Dracula In Yorkshire: Bram Stoker And His Inspiration

Enjoy your heritage with some bite this Halloween as Dracula expert, Dr Kevin Corstorphine, explores the vampire’s links to Yorkshire at a lecture on Tuesday, 29 October at the Treasure House, Beverley.

Bram Stoker’s name is inextricably linked with Yorkshire, thanks to his use of Whitby in his most famous novel Dracula. The Yorkshire coast serves as a dramatic backdrop as the vampire Count uses Whitby Harbour to gain access to England and begin his quest for domination. Stoker did indeed visit the town before writing the novel and was inspired by local stories and real-life events.

A Russian schooner had been shipwrecked a few years before Stoker’s holiday – an event which he retells with Dracula on board, who transforms himself into a monstrous dog, in-fitting with local legend. As in the novel, however, fact and fiction have become tangled. This talk will explore the origins of Count Dracula in Stoker’s imagination, as well as his subsequent transformations in fiction and film.

Dr Kevin Corstorphine is a lecturer in English at the Scarborough Campus of the University of Hull, where he teaches ‘Dracula’ as part of the undergraduate degree programme. His research interests lie mainly in the Gothic and horror. Kevin said: “While living and working in Scarborough I’ve become fascinated with Stoker’s links with the area. Dracula is one of the greatest monsters to appear in fiction and the background to his creation is no less interesting than the Count himself”.

The illustrated talk will be held in the Treasure House education room at 6.30pm on Tuesday, 29 October. Tickets cost £5 each and booking is essential. For more information and to book a place call (01482) 392699/392706, visit www.eastriding.gov.uk/events or visit the Archives and Local Studies research room desk on the ground floor of the Treasure House.