgate FRONT COVEthlilerry Paris CSi(t), PUZi~2: Tony Smith (Virgil Pomlret Agency) onwi-z; David Wyatt (Sarah Brown Agency) OHWi(cI) ' While the publishers have made every eiiort to contact all copyright holdersoiillustraiions published in this issue, we would be pleased to hear from any that we have not been able to locate. Editorial and distribution ofi!ces Eaglemoss Publications Ltd. 7 Cromwell Road, London SW7 2HR A(c) i998 Eaglemoss Publications All rights reserved Printed by (SM lmpacl. England Colour origination by; Colourscan, Singapore PUZZLE ANSWERS l i i i . y l SUPER SCARY STORY l a i i l l snoor our; Trigger's. li's the only home with o double lerrer. BANK JOD': ii rhey keep their ielt hand on the wall or oil limes. then they will eventually come to the vault. If they still keep their left hand to the well. they can evenruolly get out. GRUESOME GROUP. (From leir lo right) one gangster has a bullet hole through his broln: the next has o missing eon : rhe next has on extra finger: the next has odd ~ n\7 coloured eyes, the nexi a missing eyebrow. one ,7, l a3 i!nally the gangster in rhe ioregroond hos o krilie in his back! STICK~UP!: n. The iorol oi the diglls in each _., , serial number moves up in s; lrorn 20 to 25 ro W 30 to 35, so the In)! one mus! mini 40. CURRENCY CRlSIS Pound is the missing currency (see grid) Next week in SUPER SCARY STORY Grim Reaper i OUR HAUNTED WORLD Crcccc 'Erc We Go, Earwig~0l STRANGE BUT TRUE Winchester House l OUR HAUNTED WORLDI l i i l i THE UNEXPLAINED Dead Fall Germany A Close Shave! STRANGE BUT TRUE Princes in the Tower CLASSIC SERIAL Frankenstein i l l l Chapter I a l Monsters of the Deep PUZZLES Cory Gangsters y CLASSIC SERIAL Frankenstein Chapter 2 THE UNEXPLAINED Alien Animals PUZZLES Creepy Crawlies he redaorange glow above the tall western hills suggested a dazzling sunset. But it was only three Oaclock in the afternoon, far [00 early for the sun to be going down. The clouds of billowing black smoke that now blackened the sky, the wail of distant emergency sirens, and the thunder of lowai!ying planes now coni!rmed Eddie Harcourtas worst fears. The canyon was on i!re. This had not been a good year for the residents of Laguna Beach, the quiet, picturesque seaside community in California. That winter had seen half the normal rainfall, resulting in classic drought conditions. Water rationing had begun in early Spring. People were being advised not to wash their cars or water their lawns. Some restaurants were even charging for a glass of tap water. The long, hot summer had left the hills and canyons surrounding Laguna Beach as dry as a desert. A stray spark from a caras exhaust or a cigarette tossed casually away could start a massive blaze. And since many of the homes in the fashionable coastal town were worth half a million dollars 01a more, the cost ofjust a Single i!re could easily rise into hundreds of millions.

So far the Harcourts had been lucky. The handful of i!res that had broken out around south Orange County had not come anywhere near their plush hillside neighbourhood. But this time it looked like their luck was going to change for the worse. Eddie could smell smoke in the air, and he could see i!ne bits of ash already beginning to accumulate on their concrete swimming pool deck. aEddie, son, weare going to have to leave,a his father shouted up the stairs. aThe i!re chief was just at the door. The whole canyonas being evacuated.a His heart beating madly, Eddie looked frantically around his bedroom. All of the things head collected over the past 14 years were right here: his diving trophies, photo albums and scrapbooks. In a few minutes they could all be gone. How could he ever replace them? Determined to save as much he could, Eddie piled his most precious things into his arms, then stumbled into the estate car where his father, mother, and younger sister, Karen, were already waiting. They backed out on to Cardinal Lane, already crowded with outbound trafi!c. As their carjoined the slow-moving caravan, Eddie looked back, wondering if head ever see his home again. he Harcourts spent that night in a motel inland and stayed up watching the i!reas progress on TV. Eddie and his family strained their eyes hoping to determine whether their home had been burned or spared. By noon the next day the i!re had been declared extinguished, and residents were slowly being allowed to return to their homes. aBoy, we were lucky,a Eddieas father exclaimed as he surveyed the blackened hillside. aIf one or two stray sparks had landed on our roof, we might have come home to a pile of rubble.a Awed by the fireas power, Eddie and Karen spent the rest of that afternoon walking across the charred hillside, gaping at the incredible devastation left in the infernoas wake. Trees that just yesterday had been thick with leaves were now merely blackened skeletons. The grass and scrub that normally blanketed these hills like a rich carpet were gone, replaced by a thick layer of i!ne soot. As they were just reaching the top of a hill, Karen stopped and screamed. aLook over there!a Karen cried. aIn that tree! Itas a man!a At i!rst Eddie thought his younger sister must be seeing things. But as he slowly approached the i!gure in the big oak's blackened branches, he had to agree that it was, indeed, a man. He was wearing a wet suit, the kind of insulated rubber covering Eddie himself wore when scuba diving in the ocean. The suit was badly torn in several places, suggesting that the man had been in some kind of struggle. A cylindrical air tank was strapped to the man's baCk, and a clear plastic face mask, an air hose, and a mouthpiece hung limply to one side. aA scuba diver!a Eddie gasped, unable to believe what he was seeing. aHow did a scuba diver get into a tree a full mile from the ocean?a aAnd how come he isnat burned to a crisp like everything else?a Karen asked. f: 5- Eddie was considering a number of different strange explanations when, after walking around the tree, he i!nally saw the dead manas face. He and Karen stopped short as they looked into the corpseas cold, unblinking eyes a eyes that were still i!lled with unspeakable terror. aI wonder who he is?a Karen whispered. aI know who he is,a Eddie replied. aCome on. Wead better call the police.a Eddie and Karen spent over an hour talking to the two detectives. Eddie identified the victim as jack Wilton, a local man in his late twenties head met while scuba diving off the Laguna coast. The kids had no idea what the man had been doing up on the hill, or how head got himself tangled in the tree. Neither could they tell the police how the man had died. aFrom the rips in his wet suit, I would assume that he was attacked by a shark or that he got slammed up against some sharp underwater rocks,a Eddie surmised. aYou know of many sharks living up in these hills?a one of the detectives asked sarcastically. Eddie didnat even bother to reply. he strange death of jack Wilton made the local papers, and for days people all over Laguna Beach were offering their own theories about how the poor man had come to such a strange end. Some people thought that he had been murdered and thrown into a tree. Others thought Wilton had been on his way to the coast to scuba dive when he'd been turned back by the i!re, only to i!nd himself helplessly trapped on the burning hillside. There was even a story going around that Wilton had been abducted by aliens, and that his bod)" had been beamed into the tree after they'd i!nished experimenting on him. In the end, the cause ofjack Wiltnnas death was simply declared undetermined. and the case was soon forgotten. Even Eddie Harcourt stopped thinking about it after a while. The summer holiday was almost over. and he wanted to get in all the scuba diving he possiny could. aIall be back at four oaclock." Eddieas mother said as she dropped Eddie off in front of the Laguna Beach Scuba Club. aRemember to be careful. The current is pretty strong today.a aIall be i!ne," Eddie assured his mother. "Ralph and I always stay in The (Zanynn. There are hardly any currents there at all."

