St Mary's Church, Whitby

St Mary’s Church sits dramatically atop the East Cliff in Whitby, accessed by the famous 199 steps and sharing its clifftop location with the ruins of Whitby Abbey. The church, parts of which date to around 1110, famously inspired Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” when the author visited Whitby in 1890. In the novel, Dracula arrives in England at Whitby aboard the doomed ship Demeter, coming ashore as a great dog and running up the 199 steps to the graveyard. This fictional connection has amplified the church’s already substantial reputation for supernatural phenomena, which long predates Stoker’s visit.

The churchyard is extraordinarily active with paranormal phenomena. Witnesses report seeing shadowy figures moving between the gravestones, including the apparition of a woman in white who walks toward the cliff edge before vanishing. This spirit is believed to be searching for her sailor husband lost at sea. The ghosts of monks from the adjacent abbey ruins are seen walking in procession toward St Mary’s, following ancient paths. Most disturbingly, several witnesses have reported encountering dark, predatory presences in the graveyard that match descriptions of vampiric entities—tall figures in dark cloaks with an aura of menace, seen particularly on moonless nights. These may have inspired local vampire legends that existed before Stoker’s novel.

Inside the church, with its distinctive Georgian interior and box pews, visitors report sudden cold spots, the sensation of being watched, and the apparitions of congregation members from different historical periods. The sounds of hymns and organ music are heard when the church is empty and locked. Ghostly sailors in period clothing have been seen in the church, likely spirits of the many mariners buried in the clifftop graveyard. The old Coast Guard lookout near the church is haunted by the ghost of a watchman still scanning the horizon for ships in distress. Paranormal investigators have recorded significant electromagnetic anomalies, numerous EVPs including sea shanties and prayers, and photographic evidence of unexplained mists and shadow figures. The combination of Stoker’s literary legacy, genuine historical hauntings, and the dramatic clifftop setting above the North Sea has made St Mary’s one of England’s most famous haunted churches.