Face of a Monster

The year 2018 will herald the 200th anniversary of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelleys Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. The timing seems right for the story of a real monster. German-born immigrant Anton Probst arrived in New York in 1863. Within two hours of his arrival he enlisted in the Union Army. During the American Civil War, Probst bore witness to mankinds brutality. Afterwards, he became an inmate at the disreputable Blockley Almshouse in Philadelphia. Frankenstein was first conceived by Shelley in 1816. Her monster was an embodiment of abandonment and loneliness, feelings Shelley shared. In despair, the creature resorted to violence. Fifty years after Frankensteins conception, Anton Probst adopted characteristics of Shelleys monstrous creation. He became Philadelphias first mass-murderer when he slaughtered members of the Christopher Dearing family. After his death, Probsts story continued. The creature that he had become left a deep impression on the people of Philadelphia and New York. Researchers used Anton Probsts body to show the effects of galvanization, the same means by which Frankensteins monster stirred to life. Incredibly, similarities surface between Shelley and her circle, her monster, and events that transpired when the blood of innocents was shed an ocean away. One defining difference is present. Unlike Shelleys creature, the story of Americas monster is very real.