So far the Harcourts had been lucky. The handful of i!res that had broken out around south Orange County had not come anywhere near their plush hillside neighbourhood. But this time it looked like their luck was going to change for the worse. Eddie could smell smoke in the air, and he could see i!ne bits of ash already beginning to accumulate on their concrete swimming pool deck. aEddie, son, weare going to have to leave,a his father shouted up the stairs. aThe i!re chief was just at the door. The whole canyonas being evacuated.a His heart beating madly, Eddie looked frantically around his bedroom. All of the things head collected over the past 14 years were right here: his diving trophies, photo albums and scrapbooks. In a few minutes they could all be gone. How could he ever replace them? Determined to save as much he could, Eddie piled his most precious things into his arms, then stumbled into the estate car where his father, mother, and younger sister, Karen, were already waiting. They backed out on to Cardinal Lane, already crowded with outbound trafi!c. As their carjoined the slow-moving caravan, Eddie looked back, wondering if head ever see his home again. he Harcourts spent that night in a motel inland and stayed up watching the i!reas progress on TV. Eddie and his family strained their eyes hoping to determine whether their home had been burned or spared. By noon the next day the i!re had been declared extinguished, and residents were slowly being allowed to return to their homes. aBoy, we were lucky,a Eddieas father exclaimed as he surveyed the blackened hillside. aIf one or two stray sparks had landed on our roof, we might have come home to a pile of rubble.a Awed by the fireas power, Eddie and Karen spent the rest of that afternoon walking across the charred hillside, gaping at the incredible devastation left in the infernoas wake. Trees that just yesterday had been thick with leaves were now merely blackened skeletons. The grass and scrub that normally blanketed these hills like a rich carpet were gone, replaced by a thick layer of i!ne soot. As they were just reaching the top of a hill, Karen stopped and screamed. aLook over there!a Karen cried. aIn that tree! Itas a man!a At i!rst Eddie thought his younger sister must be seeing things. But as he slowly approached the i!gure in the big oak's blackened branches, he had to agree that it was, indeed, a man. He was wearing a wet suit, the kind of insulated rubber covering Eddie himself wore when scuba diving in the ocean. The suit was badly torn in several places, suggesting that the man had been in some kind of struggle. A cylindrical air tank was strapped to the man's baCk, and a clear plastic face mask, an air hose, and a mouthpiece hung limply to one side. aA scuba diver!a Eddie gasped, unable to believe what he was seeing. aHow did a scuba diver get into a tree a full mile from the ocean?a aAnd how come he isnat burned to a crisp like everything else?a Karen asked. f: 5- Eddie was considering a number of different strange explanations when, after walking around the tree, he i!nally saw the dead manas face. He and Karen stopped short as they looked into the corpseas cold, unblinking eyes a eyes that were still i!lled with unspeakable terror. aI wonder who he is?a Karen whispered. aI know who he is,a Eddie replied. aCome on. Wead better call the police.a Eddie and Karen spent over an hour talking to the two detectives. Eddie identified the victim as jack Wilton, a local man in his late twenties head met while scuba diving off the Laguna coast. The kids had no idea what the man had been doing up on the hill, or how head got himself tangled in the tree. Neither could they tell the police how the man had died. aFrom the rips in his wet suit, I would assume that he was attacked by a shark or that he got slammed up against some sharp underwater rocks,a Eddie surmised. aYou know of many sharks living up in these hills?a one of the detectives asked sarcastically. Eddie didnat even bother to reply. he strange death of jack Wilton made the local papers, and for days people all over Laguna Beach were offering their own theories about how the poor man had come to such a strange end. Some people thought that he had been murdered and thrown into a tree. Others thought Wilton had been on his way to the coast to scuba dive when he'd been turned back by the i!re, only to i!nd himself helplessly trapped on the burning hillside. There was even a story going around that Wilton had been abducted by aliens, and that his bod)" had been beamed into the tree after they'd i!nished experimenting on him. In the end, the cause ofjack Wiltnnas death was simply declared undetermined. and the case was soon forgotten. Even Eddie Harcourt stopped thinking about it after a while. The summer holiday was almost over. and he wanted to get in all the scuba diving he possiny could. aIall be back at four oaclock." Eddieas mother said as she dropped Eddie off in front of the Laguna Beach Scuba Club. aRemember to be careful. The current is pretty strong today.a aIall be i!ne," Eddie assured his mother. "Ralph and I always stay in The (Zanynn. There are hardly any currents there at all."

