Whitby Abbey: The place that inspired Dracula

Whitby Abbey looks even spookier after haunting illuminations are cast over the ruins as part of Halloween celebrations. It perhaps comes as no surprise that the creepy Benedictine abbey, which overlooks the English town of Whitby and the North Sea, inspired Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula.”

“I arrived early and the sunset was amazing too, so I captured the abbey from sunset right through to the illumination. It was brilliant,” said photographer David Zdanowicz (“Dave Z”) who captured the abbey’s lit-up look.

Whitby Abbey facts

• Location. Whitby, North Yorkshire, England.
• Monastery. This spectacular headland was first founded as a monastery in AD657 by King Oswy of Northumbria. It became one of the most important religious centers in the Anglo-Saxon world under the formidable Abbess Hild.
• Stoker inspiration. Bram Stoker set some of his most dramatic scenes in Whitby, and even took character names from the area.