Got an email from a fellow named Don Lemmon. Turns out he's doing a book about the guy who probably inspired Mary Shelley.
The story goes along the lines of there really was a mad scientist who lived in Frankenstein Burg lo so many years ago. While he did live in the castle, his name wasn't Frankenstein (and in any event, we're not related). While he was utterly unsuccessful in reviving dead creatures, his many experiments with galvanization did eventually lead to modern shock paddles and the like. Anyway, a young Mary Shelley heard about him at some point in her European travels, and used the stories as a basis for the first piece of modern science fiction. From there, the story was turned into a play, then a movie, and you all know the rest of the story.
Actually, while she might have heard of the guy, the popular background was that she wrote Frankenstein based on a nightmare she had while gallivanting around Europe with Byron, Byron's then-main squeeze and Shelley. They were competing in telling the most frightening horror stories!
Heh... I should know: I did several papers on Frankenstein =)
Yeah, that's the official story.
I personally think that the parallels between the real story and Mary Shelley's story are too close to ignore (particularly concerning the name).
This is not to downplay her accomplishment, though; knowing that Hamlet is based on an antique Danish legend doesn't make the play any less great.