Ralph Blanchard had been Eddieas scuba diving instructor when he i!rst took up the sport, and the Harcourts felt perfectly safe letting their 14-year-old son go into the water, as long as Ralph was there to look out for him. ' Eddie went straight to his locker and began to suit up. Ralph, already in his wet suit, stood by a counter watching a small TV. aWhatas going on, Ralph?a Eddie asked, noting the troubled look on his friendas face. aLooks like another brush fire,a Ralph said, never taking his eyes off the screen. aWhereabouts?a Eddie asked, his mind i!ashing back to the near-disaster ofjust a few weeks ago. aEl Moro Canyon,a Ralph reported. El Moro was a state-run park just north of Lagunaas city limits. There were only a few houses in the immediate area, but if the winds changed and the i!re turned south, it could enter some of the townas most densely populated neighbourhoods a including Eddieas. aI bet weall be able to see the smoke from here.a Indeed. as Eddie and Ralph walked out on to the dock where their small boat was moored, they could clearly see a plume of dark grey smoke rising over the hills immediately to the northeast. The cloud ascended in a narrow column, then spread out as it reached higher altitudes, forming the kind of huge, i!uffy mushroom one normally associated with nuclear bomb explosions. aLooks pretty bad,a Ralph noted. aMaybe I should go home,a Eddie suggested. aWhatas the point?" Ralph said. aIf the i!re turns south, the police won't let you aE " a 3" :~ aQ. 0a.a . i! anywhere near your house anyway. If you want to play it safe, stay in the water. The i!re can never get you there!a Eddie agreed. Carrying their heavy scuba tanks, he and Ralph climbed into the small motorboat theyad rented for this dive, pulled off the mooring lines, then pushed themselves away from the dock, Then Ralph immediately i!red up the engine and headed for the entrance to The Canyon, a collection] of undersea rock formations that was home to thousands of colourful underwater creatures. Ten minutes later Ralph had anchored their motorboat, and the two boys had strapped their tanks and masks into place. After giving each other the thumbs-up, they rolled off the boat and fell backwards into the cold ocean water. Eddie had always found the undersea world to be both exciting and comforting. I 4* Today was no exception. As he and Ralph i!ippered through the narrow spaces between the barnacle-crusted rocks, Eddie found himself feeling strangely at peace. Head learned that all life had evolved from the sea, and it was still the one place where he felt completely at home. or half an hour, Eddie and Ralph explored the underwater rock formations, admiring the various i!sh, plants, and crustaceans that lived there. And then, just as Eddie was swimming around the far southern end of the dive area, he felt a sudden rush of icy- cold water smash into him. aRiptidela his mind screamed as he thought of the powerful underwater currents infamous for sweeping swimmers, surfers and divers far out to sea. Swimming frantically, Eddie tried to i!ght his way out of the deadly current. But the tide proved far too strong, and soon the seaai!oor dropped out of sight as he was carried off into deep water. Remembering that the best way to escape a riptide was to swim at right angles to its current, Eddie turned and began swimming parallel to the shoreline. After about a minute, he could feel the tideas pull begin to weaken. Readjusting himself to his surroundings, he swam quickly to the surface and looked around. The riptide had apparently been far more powerful than he i!rst imagined, for he was now at least half a mile from the beach. The red and white buoy that marked the entrance to The Canyon was an almost equal distance to the south. aRalphas probably wondering what on Earth happened to me,a Eddie thought. aIad better get back before he panics.a Just then Eddieas attention was diverted by a loud engine roar. At i!rst he feared that a motorboat was bearing down on him, unaware that he was i!oating in its path. But a glance around revealed nothing anywhere in the immediate area. Then he looked up and saw what looked like a monstrous i!ying whale skimming along the nearby water. Huge sprays of vapour erupted beneath its belly, then the tingainly aircraft strained for altitude and turned towards land. aWow,a Eddie thought. aThat's probably one ofthose tanker planes that scoop water out of oceans to dump on major i!res. They probably called it in to battle the brush i!re in El Moro Canyon.a Eddie quickly adjusted his face mask. gripped his mouthpiece with his teeth, and prepared to swim back to The Canyon.

Ralph Blanchard had been Eddieas scuba diving instructor when he i!rst took up the sport, and the Harcourts felt perfectly safe letting their 14-year-old son go into the water, as long as Ralph was there to look out for him. ' Eddie went straight to his locker and began to suit up. Ralph, already in his wet suit, stood by a counter watching a small TV. aWhatas going on, Ralph?a Eddie asked, noting the troubled look on his friendas face. aLooks like another brush fire,a Ralph said, never taking his eyes off the screen. aWhereabouts?a Eddie asked, his mind i!ashing back to the near-disaster ofjust a few weeks ago. aEl Moro Canyon,a Ralph reported. El Moro was a state-run park just north of Lagunaas city limits. There were only a few houses in the immediate area, but if the winds changed and the i!re turned south, it could enter some of the townas most densely populated neighbourhoods a including Eddieas. aI bet weall be able to see the smoke from here.a Indeed. as Eddie and Ralph walked out on to the dock where their small boat was moored, they could clearly see a plume of dark grey smoke rising over the hills immediately to the northeast. The cloud ascended in a narrow column, then spread out as it reached higher altitudes, forming the kind of huge, i!uffy mushroom one normally associated with nuclear bomb explosions. aLooks pretty bad,a Ralph noted. aMaybe I should go home,a Eddie suggested. aWhatas the point?" Ralph said. aIf the i!re turns south, the police won't let you aE " a 3" :~ aQ. 0a.a . i! anywhere near your house anyway. If you want to play it safe, stay in the water. The i!re can never get you there!a Eddie agreed. Carrying their heavy scuba tanks, he and Ralph climbed into the small motorboat theyad rented for this dive, pulled off the mooring lines, then pushed themselves away from the dock, Then Ralph immediately i!red up the engine and headed for the entrance to The Canyon, a collection] of undersea rock formations that was home to thousands of colourful underwater creatures. Ten minutes later Ralph had anchored their motorboat, and the two boys had strapped their tanks and masks into place. After giving each other the thumbs-up, they rolled off the boat and fell backwards into the cold ocean water. Eddie had always found the undersea world to be both exciting and comforting. I 4* Today was no exception. As he and Ralph i!ippered through the narrow spaces between the barnacle-crusted rocks, Eddie found himself feeling strangely at peace. Head learned that all life had evolved from the sea, and it was still the one place where he felt completely at home. or half an hour, Eddie and Ralph explored the underwater rock formations, admiring the various i!sh, plants, and crustaceans that lived there. And then, just as Eddie was swimming around the far southern end of the dive area, he felt a sudden rush of icy- cold water smash into him. aRiptidela his mind screamed as he thought of the powerful underwater currents infamous for sweeping swimmers, surfers and divers far out to sea. Swimming frantically, Eddie tried to i!ght his way out of the deadly current. But the tide proved far too strong, and soon the seaai!oor dropped out of sight as he was carried off into deep water. Remembering that the best way to escape a riptide was to swim at right angles to its current, Eddie turned and began swimming parallel to the shoreline. After about a minute, he could feel the tideas pull begin to weaken. Readjusting himself to his surroundings, he swam quickly to the surface and looked around. The riptide had apparently been far more powerful than he i!rst imagined, for he was now at least half a mile from the beach. The red and white buoy that marked the entrance to The Canyon was an almost equal distance to the south. aRalphas probably wondering what on Earth happened to me,a Eddie thought. aIad better get back before he panics.a Just then Eddieas attention was diverted by a loud engine roar. At i!rst he feared that a motorboat was bearing down on him, unaware that he was i!oating in its path. But a glance around revealed nothing anywhere in the immediate area. Then he looked up and saw what looked like a monstrous i!ying whale skimming along the nearby water. Huge sprays of vapour erupted beneath its belly, then the tingainly aircraft strained for altitude and turned towards land. aWow,a Eddie thought. aThat's probably one ofthose tanker planes that scoop water out of oceans to dump on major i!res. They probably called it in to battle the brush i!re in El Moro Canyon.a Eddie quickly adjusted his face mask. gripped his mouthpiece with his teeth, and prepared to swim back to The Canyon.

