Edinburgh Frankenstein film director Guillermo del Toro praises 'magical' city shop

The Oscar-winning director is currently in the Capital shooting a movie version of Mary Shelly's classic novel for Netflix. During a break from filming, the Mexican went for a wander around Stockbridge, popping into Golden Hare Books on St Stephen Street.

Posting about his visit on X (formerly Twitter), Del Toro, whose films include The Shape Of Water, Pan’s Labyrinth, Pinocchio and Hellboy, wrote: “Shooting Tue-Saturday this week. So visited a magical bookstore – Golden Hare in St Stephen’s St.

He added: “Hand-picked, breathtaking book selections that are curated by the staff. It's like being able to buy off someone's most cherished shelves!”

The owners of Golden Hare Books replied to the post, saying: “Thank you so much! We hope you're enjoying your time in Edinburgh.”

Del Toro has been in Edinburgh all week as Frankenstein is filmed at various locations in the Old Town, including Parliament Square which was completely transformed for the period film, which is developed under the working title ‘Prodigal Father’.

The cast of Frankenstein includes Mia Goth, Oscar Isaac (as Victor Frankenstein) and Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein’s monster). Christoph Waltz, Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, David Bradley and Christian Convery also star in the movie.

Other Frankenstein filming locations in Scotland include Dunecht House in Aberdeenshire and Hospitalfield House in Arbroath as well as Glasgow Cathedral.

Del Toro recently spoke of his love for Scotland In a post on social media, he wrote: “I love Scotland – and, even when my links to it are not by bloodline, I feel close to it.

“My mother’s family side has a lineage going to Ireland – the O’Colligan family. My Grandfather (after whom I am named) was Guillermo Gomez O’Colligan.”