View source for Church Where apos;Dracula Is Buried apos; Tells Goths: It apos;s All Fiction

Count Dracula and his terrifying exploits have helped to sustain the economy of a seaside town for decades.<br>So it did not go down well when the local church tried to give goths visiting Whitby the unvarnished truth about a cemetery where Dracula's grave is wrongly thought to lie.<br>Those searching for the grave at the 12th-century St Mary's Church in the North Yorkshire town have been handed leaflets saying: 'Sorry it's not here… in fact it's not anywhere because Dracula is fiction.'<br>         The goths, who arrive in force twice a year for a festival to celebrate the culture surrounding Bram Stoker's 1897 horror novel, are also bluntly told they are 'standing on hallowed ground' at a place of worship.<br><br>A goth is pictured above at the grounds in July last year<br>The leaflet, given out by churchgoers and pinned up near the cemetery, adds: 'So even if there are bats in our belfry,  [https://www.kynghidongduong.vn/tours/tour-du-lich-ha-giang-cao-nguyen-da-dong-van-3-ngay-2-dem.html tour du lịch hà giang] no vampire is going to come and suck your blood.' <br>The goths, who arrive in force twice a year for a festival to celebrate the culture surrounding Bram Stoker's 1897 horror  [https://www.kynghidongduong.vn/tours/tour-du-lich-ha-giang-cao-nguyen-da-dong-van-3-ngay-2-dem.html tour hà giang 3 ngày 2 đêm] novel, are also bluntly told they are 'standing on hallowed ground' at a place of worship.<br>Father Michael Gobbett, the priest, believes Hilda the saint and founding abbess of Whitby's 7th-century monastery is far more significant. <br>'We are doing our best to persuade people that Dracula is just a story,' he said.<br>'There are more important things associated with Whitby such as St Hilda, and the worship that goes on in the church and what the abbey originally stood for.'<br>         Father Michael Gobbett, the priest, believes Hilda the saint and founding abbess of Whitby's 7th-century monastery is far more significant.<br><br>'We are doing our best to persuade people that Dracula is just a story,' he said<br>         Artist John Freeman, whose official Visit Whitby guide celebrates the connection, said: 'I do have sympathy with the church when people are posing in the cemetery and being inappropriate'.<br><br>A goth is seen above in the cemetery in October last year<br>But the move was about as welcome as garlic bread at a vampire convention with the local businesses that play on the Stoker legacy to attract visitors - as well as English Heritage, which looks after Whitby Abbey ruins.<br>         Stoker drew inspiration from Whitby after a stay in 1890 - Dracula is shipwrecked and comes ashore to wreak havoc in the form of a giant dog.<br><br>The 199 steps up to the abbey also feature<br>Artist John Freeman, whose official Visit Whitby guide celebrates the connection, said: 'I do have sympathy with the church when people are posing in the cemetery and being inappropriate.<br>I think there could be another way round it because the leaflet is maybe a bit over the top. This year with lockdown we have desperately missed the influx of goths.'<br>Graham Taylor, the former rector of St Mary's turned horror writer, who has just written a book about Stoker, said the church should be celebrating the link and putting on guided tours.<br>He added: 'My first day as priest there, I had a kid come up to me and say, 'Hey vicar.<br><br>Where is Dracula buried?' I said, 'You've got more chance of finding Bugs [https://www.academia.edu/people/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=Bunny%20buried Bunny buried] up here' and he said, 'Don't be silly - Bugs Bunny is not real'.<br>'We cannot get away from this story as residents of Whitby. It is part of our cultural heritage.<br>'If it was not for Dracula, visitors to the church would be far fewer.<br><br>Sadly, it is the case, but we have to live with it.'<br>   RELATED ARTICLES  [# Previous] [# 1] [# Next]     [/news/article-9090903/Fury-fly-tippers-dump-mountains-Christmas-rubbish-recycling-outside-UK-supermarkets.html  Fury as fly tippers dump mountains of Christmas rubbish and...] [/news/article-9088577/Britain-worlds-fifth-largest-economy-overtaking-India-despite-coronavirus-recession.html  Britain is the world's fifth-largest economy again after...]    <br><br><br><br>Share this article<br>Share<br><br><br>Mr Taylor, who said he took services for 500 goths and vampire hunters in his time as rector, believes the church should exploit the story to convey a Christian message, also a theme in Dracula, that 'evil is defeated by the cross'.<br>Stoker's great-grandnephew, the author Dacre Stoker, 62, said: 'There have been goth weekends where people lie on top of the graves to get their pictures taken.<br>'It is a little disrespectful.<br><br>People are taking advantage. Some are offended by this and the vicar has a good point.'<br>Stoker drew inspiration from Whitby after a stay in 1890 - Dracula is shipwrecked and comes ashore to wreak havoc in the form of a giant dog. The 199 steps up to the abbey also feature.<br>In 2016, 1,000 people backed a petition to shut the churchyard at the next goth festival to stop 'damage' and 'undesirable behaviour'.<br>         The leaflet, given out by churchgoers and pinned up near the cemetery, adds: 'So even if there are bats in our belfry, no vampire is going to come and suck your blood'<br>