: e terror Wilton en eda when he found} nsidi: the belly of the they carried. In his mind Eddie pictured I a Wiltonas horror as the scoop was lowered a ad aa- eiaeamed, the ao a115 teeth. Kicking .Vgrpath. But it was too late. The ' knew, he was spinning head 'Lke a piece of clothing in some washing machine. Wham! His . Coming around, he realised ruck the metal interior of the 5/5 op. He was now inside the belly of gallons of sea-water. to the surface, he pounded n the steel ceiling. "a ycried at the top of his lungs. an being in here!a ce was lost beneath the 'ormous propeller- er sloshed second time, and he found himself tumbling through the sky along with thousands of gallons of sea-water towards the burning ground below. aDid the impact kill him?a Eddie wondered. aOr did his heart instantly stop from raw fear before he even hit the ground?a consider what horror must have. overwhelmed Jack Wilton during those last few seconds of life, for just then he heard the whine of hydraulic motors, and a crack of light appeared ahead of him. The scoop was lowering. Eddie waved his arms wildly, trying to grab a handhold, but Through the nsm V make out the grid1 bright red ceramic tile _ and the glimmering b swimming pools. Immediately Eddie rec' outline of the large house be distinctive kidney shape 0 v pool, its garden butte

: e terror Wilton en eda when he found} nsidi: the belly of the they carried. In his mind Eddie pictured I a Wiltonas horror as the scoop was lowered a ad aa- eiaeamed, the ao a115 teeth. Kicking .Vgrpath. But it was too late. The ' knew, he was spinning head 'Lke a piece of clothing in some washing machine. Wham! His . Coming around, he realised ruck the metal interior of the 5/5 op. He was now inside the belly of gallons of sea-water. to the surface, he pounded n the steel ceiling. "a ycried at the top of his lungs. an being in here!a ce was lost beneath the 'ormous propeller- er sloshed second time, and he found himself tumbling through the sky along with thousands of gallons of sea-water towards the burning ground below. aDid the impact kill him?a Eddie wondered. aOr did his heart instantly stop from raw fear before he even hit the ground?a consider what horror must have. overwhelmed Jack Wilton during those last few seconds of life, for just then he heard the whine of hydraulic motors, and a crack of light appeared ahead of him. The scoop was lowering. Eddie waved his arms wildly, trying to grab a handhold, but Through the nsm V make out the grid1 bright red ceramic tile _ and the glimmering b swimming pools. Immediately Eddie rec' outline of the large house be distinctive kidney shape 0 v pool, its garden butte

. . l 1923. A t d ' lth' f t If some more chlulng tales g n an ms er am Jewe Ie was rave mg on y ,OUR WORLD BathO Germany for THE ORIENT EXPRESS GHOST V the famous Orient Express firm was informed that his .a crime had been discovered. Rather than face shame a a 0f ghOStsa and and imprisonment, he shot himself when the train \ \a a , was just outside Wurzburg. A few months later. a paranormal investigator called Harry Price unknowingly made the same train journey. Just outside Wurzburg station. he heard a \ gunshot, then felt a strong. unseen presence in his carriage. The porter told Mr Price that he was travelling in the very same carriage as the man who had killed himself. Similar reports had been made by many other passengers in that spooky carriage. lcv FINGER or FATE In 1951, a carpenter working on a roof in Kempton, near Dusseldorf, had his life ended in the most chilling and unlikely way. A massive icicle, two metres long and 16cm round, fell from the cloudless, blue sky without any warning. The extremely unlucky roofer was impaled by it against the roof. The odds against someone losing their life in this way are too huge to calculate. MlNl-UFOS OF WARTIME GERMANY In 1943, the American B-17 bombers (below) of the 348th Bomb Group were just starting a bombing attack on Schweinfurt when they ran into countless tiny, silvery discs! Flying in formation, the discs were heading straight for the 3-175! Major E Holmes described them as being 2.5cm thick and about 10cm across. He also reported that one of the 3-175 had been hit on the tailplane by a disc, but that no damage had resulted. Neither the military nor anyone else has ever explained these discs, so they dei!nitely qualify for the name Unidentii!ed Flying Objects! :/ i PIPED AWAY The poem The Pied Piper ofHamelz'n is based on a true story. In June 1284, a piper arrived in the ratainfested town of Hamelin. For a fee, he agreed to get rid of the rats. When he started to play, rats came from every part of town and followed him to the river, where they all drowned. However, the town ofi!cials refused to pay his fee and the '. piper played his pipe again. a This time it was Hamelinas ' I30 children who followed him as if in a trancey into a cave. a: Neither they nor the piper were seen again! To this day, music is forbidden in the old quarter of Hamelin 011 June 26.

