Mary Shelley’s iconic gothic novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818) is a classic example of early science fiction. There’s a monster in it and it, for the time, was scary and terrifying OMG.
But did you know there was an unauthorised sequel written in 1995? Penned by the author and criminal Henry Dermott, later jailed in 2001 for arson and embezzlement, it’s an awful novella with a dodgy title—Frankenstein 2; or, This Times There’s More Than One of Them.
Explore today’s post about this subject and [insert further rambling discourse here to delay the reader from getting to the main part of the feature].
The Most Stupid Unauthorised Sequel of All Time in Frankenstein 2
“I do know that for the sympathy of TWO living beings, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.”
The big problem with McDermott’s work is immediately obvious—he didn’t understand that Frankenstein is the name of the monster’s creator and not the monster.
In 1995, when challenged on this glaring error, McDermott told the literary periodical Dodgy Cheap Books:
“Are you stupid or what?! Why would Frankenstein NOT be the monster, you inbreds? Jesus. I’m working with goddamn amateurs all the time…”
By 1996, when interviewed by the police for arson charges after detonating 17 ice cream vans out of pure malice, McDermott had realised he’d made an error. His police interview reveals this admission:
“Yeah, I fucked it up. I’m not telling those wankers in the press, though, because I need to hold on to my integrity. This is the main reason I blew up those goddamn ice cream vans. Bastards. They’re the scourge of society and a manifestation of communism writ large.”
In fact, it appears McDermott wrote Frankenstein 2; or, This Times There’s More Than One of Them primarily due to his vehement hatred of ice cream vans. The final chapter results in the two monsters (Frankensteins) going on an insane rampage and smashing up loads of ice cream businesses, vans, and parlours:
“The two big green Frankensteins were smashing shit up! Yeah! One of them went, ‘Frank! Here! It’s an ice cream parlour! Let’s smash it up!’ and Frank went, ‘YES GERALD! LET US DO THIS!’ They stormed the ice cream parlour and inside the patrons screamed and wailed and panicked. Oh God! There was much peril with several chairs smashed, a window broken, and all the refrigerators were turned off so the ice cream would melt. Cackling like mad bastards, the two Frankensteins ambled out of the parlour to continue on with their righteous rampage.”
McDermott ends the novel with a hate-filled epilogue that his violent hatred of vans containing ice cream stems from negative incidents with them in his childhood. Principally, his heavily Conservative father viewed dairy produce as the work of Satan and, thus, limited his young son’s intake.
Brainwashed and holding negative memories of the delightful, sugar snack, McDermott’s only logical cathartic route was to write a sequel to Frankenstein during which he could offload his pent up rage.
The book isn’t very good, but at least it was therapeutic for him.
Furious Response From the Ice Cream Community
Johnathan Vanilla, director of The International Ice Cream Organisation (IICO), responded angrily to Frankenstein 2; or, This Times There’s More Than One of Them. In a 1996 press conference hastily held in London, he told the gathered world’s press:
“I never expected to associate Frankenstein with ice cream. I daresay that Mr. McDermott has ruined not only the legacy of Mary Shelley’s famous work, but also impacted on everyone’s enjoyment of frozen dairy foodstuffs. It makes me sad, which is why we’re launching a multi-billion pound lawsuit against that bastard son of a bitch! MAY HE BURN IN THE FIRES OF HELL!!!”
Mr. McDermott responded by running around outside the IICO headquarters in Bournemouth spraying two cans of deodorant into the air.
Police, concerned this would lead to an explosion, opened fire on the author using an array of weapons (bazookas, other incendiary devices) and triggered an enormous explosion. Long story short, McDermott was jailed for crimes against:
- Literature
And for breaching UK laws regarding arson. He was jailed in 2001 for 79 years and, as of 2025, is still in prison due to 79 years not having remotely passed yet.
