Whitby Abbey to be at centre of celebrations to mark landmark anniversary of the classic Dracula novel

Dracula, the timeless classic about the vampire written by Bram Stoker, has captivated and horrified readers in equal measure since it was first published on May 26, 1897.

And this year will mark the 125th anniversary since the novel was unveiled to the world, with Whitby at the epicentre of the celebrations.

The North Yorkshire port was a huge influence on Stoker after he had a month-long stay in the historic town in 1890.

Whitby Abbey, the imposing ruins of the Benedictine monastery which was founded in the 11th century, will be the venue for six months of events to mark the anniversary from May. The abbey’s museum contains a first edition of the seminal novel with the eye-catching yellow cover that was bought from a private collector.

English Heritage’s property manager, Mark Williamson, oversees the abbey along with the castles in Pickering and Scarborough, and Kirkham Priory.

He said: “It is easy to see why Whitby had such a profound impact on Bram Stoker, as there is something about the town and the whole atmosphere here.

“The abbey looms above the town, it is so evocative with its three spires from the ruins, especially on a cloudy and atmospheric day.

“People often think they know about Dracula, it is a name that conjures up so many images.

“But it is not always the case that they know the whole story, and we hope to be able to connect more people with the novel with such a landmark anniversary.”

The abbey and the neighbouring St Mary’s Church feature in Stoker’s story as the vampiric Count Dracula arrives on English shores after travelling by sea from the port of Varna in Bulgaria.

During his stay in Whitby, Dublin-born Stoker was told of the shipwreck five years earlier of a Russian vessel called the Dmitry, which had travelled from Narva in Estonia.

The ship ran aground below Whitby’s East Cliff, carrying a cargo of silver sand.

With a slightly rearranged name, Stoker wrote about the Demeter which carries Dracula from Varna to Whitby with a cargo of silver sand and boxes of earth. Dracula assumes the guise of a giant black dog when he arrives on shore, heading up the famous 199 steps to the abbey and St Mary’s Church.

Events that are being planned by English Heritage will begin with a major commemoration on the day of the actual anniversary of the novel’s first publication.

While the exact details of the event on Thursday, May 26, are still being finalised, Mr Williamson told The Yorkshire Post that he hoped the celebration would be a “fitting tribute to such a famous novel”.

The Dracula 125 commemorations will also see display panels placed near the abbey ruins with a panoramic view across Whitby to highlight specific locations linked to the book.

A play themed around the fictitious count will also be staged in the abbey’s grounds on selected dates in the spring and summer, and the celebrations will culminate in the historic ruins being illuminated for 11 nights up until Halloween on October 31.

It is hoped the focus on the Dracula novel will help boost visitor numbers after a dramatic fall during Covid-19. The abbey usually attracts 160,000 visitors each year, but that figure slumped to just 50,000 in 2020 due to restrictions.

Last year saw a return to more normal visitor numbers, but it is hoped the abbey’s profile will be heightened even further during the Dracula 125 programme of events.

Next month will also mark another landmark anniversary for one of the most famous films ever released which is intrinsically linked to the novel of Dracula.

Nosferatu, the classic silent horror movie directed by FW Murnau and starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok, was released a century ago in 1922.

The movie is seen as an unauthorised and unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel, which has inspired a slew of other films and television shows.

Sir Christopher Lee portrayed Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films and ultimately played the role of the vampire nine times in total.

The novel itself had an initial print run of just 3,000 copies when it was first published in 1897. It has since been translated into 44 languages and sold tens of millions of copies globally.