. . l 1923. A t d ' lth' f t If some more chlulng tales g n an ms er am Jewe Ie was rave mg on y ,OUR WORLD BathO Germany for THE ORIENT EXPRESS GHOST V the famous Orient Express firm was informed that his .a crime had been discovered. Rather than face shame a a 0f ghOStsa and and imprisonment, he shot himself when the train \ \a a , was just outside Wurzburg. A few months later. a paranormal investigator called Harry Price unknowingly made the same train journey. Just outside Wurzburg station. he heard a \ gunshot, then felt a strong. unseen presence in his carriage. The porter told Mr Price that he was travelling in the very same carriage as the man who had killed himself. Similar reports had been made by many other passengers in that spooky carriage. lcv FINGER or FATE In 1951, a carpenter working on a roof in Kempton, near Dusseldorf, had his life ended in the most chilling and unlikely way. A massive icicle, two metres long and 16cm round, fell from the cloudless, blue sky without any warning. The extremely unlucky roofer was impaled by it against the roof. The odds against someone losing their life in this way are too huge to calculate. MlNl-UFOS OF WARTIME GERMANY In 1943, the American B-17 bombers (below) of the 348th Bomb Group were just starting a bombing attack on Schweinfurt when they ran into countless tiny, silvery discs! Flying in formation, the discs were heading straight for the 3-175! Major E Holmes described them as being 2.5cm thick and about 10cm across. He also reported that one of the 3-175 had been hit on the tailplane by a disc, but that no damage had resulted. Neither the military nor anyone else has ever explained these discs, so they dei!nitely qualify for the name Unidentii!ed Flying Objects! :/ i PIPED AWAY The poem The Pied Piper ofHamelz'n is based on a true story. In June 1284, a piper arrived in the ratainfested town of Hamelin. For a fee, he agreed to get rid of the rats. When he started to play, rats came from every part of town and followed him to the river, where they all drowned. However, the town ofi!cials refused to pay his fee and the '. piper played his pipe again. a This time it was Hamelinas ' I30 children who followed him as if in a trancey into a cave. a: Neither they nor the piper were seen again! To this day, music is forbidden in the old quarter of Hamelin 011 June 26.

A friend of a friendh ard this . aa it... 4 " " m 1 A CLOSE SHAVE; ZThe woman next to her launched into conversation. It turned out that they were both going to the same area. so the a friendly girl offered her a lift. 3th! woman said a3 how very grateful she was for the ride. as she didn't run a car herself. 5When offered a sweet. the girl noticed that the woman's huge arm was covered in thick. black hair! Five minutes later, the girl realised that the woman's bag was still on the front seat! . girl decided that. somehow, she must get her out of the car. While the woman was out of the Car. the girl slammed the passenger door shut and sped away. She stopped the car and 1 Olooked inside it a gasping at her narrow escape. There, in the bag. was an enormous, a bloodstained meat cleaver!

A friend of a friendh ard this . aa it... 4 " " m 1 A CLOSE SHAVE; ZThe woman next to her launched into conversation. It turned out that they were both going to the same area. so the a friendly girl offered her a lift. 3th! woman said a3 how very grateful she was for the ride. as she didn't run a car herself. 5When offered a sweet. the girl noticed that the woman's huge arm was covered in thick. black hair! Five minutes later, the girl realised that the woman's bag was still on the front seat! . girl decided that. somehow, she must get her out of the car. While the woman was out of the Car. the girl slammed the passenger door shut and sped away. She stopped the car and 1 Olooked inside it a gasping at her narrow escape. There, in the bag. was an enormous, a bloodstained meat cleaver!

I I Evidence no: 45/2 a Dld Richard aI kill his nephews so he could bewme king? WHOSE BONES? 0 At some time between 1603 and 1614, a small skeleton was found inside a tunnel under the Tower. At first, people thought that it might belong to one of the Princes. But investigations proved that it was an ape skeleton. The ape had probably escaped from a zoo that was once in the Tower. 0 In 1647, the skeletons of two Children were found in a room near the Toweras royal apartments. The room was hidden behind a wall and had been sealed so that no one could escape. But it was later revealed that the bones belonged to children younger than Edward and Richard. 0 On July 1'7, 167%, workers were demolishing an old staircase that led to the White Tower, part of the Tower of London. There they unearthed a chest buried deep underground, Inside were the skeletons of two children of different ages. Most historians now agree these were the Princesa remains. Evidence no: 45I4 Sir Thomas More pointed the finger at Richard SW :1 'S hasRichard strengthened hi k the ' abeth of Yor _, Eigcesa oldest Sister. Henry CONCLUSION 11 will probed) ie er be possible to know \i'lielhe RlClladlaCl III or Henry \'11 killed the Princes in [he 'l'owei: Both (ermian had 21 motive. All we sure til I lll'dl two boys lost their lives in liaziglc (llcuiiislmu .,.

I I Evidence no: 45/2 a Dld Richard aI kill his nephews so he could bewme king? WHOSE BONES? 0 At some time between 1603 and 1614, a small skeleton was found inside a tunnel under the Tower. At first, people thought that it might belong to one of the Princes. But investigations proved that it was an ape skeleton. The ape had probably escaped from a zoo that was once in the Tower. 0 In 1647, the skeletons of two Children were found in a room near the Toweras royal apartments. The room was hidden behind a wall and had been sealed so that no one could escape. But it was later revealed that the bones belonged to children younger than Edward and Richard. 0 On July 1'7, 167%, workers were demolishing an old staircase that led to the White Tower, part of the Tower of London. There they unearthed a chest buried deep underground, Inside were the skeletons of two children of different ages. Most historians now agree these were the Princesa remains. Evidence no: 45I4 Sir Thomas More pointed the finger at Richard SW :1 'S hasRichard strengthened hi k the ' abeth of Yor _, Eigcesa oldest Sister. Henry CONCLUSION 11 will probed) ie er be possible to know \i'lielhe RlClladlaCl III or Henry \'11 killed the Princes in [he 'l'owei: Both (ermian had 21 motive. All we sure til I lll'dl two boys lost their lives in liaziglc (llcuiiislmu .,.

