Count Dracula in Whitby
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Find out more about Bram Stoker and Dracula in Whitby. Where to find his inspiration, what to see, where to find Dracula today... Whitby Gothic Weekend.... find out more....
Everyone, but everyone, knows Dracula - that much copied vampire count of countless films (pun intended!)
Count Dracula was the invention of writer Bram Stoker - a great novel (and now film) - well worth reading, I do love this book and film.
What you might not know, is that Whitby is the setting for the original Dracula novel.
- In March 1890, aged 42, Bram Stoker began making the first notes for his Dracula novel
- In that Summer, he spent his holidays at Whitby.
- In the novel, Chapter 6 begins with Mina's description of Whitby - a real life Whitby, not an imaginary one!
- There is some discussion over the site of a grave of a suicide victim.
- Chapter 7 sees a (fictional) newspaper cutting on the suject of a sudden storm over Whitby - and a ship grounding itself in the harbour.
- A dog (Count Dracula) makes straight for the cliff, and up towards the churchyard. Count Dracula take up his residence in the suicide's grave.
- There is, in fact, a reputed suicide's grave at the churchyard for real - marked with a skull and crossbone. This surely inspired Bram Stoker. You can still see the grave today. Look out for the gravestone with skull and crossbones on, near to the top gate in the graveyard.
- If you are familiar with Whitby, you will, no doubt, really enjoy the descriptions of Whitby in the opening chapters of the book.
It may make some excellent holiday reading....
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The popularity of the cult around Count Dracula, and indeed the Dracula novel itself, has led to Whitby becoming a popular pilgrimage point for fans of the novel, and goths, from all over the world.
Quite an industry has built up around Count Dracula, the gothic Whitby abbey itself and the town of Whitby...
Whitby has surely become the undisputed Goth capital of Britain - there are countless gothic shops in Whitby, a dedicated Gothic hotel - and a massive celebration of all things goth, which happens twice a year - the famous 'Whitby Gothic Weekend' - around Halloween and in late April (or Easter) every year.
If you are at all interested in anything Goth, do take time, at least, to visit some of the many goth shops in town, or schedule your visit for one of the Whitby Gothic Weekends. Remember that accomodation does book up very quickly at these times.
Find out more about Whitby Gothic Weekend
Find out more about the Bram Stoker International film festival in Whitby
Find out more about Whitby Abbey
Find out more about Whitby Tourist Information
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