mcquillen says that its back story shows how genius is often the product of place and circumstance. the novel might not even exist, were it not for a vacation in switzerland that mary shelley took in 1816 with her future husband, the poet, percy shelley, and their friend, lord byron. >> lord byron proposed that they have a competition to write the best ghost story. one evening, byron and shelley were having a conversation about the reanimation of people and if you can bring something or someone back to life. and after that, she had a very sleepless night and this sort of waking dream, where she saw dr. frankenstein with this creation. and from this sort of vision, she, you know, had the idea for the novel "frankenstein". >> reporter: since the story's conception, "frankenstein" has been popularized in many different forms, including multiple film adaptations. >> it's alive! it's alive! it's alive! >> reporter: but what appeared on screen was not necessarily what mary shelley originally envisioned. in fact, her companions' influence went beyond the inspiration for the story we all kn