Where was Frankenstein filmed? The house and all the locations
Posted by Ra Moon
Blending stunning cinematography with striking real-world locations, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, was filmed across the United Kingdom and Canada.
Scotland plays a major role in the film’s visuals, evoking the story’s gothic European world.
As in his previous films, del Toro avoided excessive CGI, choosing instead to build sets on soundstages and make use of real-world locations whenever possible.
We’ve tried to keep spoilers at bay in our comprehensive guide to all the filming locations of Frankenstein, listed in order of their first appearance.
Scotland plays a major role in the film’s visuals, evoking the story’s gothic European world.
As in his previous films, del Toro avoided excessive CGI, choosing instead to build sets on soundstages and make use of real-world locations whenever possible.
We’ve tried to keep spoilers at bay in our comprehensive guide to all the filming locations of Frankenstein, listed in order of their first appearance.
Frankenstein locations
The story begins somewhere in “The Farthermost North” in 1857, with the Danish crew of the Horisont ship trapped in the ice.
A large portion of the vessel was built on a mechanical gimbal that could rotate, located in Toronto’s Port Lands near Pinewood Studios.
From the deck of the Horisont, the vast Arctic horizon is meant to stretch endlessly—but in reality, Toronto’s iconic CN Tower rises into view, as captured in this Netflix behind-the-scenes featurette.
The interior cabin, featuring its distinctive round window, was built on a separate, detailed studio set.
The Frankenstein house
The Frankenstein family’s palatial country house is not a single location, but a 'Frankenstein' amalgam of four different sites.
The exterior was filmed at Gosford House, a grand 18th-century mansion located in East Lothian, Scotland, surrounded by expansive parkland, woodlands, and a seaside backdrop.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map
The interior hall, with its grand marble staircase, was also filmed at Gosford House.
The manor remains a private residence but is open for limited tours and events.
It is also a popular filming location for period dramas, including Outlander, where it doubled as Helwater.
The dining room is the Double Cube Room at Wilton House in Wiltshire.
The room houses a spectacular collection of Van Dyck portraits of British royalty and the Pembroke family, who have lived at the estate for over 450 years.
This magnificent 16th- and 17th-century country estate has long been a favourite backdrop for film and television, featuring in productions such as The Crown, Bridgerton, and Downton Abbey.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map
Victor's bedroom is the Bow Room at Burghley House, painted by French artist Louis Laguerre in 1697 with scenes from Roman mythology.
Completed in the late 16th century, the manor is considered one of England’s greatest Elizabethan houses and boasts some of the finest collections of Italianate ceilings in Britain.
Image courtesy of Netflix and Burghley House - Map
In the next scene, the butler crosses a dimly lit room, which is the Heaven Room also at Burghley House.
Although it is seen only briefly in the movie, this is one of the most famous rooms in the estate, featuring Baroque paintings of playful mythological figures by the Venetian artist Antonio Verrio from the late 1600s.
Image courtesy of Netflix and Burghley House
As the butler crosses the threshold carrying a glass of milk, we are suddenly whisked more than 400 miles away to Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
The library is actually the ballroom at Dunecht House, a vast hall of “railway-station proportions” featuring a vaulted glass ceiling.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map
The funeral scene and the garden, where we are introduced to Victor’s younger brother William, were also filmed at Wilton House.
The elegant 18th-century Palladian Bridge, a temple-like stone structure with classical columns and the estate’s most recognisable landmark, has appeared in numerous film and TV productions.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map
Production designer Tamera Deverell told Condé Nast Traveler that, unable to find a suitable operating theatre, they drew inspiration from the Veterinary School’s Anatomical Theatre in Berlin and London’s Old Operating Theatre, incorporating mosaics and details from Glasgow City Hall to built a set in the studios.
This marks the first scene featuring Oscar Isaac as Baron Victor Frankenstein.
After leaving the Royal College of Medicine tribunal room, the scene with Victor in the city streets was filmed with the Canongate Tolbooth building in the background.
This historic house, erected in 1591, is located on the lower part of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.
Image courtesy of Netflix and Google Maps
Victor crosses the arched passage into the narrow street where Heinrich Harlander (Christoph Waltz) waits for him in Bakehouse Close.
This is one of the most atmospheric and best-preserved historic closes in Edinburgh’s Old Town, lined with stone tenements typical of 16th- and 17th-century architecture.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map
The scene pictured was filmed on Parliament Square, with St Giles' Cathedral visible on the left, still in Edinburgh.
Image courtesy of Netflix and Google Maps
The photography room with the piano in Harlander’s house is the mid-19th-century Picture Gallery at Hospitalfield House in Arbroath, Scotland.
Once a Victorian art school and artists’ residency, the estate now hosts exhibitions and cultural events.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map
Harlander’s house dining room is the Great Hall at Burghley House, a grand chamber dating from the late 1500s.
Originally designed for banquets and ceremonial occasions, it remains one of the estate’s most impressive rooms.
The Frankenstein Tower
The base of Frankenstein’s Tower, depicted in the movie as an old water filtration plant used to irrigate the fields, was an almost 180-foot (55 m) high set built on the grounds of Markham Fairgrounds outside Toronto.
A sequence from Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley was also filmed at this location.
Image courtesy of Netflix and Guillermo del Toro - Map
The crown-shaped top of Frankenstein’s Tower is inspired by the National Wallace Monument in Stirling, Scotland, built to honor William Wallace, the hero of Braveheart (1995).
Completed in 1869, this pointed 19th-century monument, standing 220 ft (67 m) tall, features a dramatic Gothic Revival design.
Image courtesy of Netflix and Finlay McWalter - Map
Eight distinct and beautifully crafted sets, built at the studios, make up the interior of the tower.
The scene of the convicts being hanged was filmed at Lady Stair’s Close, a narrow historic passage just off Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.
In Spain, everybody knows the man with the goggles and rotten breath: the famous actor and director Santiago Segura.
Segura has made hilarious cameos in several of his friend Guillermo del Toro’s films, including Blade II, Hellboy, Hellboy II, and Pacific Rim.
Image courtesy of Netflix and Google Maps
The rainy book market where Victor follows Elizabeth (played by Mia Goth) was filmed on the east side of St Giles’ Cathedral.
The subsequent confession scene was shot inside this Gothic temple, founded in the 12th century but largely rebuilt during the 14th and 15th centuries.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map
The restaurant and dancing scene was filmed at the Signet Library, an elegant neoclassical building on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.
Built in the early 19th century for the Society of Writers to His Majesty’s Signet, the library still functions as a legal library while also serving as a venue for events and weddings.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map
The shots of the tower near the cliff and the beach scene with The Creature (played by Jacob Elordi), were filmed on Seacliff Beach in East Lothian, located approximately 25 miles (40 km) east of Edinburgh.
With the majestic ruins of Tantallon Castle in the distance, this picturesque location has appeared in numerous films and TV shows, including The Buccaneers, Mary Queen of Scots, and Outlaw King.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map
The forest scenes were filmed at Rockwood Conservation Area, a scenic natural park in Ontario, Canada.
Image courtesy of Google Maps
The old mill house was built on a horse farm near Kleinburg Film Studios in Vaughan, Ontario.
All the background snow-capped mountains seen in some landscapes were filmed either between Arbroath and Glasgow in Scotland or in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map
The Arctic scenes, including the frozen lake, were filmed on Lake Nipissing near North Bay, approximately 210 miles (338 km) from Toronto.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map
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Ra Moon
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