Chapter 1 rdni!eusi!i Retold from a story by Mary Shelley e found him adrii! on an ice i!i! many 61% father had taken her into our family when leagw inside the Arctic Circle. The sled dogs that lay around him were already dead. In a few days he would join them. But before he died, he relayed to me, Captain Robert Walton, his terrible tale. This, in his own words, is the story of Victor Frankenstein. i!g:a familyas estate just outside Geneva. Along with me, my parents and two younger brothers, Ernest and William, lived a girl called Elizabeth. My mother and Ihad the happiest of childhoods at my she was a young child. Elizabeth had golden hair, bright blue eyes and a veiy gentle manner. I grew to care for her very much. As my two brothers grew older, my family took on a nanny, justine, to help care for them. She was kind and understanding, and soon became like an older sister to us all. The i!rst deep sadness I encountered was when my mother died from scarlet fever when I was seventeen. It was shortly before Iwas to enrol at the university in Ingolstadt, many daysa ride away in Bavaria. It was my motheras dying wish that Elizabeth and I should one day mariy. But I needed to learn all that I could about science before I wed that beautiful, saintly girl. i!agga started. I remember reading ancient texts from a young age. I also remember the excitement I felt when I was i!fteen on seeing a Violent thunderstorm erupt over the mountains near our home. After witnessing the incredible power of a lightning bolt reducing a tall tree to a stump, I was filled with wonder and read My about electricity. I was anxious to learn all that I could about the hidden secrets of nature a not for profit, but for the good of mankind. What glory! Idonat know when my interest in science I recall the long, tearful goodbye that occurred the day the carriage took me and Henry Clerval, my best friend, to Ingolstadt to study. I promised to visit as often as I could and felt great sadness as the carriage pulled away from my family and my beloved Elizabeth. Henry did not care for science, but for the gassig and tales of heroism and daring. He hoped that one day his name would be alongside those of the brave adventurers that he read about. His cheerful manner raised my spirits and as we reached Ingolstadt, I wasted no time in J enrolling at the university. <ma:_ ver the next two years, I devoted 6a? the most horrii!c experiences in my quest myself completely to science. It for an answer. Yet I not only endured them. became my whole life. Iread widely, but did so with great enjoyment and A attended lectures and sought out the willingness. company of great scientific minds, all the To examine the causes of life, one must while learning eveiything I could. I met study death. I learned all . there was with Henry often at first, but as my studies concerning My, but this was not took over, I saw him less and less. In all that enough. I knew I must also observe the time I never visited my family. natural decay of the human body. Like some Only a person who has experienced the supernatural fiend, I spent days and nights lure of science can understand how and why in hospitals, beside My slabs, and m IauaIas so focused. In other subjects of study, vaults and tombs, observing the processes of you can go only as far as others have gone death and decay. before you. But in science, there are always My attention was i!rmly fixed on the new challenges to meet and amazing most gruesome of spectacles. I saw how the w discoveries to be made. fine form of man wasted away. I saw how the d Over time, I was drawn to the study of wonders of the eye, the brain and the heart human and animal life, and to ask myself became food for the worm. I examined where life came from. It was the boldest of every possible detail very closely. 1 questions and I quickly became obsessed by catalogued everything that OCCLIIIaIaCCl'Hl the it. Looking back now, I see that my change from life to death, and in doing so. enthusiasm was unnatural, for l undenvent hoped to learn how to reverse the process. "\ Underlined words are explained in WORD POWER. l i . '

Chapter 1 rdni!eusi!i Retold from a story by Mary Shelley e found him adrii! on an ice i!i! many 61% father had taken her into our family when leagw inside the Arctic Circle. The sled dogs that lay around him were already dead. In a few days he would join them. But before he died, he relayed to me, Captain Robert Walton, his terrible tale. This, in his own words, is the story of Victor Frankenstein. i!g:a familyas estate just outside Geneva. Along with me, my parents and two younger brothers, Ernest and William, lived a girl called Elizabeth. My mother and Ihad the happiest of childhoods at my she was a young child. Elizabeth had golden hair, bright blue eyes and a veiy gentle manner. I grew to care for her very much. As my two brothers grew older, my family took on a nanny, justine, to help care for them. She was kind and understanding, and soon became like an older sister to us all. The i!rst deep sadness I encountered was when my mother died from scarlet fever when I was seventeen. It was shortly before Iwas to enrol at the university in Ingolstadt, many daysa ride away in Bavaria. It was my motheras dying wish that Elizabeth and I should one day mariy. But I needed to learn all that I could about science before I wed that beautiful, saintly girl. i!agga started. I remember reading ancient texts from a young age. I also remember the excitement I felt when I was i!fteen on seeing a Violent thunderstorm erupt over the mountains near our home. After witnessing the incredible power of a lightning bolt reducing a tall tree to a stump, I was filled with wonder and read My about electricity. I was anxious to learn all that I could about the hidden secrets of nature a not for profit, but for the good of mankind. What glory! Idonat know when my interest in science I recall the long, tearful goodbye that occurred the day the carriage took me and Henry Clerval, my best friend, to Ingolstadt to study. I promised to visit as often as I could and felt great sadness as the carriage pulled away from my family and my beloved Elizabeth. Henry did not care for science, but for the gassig and tales of heroism and daring. He hoped that one day his name would be alongside those of the brave adventurers that he read about. His cheerful manner raised my spirits and as we reached Ingolstadt, I wasted no time in J enrolling at the university. <ma:_ ver the next two years, I devoted 6a? the most horrii!c experiences in my quest myself completely to science. It for an answer. Yet I not only endured them. became my whole life. Iread widely, but did so with great enjoyment and A attended lectures and sought out the willingness. company of great scientific minds, all the To examine the causes of life, one must while learning eveiything I could. I met study death. I learned all . there was with Henry often at first, but as my studies concerning My, but this was not took over, I saw him less and less. In all that enough. I knew I must also observe the time I never visited my family. natural decay of the human body. Like some Only a person who has experienced the supernatural fiend, I spent days and nights lure of science can understand how and why in hospitals, beside My slabs, and m IauaIas so focused. In other subjects of study, vaults and tombs, observing the processes of you can go only as far as others have gone death and decay. before you. But in science, there are always My attention was i!rmly fixed on the new challenges to meet and amazing most gruesome of spectacles. I saw how the w discoveries to be made. fine form of man wasted away. I saw how the d Over time, I was drawn to the study of wonders of the eye, the brain and the heart human and animal life, and to ask myself became food for the worm. I examined where life came from. It was the boldest of every possible detail very closely. 1 questions and I quickly became obsessed by catalogued everything that OCCLIIIaIaCCl'Hl the it. Looking back now, I see that my change from life to death, and in doing so. enthusiasm was unnatural, for l undenvent hoped to learn how to reverse the process. "\ Underlined words are explained in WORD POWER. l i . '

