Post by Mrs Vindecco on Sept 7, 2011 22:18:46 GMT
I am possibly only posting this because I am going on holiday to Yorkshire this weekend and am excited (I've not been away anywhere overnight for a couple of years) but I thought I would start this board because we are all from different parts of the world and I thought it would be interesting to show where we have been that is Dwight or horror related.
Living in Britain I am limited on the Dwight front but I have visited Whitby (I used to live very close by) and my fondness for the town partly fuels my love of Dracula both the novel and films.
On the North East coast of England, the fishing town of Whitby has long been a haven for tourists and in the summer of 1895, Bram Stoker came for a much needed rest from the London theatrical scene. However the town was to be of great importance to Stoker, with the wild North Sea, the high cliffs and eerie ruins of Whitby Abbey over looking the town took inspiration for his infamous novel, Dracula.
Although only three chapters of the novel are set in Whitby, they form one of the most powerful evocations of a Victorian resort anywhere in literature. While Stoker never visited Transylvania obtaining his background from reading and private informants, he clearly knew and loved Whitby.
In the 1931 Universal film, much of the action takes place in Seward Asylum, which is set unlike the novel in Whitby as we are informed by the dialogue between Dr Seward and Dracula when the family have a night out at the Albert Hall in London (which is about 200 miles away… bit far for a casual night at the Opera).
The town is proud of the association with the world’s most famous Vampire, holding a Gothic Vampire Weekend every November and a permanent unique tour of the story and it’s association with the town, However the true charm of the town is that despite the development of roads and the decrease of the once thriving fishing industry, the actual appearance of the town hasn’t changed that much since the summer Stoker visited and hasn’t been bombarded with too many tacky Dracula souvenirs’, as the town is as proud of building and launching HMS Endeavour (the ship that Captain Cook commanded on his voyage to New Zealand and Australia) and it’s production of Jet Stone.
However the following photos are of my visit to Whitby three years ago and I shall do my best to tie each photo to the novel.
This is where Bram Stoker would sit and take in the view of the town and it is this view that apparently provided the first park of inspiration to use the town in his novel.
This is The Crescent, where Bram Stoker stayed while researching Dracula and where Lucy and Mima stay in the novel. This isn't my photo but it's clearer than the one I took.
Whitby harbour
In the book, Mima runs through the harbour at night after seeing her friend Lucy sleep walk through the graves at St Mary's.
In the 1931, the Vesta, eventually docks and where the raving mad Renfield is found below decks.
In the novel, the only sign of life on the scooner called The Demeter, is a large black dog which leaps out the ship and along what is now Henrietta Street.
The 199 steps that lead upto St Mary's Church, walking up the steps you can see the cliff path where Lucy and Mima have their favourite seat, the seat where Mima see's Lucy in the moonlight sitting with a mysterious figure.
St Mary's Church is where Mima finds Lucy after sleepwalking. It is also the sight where the old sailor Mr Swales is found dead, with his neck broken. Many of the graves are severely weathered due to the brutal N0rth Sea winds but apparently Stoker used some of the names on the graves for characters in the novel. I say apparently because the day I went it was really, painfully cold and didn't get the chance to really explore the church yard.
Not in the novel but directly behind the church are the ruins of Whitby Abbey, first established in 651AD but the ruins are from the 11th century. I'll add these photos because these dramatic, mysterious, beautiful ruins add so much Gothic imagery to the Dracula landscape.
Yorkshire is such a beautiful county. Next time I go back I really want to go further south and have the chance to visit Haworth (the Bronte's hometown).
