Museum explores spooky science behind `Frankenstein`, `The Mummy`
(Artdaily.org)

What is the spookiest thing about `Frankenstein,` `The Mummy` and `Dracula`? The hideous monster? The ancient curse? The sharp fangs? Or the fact that these classic horror films were all rooted in real-life scientific experiments and discoveries? That is the premise of a new exhibition at Los Angeles` Natural History Museum, showcasing movie props from Hollywood`s golden age of horror alongside scientific artefacts that inspired them. The `Natural History of Horror` -- opening Thursday, as Halloween looms -- displays the cloth wrappings used to mummify Boris Karloff in the 1932 classic movie alongside real ancient Egyptian corpse bindings from the museum`s archeology collection. Visitors can pull a lever to recreate Luigi Galvani`s 18th-century electrical experiment on twitching frog legs -- which inspired Mary Shelley`s `Frankenstein` -- while examining the metal shackles used to bind The Monster on-screen in