ire day, that dream came true. I g? alone had discovered the most astonishing of secrets, the secret of transforming death into life. I am afraid, Captain Walton, that this secret nrust stay with me while I live, and be buried with me when I die. For knowledge of it would lead you to misery and destruction. As it has me. - The discovery overwhelmed me for some time. I had still to prepare a container, ( a body, for my marvellous gift. I feared that I would be unable to build such a complex thing. Yet I dared not fail. Returning to graveyards and slaughter houses, I collected my ghoulish raw materials a body parts of the dead. arr'rgi!tatafrs Mary Shelley (1797-1851)was the daughter of political philosopher William Godwin and early feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. In 1813, i she met the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and they married three years ,}\ later. The idea for the story of Frankenstein came when the Shelleys g spent the summer at Lake Geneva with the poet Lord Byron. He suggested that they each write a ghost story. Mary Shelleyas was by far the most successful and was published in 1818. She wrote i!ve more novels, including Valperga (1823) and Falkner (1837), but recaptured the power of Frankenstein. Mary Shelleyas life was deeply sad. Her ,r husband drowned in 1822 and only one of her four children survived infancy. none Gradually, carefully, I began to put them together. I stopped attending lectures, but my professors didnat seem to mind. Neither did they enquire further when I refused to tell them anything of my research. I changed dwellings, moving to a large chamber at the top of a house. It was separated from the other rooms by a gallery and a long staircase. In this chamber 61% I had my workshop, which would have disgusted any normal person. <M> it from the smeared windows of my workshop. Although I missed Elizabeth and my family greatly, I never replied to their letters because I was so obsessed by my experiments. Now my limbs tremble and my eyes swim at the memory. But at the time, nothing could take me away from my task. I worked all hours. The possibility of creating life from death drove me on through the toil. I grew dangerously thin and my face was a ghostly white mask from which my eyes stared out of sunken, hollow sockets. When occasional thoughts of Elizabeth and my family stopped me from working, I slept on a filthy mat on the floor. Nearing the completion of my work, I fell into a fever, making sleep almost impossible. When awake, I became so nervous that I wotlldbjump out of my skin at the smallest unexpected sound. I shied away from any human contact and didnat see Henry for many nrorrths. Itwas a beautiful summer, but I only saw {gab riven like a demon through the autumn, I continued to work until Done stormy night in November. After the claps of thunder and i!ashes of lightning had ceased. I stood back proudly. My work was finished. A living being was about to rise from where before there had been only death. The night was pitch black. The only sound I could hear was the gentle churning of my tanks olachemicals. 'lahat, and the rain rattling against the filthy windows of my cursed apartment. *4 \J A. My creation was a giant i!gure ofa man, fully eight feet tall, and designed to be a magnificent, handsome fellow. But when I looked at him properly for the first time, I saw something quite different. How can I describe my emotions at the catastrophe that lay before me. His limbs and head were in proportion, and Iad carefully selected his features to be beautiful. Beautiful? Great Godl His hair was shiny and black and his teeth pearly white, but these were the only good points. His yellow skin barely covered the muscles and blood vessels underneath. I looked agw at his heavy brow and ghostly eye sockets, his shrivelled, unnatural complexion and his straight, black lips. With my heart pounding, I watched in complete horror as one watery, pale eye opened and blinked. A breath rattled the creatureas frame and a convulsion shook its arms and legs. It was stirring... "a P a A f r rWGK OWEK M a a sheet of i!oating ice a r a leagu_e a a unit of distance equal to about - flve kilometres scarlet fever ~ a disease whose symptoms include a rash and a red tongue My a keenly; enthusiastically classics a literature of lasting importance, especially by ancient Greek and Roman , writers lure a an attraction or temptation . anatomy a the study of the human body's structure mortuary a a building where dead bodies a are stored before burial i aghast ~ overcome with horror r l i a convulsion a a violent shake orjolt

ire day, that dream came true. I g? alone had discovered the most astonishing of secrets, the secret of transforming death into life. I am afraid, Captain Walton, that this secret nrust stay with me while I live, and be buried with me when I die. For knowledge of it would lead you to misery and destruction. As it has me. - The discovery overwhelmed me for some time. I had still to prepare a container, ( a body, for my marvellous gift. I feared that I would be unable to build such a complex thing. Yet I dared not fail. Returning to graveyards and slaughter houses, I collected my ghoulish raw materials a body parts of the dead. arr'rgi!tatafrs Mary Shelley (1797-1851)was the daughter of political philosopher William Godwin and early feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. In 1813, i she met the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and they married three years ,}\ later. The idea for the story of Frankenstein came when the Shelleys g spent the summer at Lake Geneva with the poet Lord Byron. He suggested that they each write a ghost story. Mary Shelleyas was by far the most successful and was published in 1818. She wrote i!ve more novels, including Valperga (1823) and Falkner (1837), but recaptured the power of Frankenstein. Mary Shelleyas life was deeply sad. Her ,r husband drowned in 1822 and only one of her four children survived infancy. none Gradually, carefully, I began to put them together. I stopped attending lectures, but my professors didnat seem to mind. Neither did they enquire further when I refused to tell them anything of my research. I changed dwellings, moving to a large chamber at the top of a house. It was separated from the other rooms by a gallery and a long staircase. In this chamber 61% I had my workshop, which would have disgusted any normal person. <M> it from the smeared windows of my workshop. Although I missed Elizabeth and my family greatly, I never replied to their letters because I was so obsessed by my experiments. Now my limbs tremble and my eyes swim at the memory. But at the time, nothing could take me away from my task. I worked all hours. The possibility of creating life from death drove me on through the toil. I grew dangerously thin and my face was a ghostly white mask from which my eyes stared out of sunken, hollow sockets. When occasional thoughts of Elizabeth and my family stopped me from working, I slept on a filthy mat on the floor. Nearing the completion of my work, I fell into a fever, making sleep almost impossible. When awake, I became so nervous that I wotlldbjump out of my skin at the smallest unexpected sound. I shied away from any human contact and didnat see Henry for many nrorrths. Itwas a beautiful summer, but I only saw {gab riven like a demon through the autumn, I continued to work until Done stormy night in November. After the claps of thunder and i!ashes of lightning had ceased. I stood back proudly. My work was finished. A living being was about to rise from where before there had been only death. The night was pitch black. The only sound I could hear was the gentle churning of my tanks olachemicals. 'lahat, and the rain rattling against the filthy windows of my cursed apartment. *4 \J A. My creation was a giant i!gure ofa man, fully eight feet tall, and designed to be a magnificent, handsome fellow. But when I looked at him properly for the first time, I saw something quite different. How can I describe my emotions at the catastrophe that lay before me. His limbs and head were in proportion, and Iad carefully selected his features to be beautiful. Beautiful? Great Godl His hair was shiny and black and his teeth pearly white, but these were the only good points. His yellow skin barely covered the muscles and blood vessels underneath. I looked agw at his heavy brow and ghostly eye sockets, his shrivelled, unnatural complexion and his straight, black lips. With my heart pounding, I watched in complete horror as one watery, pale eye opened and blinked. A breath rattled the creatureas frame and a convulsion shook its arms and legs. It was stirring... "a P a A f r rWGK OWEK M a a sheet of i!oating ice a r a leagu_e a a unit of distance equal to about - flve kilometres scarlet fever ~ a disease whose symptoms include a rash and a red tongue My a keenly; enthusiastically classics a literature of lasting importance, especially by ancient Greek and Roman , writers lure a an attraction or temptation . anatomy a the study of the human body's structure mortuary a a building where dead bodies a are stored before burial i aghast ~ overcome with horror r l i a convulsion a a violent shake orjolt

