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Welcome to episode three of our version of the classic horror story, Frankenstein. In this episode, Viktor Frankenstein describes the investigation into the murder of his younger brother. The police believe they have caught the killer - but Viktor Frankenstein knows better...

Language focus
Listen out for examples of the present perfect with just, already and yet. You can check by looking for the bolded phrases in the transcript below. For vocabulary help, scroll down past the transcript for key words and definitions. 

Transcript

TODAY - IN THE ARCTIC

Viktor Frankenstein
Hello, I'm scientist Viktor Frankenstein – well, I used to be a scientist but I came to hate everything about my job. I was back in the town where I was born, Geneva, after six years at university in Germany. I was brought back by bad news in my father's letter. I found him, and my sweet Elizabeth, very upset. My young brother William had been killed! How? By whom? The police were there too.

IN THE PAST - AT THE FRANKENSTEIN FAMILY HOME

Policeman
We're doing everything we can to find who killed your son, Mr Alphonse Frankenstein.

Viktor Frankenstein's Father
Thank you, detective.

Policeman
Miss Elizabeth, we're sorry about what happened to the boy: we know you're very close to the family.

Elizabeth
Yes.

Policeman
The marks of the killer's fingers that we found on the boy's neck were still fresh. The body was in the woods.

Elizabeth
That's horrible!

Viktor Frankenstein's Father
Calm down, my dear Elizabeth. Sir, we were having a family day out and my son William disappeared.

Policeman
Very unfortunate, Mr Frankenstein. But we've just arrested a suspect.

Viktor Frankenstein's Father
A suspect?! Who killed my boy?

Policeman
Well, we found a valuable locket with the boy's mother's picture in the pocket of one of the nanny's dresses.

Elizabeth
Justine?! It's not possible!

Policeman
I'm sorry, Miss Elizabeth. Justine hasn't explained yet how it got there! Was it stolen?

Elizabeth
But I know she's innocent!

Viktor Frankenstein's Father
Elizabeth my dear, I want to believe that she's innocent, but what about the locket?

Elizabeth
Everyone believes Justine is guilty. I don't. She loved William very much.

TODAY - IN THE ARCTIC 

Viktor Frankenstein
Yes, everyone believed Justine had killed William - everyone except Elizabeth and I. Why? Because I knew who the murderer was. On my journey back to Geneva, I saw a very large figure run over the hills and disappear. It was the Creature! It was the murderer! And now, what would happen to poor Justine? She went to trial.

IN THE PAST - IN THE COURTROOM

Prosecutor
Justine, you were out the whole night in which the child was killed, weren't you?

Justine
I've already told the police and everybody else. I paid a visit to my auntie in the village. On my way back I heard people talking about a boy who went missing. It was William. I spent hours looking for him.

Prosecutor
A woman from the market saw you near the place where the child's body was found. What were you doing there?

Justine
I didn't know I was near the place.

Prosecutor
The woman asked you what you were doing there. She said you sounded confused.

Justine
Yes. I was tired and worried about William.

Prosecutor
You went back to the Frankenstein family home in the morning and asked to be told any news about the boy.

Justine
Yes! I've just told you, I was worried about him!

Prosecutor
Or maybe you felt guilty... When shown the body you started to scream!

Justine
Yes. It was horrible! Horrible!

Prosecutor
And you stayed in your bed for several days. That's when someone found this: the boy's locket with a picture of his mother - yes, this very locket - in your dress pocket. How do you explain that?

Justine
I... I... I can't explain!

TODAY - IN THE ARCTIC

Viktor Frankenstein
Poor Justine! But I knew the monster had done something to make her look guilty... Our family was very rich and powerful. The crime was shocking. They had to find someone to blame quickly...

IN THE PAST - IN THE COURTROOM

Judge
Silence! For the murder of the child William Frankenstein on May, the 7th, I sentence Justine Moritz to death!

TODAY - IN THE ARCTIC

Viktor Frankenstein
Justine was innocent but she was executed anyway. I felt that I was guilty of two deaths because I had created the monster! I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep. So I decided to take long walks in the mountains. That's when I had an unexpected meeting. I'm going to tell you all about it next time.

Vocabulary

upset
sad and angry 

suspect
someone who is believed to be responsible for a crime

locket
a type of necklace with a part that opens and has a picture inside

nanny
a person who works in a house to take care of the children 

innocent
describes someone who is not responsible for a crime

guilty
describes someone who is responsible for a crime

murderer
someone who kills a person by choice

sentence
punishment for a crime, given by a judge 

executed
killed as a punishment for a crime, by order of a judge

Credits

Story adapted and produced by Graciela Damiano

Cast: Peter Kenny, Nick Cavell, Sophie Napleton, Simon Haynes, Neil Edgeller, Alice Brown, Paul Scott

Illustration: Carolina Thwaites-Lastra

English Language Teaching consultant: Nicola Prentis

Studio Manager: Philip Bull