In her 1818 novel “Frankenstein” Mary Shelley describes a young scientist who is horrified and driven to his death by a hideous creature he designed in his laboratory.

The book – and its unsettling questions about the potential consequences of ambition and innovation – is now a classic of the horror genre.

Earlier this week, OceanGate Expeditions CEO Stockton Rush – who could perhaps be considered the Dr. Frankenstein of deep-sea tourism – Died along with four others aboard the Titan submersible he had personally manufactured in the North Atlantic Ocean en route to view the wreck of the Titanic cruise liner.

Rush, 61, and the others – including billionaire explorer Hamish Harding and Titanic expert Heri Nargeolet – are believed to have been killed in an instant when a malfunction in the materials of the sub caused it to suffer a “catastrophic implosion” and cave under the enormous pressure of the deep sea.

In perishing aboard his own vessel, Rush has landed himself on an unenviable list of history’s real-life Frankensteins, or inventors killed by their own creations. That list also includes:

Titanic shipbuilder Thomas Andrews

In yet another bizarre twist to the OceanGate saga, Rush’s fate is eerily similar to that of Thomas Andrews, the Irish shipbuilder who designed the Titanic – and went down with the ship.

Andrews was just 34 when he was appointed Managing Director of the design/draughting department at Belfast shipbuilding giant Harland and Wolff in 1907, according to the UK National Archives.

That same year, Harland and Wollff was contracted by White Star Line to build three ocean liners, including the RMS Titanic.

Andrews, who was already recognized as genius shipbuilder, was overruled on at least two elements of the Titanic’s design, per IrishCentral. He recommended the liner carry 46 lifeboats, or over double the 20 it eventually sailed with, and wanted a double hull extending up to the B deck.

The second detail, in particular, would almost certainly have prevented the disaster that occurred on April 14, 1912 when, on its maiden voyage, the “unsinkable” Titanic struck an iceberg and tore several narrow openings in its hull.

Andrews, who was on board as a first class passenger, was one of over 1,500 people who died when the ship sank two hours later. He was observed helping women and children into lifeboats before he was last seen standing silently in the Smoking Room, the National Archives said.

The media at the time celebrated Andrews as a hero, IrishCentral reported.

Mary Sloan, a stewardess on the ship, later wrote in a letter that he “met his fate like a true hero, realizing the great danger, and gave up his life to save the women and children of the Titanic. They will find it hard to replace him.”

Franz Reichelet

Franz Reichelt was an Austro-Hungarian-born tailor who tried to take his profession to new heights – literally – by designed a working wearable parachute.

Reichelt’s design, which was described by Le Gaulois as  “only a little more voluminous than ordinary clothing,” was intended to help prevent some of  the fatalities that occurred in the early days of aviation by slowing the jumpers descent and incorporating the parachute into the flight suit, Atlas Obscura explained.

Reichelt worked on his parachute suit over about two years, beginning in 1910. He even presented the idea to the Aéro-Club de France and was warned him that he would “break [his] neck,” Le Matin reported.

Undeterred, Reichelt announced to the press in Feb. 1912 that he planned to test the suit at the Eiffel Tower.

In reality, he had lied to the Parisien authorities and said that he planned to use a dummy during the demonstration, and would not attempt the 180-foot leap himself.

But on Feb. 4, 1912, a crowd of at least 30 journalists and photographers watched as Reichelt smiled and stepped off the edge of the tower – only for his parachute to fold around him before he hit the frozen ground and died instantly.

Graphic footage of the fall and impact also survives thanks to early video equipment that was intended to capture Reichlet’s triumph.

Alexander Bogdanov

Born in present-day Poland in 1873, Alexander Bogdanov was something of a bona fide genius: In addition to training in philosophy and psychiatry, he also Wrote Science Fiction and was a pioneer of cybernetics, according to Gizmodo.

Bogdanov was an early adopter of socialism, which may have informed his interest in the idea of a utopian society in which people would unify and extend their lives through blood transfusion, the outlet explained.

Throughout the 1920s, Bogdanov subjected himself and others to multiple transfusions. Initially, the results seemed promising, and he claimed to have stopped balding and to have improved eyesight.

Though Bogdanov left the Russian Bolshevik Party around that time, he remained close with Soviet leadership throughout his later life. When Vladimir Lenin died in 1924, he was asked to study the revolutionary’s brain and, if possible, use his innovations to revive him, the New World Encyclopedia claims.

In the early 20th century, however, blood transfusion technology far outpaced blood testing. In 1928, Bogdanov infused himself with blood from a student suffering from malaria and tuberculosis. The scientist, aged 54, died — while the student miraculously made a full recovery.

Mike Hughes

Mike Hughes was a contradiction: a rocket-builder who also believed the Earth was flat and did not “believe in science,” per NPR. 

Hughes, who was a limousine driver by trade, drew media attention through the 2000s for his antics, which included setting a Guinness World Record for the longest limousine ramp jump in 2002.

He also spent years trying to raise funds for a self-built, steam-powered rocket, which he hoped would be the first step toward proving the Flat Earth Theory.

In the end, NPR reported, he claimed that the errand only cost him about $20,000.

A planned 2019 launch was postponed until February 22, 2020, when Hughes and his collaborator, Waldo Stakes, planned to launch the rocket 5,000 feet into the air for an episode of a new Science Channel show called “Homemade Astronauts,” Space.com said.

Hughes, 64, was killed at the Barstow launch when the rocket’s parachutes deployed early and detached from the craft.

Justin Chapman, a freelance journalist who witnessed the crash, told The Guardian the ticket appeared to rub against the launch device, which may have torn the parachutes off.  

In a surprising twist, after Hughes’ death his PR rep Darren Shuster said that the flat earth angle was merely a gag for publicity.

“I know he didn’t believe in flat Earth and it was a schtick,” Shuster admitted, according to Buzzfeed News.