Whitby Abbey marks Dracula anniversary with bat projection

Images of bats are being projected onto Whitby Abbey as part of events to mark the 125th anniversary of the publication of Dracula.

Whitby and its ruined abbey are key locations in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel.

English Heritage, which runs the abbey, said a Dracula-themed theatre act will be performed in the ruins each evening.

The organisation said the projection also acknowledges the abbey ruins are home to a colony of bats, a protected species.

In the Dracula novel, Whitby Abbey was the location where Count Dracula comes ashore and it is referenced in the journal of the novel’s female protagonist Mina Harker.

A large dog runs up the 199 steps which lead to the abbey after the ship carrying the count’s coffin runs aground.

The bat projection will run until 31 October.

The illuminations and performances, which are also part of a number of Halloween events, are the latest Dracula-themed event at the abbey to tie in with the novel’s anniversary.

In May, the abbey attempted and succeeded in breaking the world record for the largest gathering of people dressed as vampires.

A total of 1,369 people attended the event dressed as the ghoulish character, breaking the record of 1,039 set in Doswell, Virginia, in 2011.

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