Whitby

The novel Dracula by Bram Stoker is not only set in Transylvannia. In fact, a large part of it is set in Whitby, an English coastal town. In Dracula, all is obscured in mist and fog. In truth, Whitby is a quaint town. Here are a few photos, including the ruins of Whitby Abbey, where Dracula finds his first vicitm.

Dracula (the book, not the many movies) represents an example of a foreign invader who "doesn't only invade, but wants to take over all of England, especially its women," our study leader, Carol Kent, tells us. With its repetitive intensity of the vampire's attacks, "the reader finds it hard to believe Dracula can be conquered," Kent says.

The book may not be what you think. All my exposures to Dracula had been through movies, yet the original book is much different. Dracula is hardly seen in the novel, and the happenings are told through different narrators. In the book, we have much more of a monster than the romantic vampires of, say, Anne Rice's novels.