LITERARY LANDSCAPES
Whitby & The North Yorkshire Coast
Gothic | Dracula | Spectres
In our Landscape & Lore series, we discover the wild landscapes of Britain and the incredible stories they inspire.
THE BOOKS
Whitby is the setting for the most famous gothic novel of all time: Bram Stoker's Dracula. Victorian horror found it's perfect setting upon the mist-cloaked clifftops overlooking the North Sea. Dracula is, by no means, the only great work inspired by the Yorkshire Coast...
OTHER NOTABLE WORKS: The Offing (Benjamin Myers), Possession (A.S. Byatt), Sylvia's Lovers (Elizabeth Gaskell), The North Sea (Alistair Moffat)
THE LAND
When not obscured under a white, rolling harr, the Jurassic coast of Yorkshire stands proud above the wild bitterness of the North Sea. Scattered along the coast are a series of smugglers coves and bays, where the ancient fishing heritage continues today. From Robin Hood's Bay to Staithes, there is a wealth of beauty in the coastline.
Whitby Abbey provides the most iconic and gothic image of a region built on sandstone and shale strata. Bats continue to flit amongst the crumbling stone arches of the haunting building, which seems to holds the same 180 million years of history as the land upon which it stands.
THE HISTORY
Since the mesolithic hunter gathers first roamed this landscape, the Yorkshire Coast, the coast has held the imprints of the spirits of past civilisations, all of whom shaped the land and it's stories.
In the Iron Age, the large Brigantes tribe ruled over the northern parts of the region, whilst the smaller Parisi tribe held Scarborough and below. The arrival of the Romans (around 70 AD) saw the swift usurpance of the Parisi, whilst the Brigantes built a longer alliance, before also falling to Roman power.
The Romans built signal posts along the North Yorkshire coast, to defend against Saxon and Norse threats, but both the Saxons and Vikings eventually ruled over the region.
In 867 AD, Vikings led by legendary leaders 'Ubba' and 'Ingwar' attacked Whitby and destroyed 'Streanæshealh' - the first iteration of the Whitby Abbey which stands today.
The second iteration was built in the 13th century and provides a spectre of the past - beautiful and brutal.
THE FOLKLORE
On such ancient land, stories rise. Dracula itself was heavily influenced by the legend of the Barghest Dog of Whitby. This monstrous, black shape-shifting dog prowled the dark lanes and headlands and was thought to be an omen of impending death.
St Hilda's snakes are another popular piece of North Yorkshire folklore. Legend has it that Hilda, who built a monastery on the site of Whitby Abbey, prayed over the land to turn a plague of venomous snakes to stone. These stone snakes were likely a mistaken interpretation of ammonite fossils, found widely at the base of the cliffs.
A little south of Whitby, Runswick Bay holds a famous piece of folklore: The Hob of Hob Hole. Hob Hole is a famous sea cave, often used for smuggling, which was believed to be home to a hob (a sprite/goblin). Infants with whopping cough were place in front of the tidal cave and the hob would reportedly cure them of the ailment.