STERS OF ~ MO THE DEE ' .t: . a a aai! WAVE WIZARD The coastal people of Japan have suffered the death and destruction of tsunamis for centuries. The tsunami is a giant wave that starts in the middle of the ocean and picks up size and speed before crashing on to dry land. The ancient Japanese blamed the terrifying The sea covers over 70% of W """ " the Earth's surface, and the deep oceans are the last truly unexplored places on Earth. Perhaps it is not surprising then, that some people still believe that these watery depths are the hiding place of underwater monsters. Hundreds of years ago, most people believed that ' a i!ireiaaeaqsrwereuhome to terrifying A Slit/ALLOWED WHOLE! monster waves on the appearance of 6A>> monsters that could swallomz a Anc'e'a aa"urea amuga a strange looking sea creature that . . _ g I sea monsters could eat ships whom This they named the asea banzea (sea treasure (above) is, monk). This creature was part man i!uckily, just a fake. and part i!sh. As well as being a dab "x ' hand at whipping up a storm, the sea bonze was blamed by sailors for capsizing boats. Each boat had a special sailor whose job it was to ward off the sea bonze by waving a stick covered with red streamers. The legend of the sea bonze may have come about because of the manta ray, 0 weird looking i!sh that has human features when you look at it from ~galaes. The Scandinavians 331mg legend. They also 6 theirs the sea monk. j 1::me cath , evil-bold, W . rat/(aimele , , . i. .. KRAKEN CHAOS > LOST SURVIVORS From Norway came the story of the Three PleSlosayrS lurk near Kraken. Described as a giant squid the AdegASSeanls gdge _. ha"? , , they survrved the prehistoric or lobster, Witnesses claimed the age, or are they {the work of Kraken could be as long as 2km! ln trick pho'ography or one story from the 17005 the Bishop computgr graphics? of Midaros claimed to have mistaken a beached Kraken for a rock. The Bishop set up an altar on the Krakenas back, who was obliging /50 , enough to let him finish the service Cm before sliding back into the sea. \Ia Krakens were thought to lurk in waters where fish were plentiful. For this reason they were sometimes called athe fisherman's friend'. But having a net full of fish was a mixed blessing because the fishermen believed that the fearsome Kraken, could rise out of the water and swallow their ships whole! a All too ridiculous to be true? WA(c)allaf bear in mind that a giant squid a a r measuring Qbm from tentaclA(c)i!WA(c) .p. tentacle tip a has been discovered. " That's nearly as long as a tennis \ court! And this monster isnat even the biggest squid known to exist. The parts of tentacles, which have been A>> found inside the bellies of sperm whales, suggest that there are some mega monsters around! NESSIE AND FRIENDS Not all monsters of the deep have been created ignorgnce of F; nature a or how can we Imam . many sightings thatiwme , .a

STERS OF ~ MO THE DEE ' .t: . a a aai! WAVE WIZARD The coastal people of Japan have suffered the death and destruction of tsunamis for centuries. The tsunami is a giant wave that starts in the middle of the ocean and picks up size and speed before crashing on to dry land. The ancient Japanese blamed the terrifying The sea covers over 70% of W """ " the Earth's surface, and the deep oceans are the last truly unexplored places on Earth. Perhaps it is not surprising then, that some people still believe that these watery depths are the hiding place of underwater monsters. Hundreds of years ago, most people believed that ' a i!ireiaaeaqsrwereuhome to terrifying A Slit/ALLOWED WHOLE! monster waves on the appearance of 6A>> monsters that could swallomz a Anc'e'a aa"urea amuga a strange looking sea creature that . . _ g I sea monsters could eat ships whom This they named the asea banzea (sea treasure (above) is, monk). This creature was part man i!uckily, just a fake. and part i!sh. As well as being a dab "x ' hand at whipping up a storm, the sea bonze was blamed by sailors for capsizing boats. Each boat had a special sailor whose job it was to ward off the sea bonze by waving a stick covered with red streamers. The legend of the sea bonze may have come about because of the manta ray, 0 weird looking i!sh that has human features when you look at it from ~galaes. The Scandinavians 331mg legend. They also 6 theirs the sea monk. j 1::me cath , evil-bold, W . rat/(aimele , , . i. .. KRAKEN CHAOS > LOST SURVIVORS From Norway came the story of the Three PleSlosayrS lurk near Kraken. Described as a giant squid the AdegASSeanls gdge _. ha"? , , they survrved the prehistoric or lobster, Witnesses claimed the age, or are they {the work of Kraken could be as long as 2km! ln trick pho'ography or one story from the 17005 the Bishop computgr graphics? of Midaros claimed to have mistaken a beached Kraken for a rock. The Bishop set up an altar on the Krakenas back, who was obliging /50 , enough to let him finish the service Cm before sliding back into the sea. \Ia Krakens were thought to lurk in waters where fish were plentiful. For this reason they were sometimes called athe fisherman's friend'. But having a net full of fish was a mixed blessing because the fishermen believed that the fearsome Kraken, could rise out of the water and swallow their ships whole! a All too ridiculous to be true? WA(c)allaf bear in mind that a giant squid a a r measuring Qbm from tentaclA(c)i!WA(c) .p. tentacle tip a has been discovered. " That's nearly as long as a tennis \ court! And this monster isnat even the biggest squid known to exist. The parts of tentacles, which have been A>> found inside the bellies of sperm whales, suggest that there are some mega monsters around! NESSIE AND FRIENDS Not all monsters of the deep have been created ignorgnce of F; nature a or how can we Imam . many sightings thatiwme , .a

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