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by james macgregor | 23rd March, 2001 | contact: james@netribution.co.uk

Dracula Birthplace Rivals Stake Claims

Rival Scottish and English communities are laying claim to being the inspiration behind Bram Stoker’s Dracula story, with one claimant virtually telling the other: "hands off Dracula, he’s ours."

At stake is the money brought in to the local economy from visitors anxious to feel the chill brought on by visiting the place where the Count, reputedly, rose regularly from the grave to feast on the blood of unsuspecting victims.

Stoker’s book has inspired generations of filmmakers, from silent Nosferatu, to full shock Hammer horrors emerging from Bray Studios in the 1960’s. Screen careers of stars like Bella Lugosi and Christopher Lee were largely founded on their playing of the undead count.

Although the book is a classic and still a steady seller, far more people are likely to know about the Count through the screen, rather than the Victorian novel.

The Count’s Scottish credentials are being championed by Aberdeen and Grampian Tourist Board. They say there is indisputable evidence that the 17th Century Slains Castle near Cruden Bay is the true inspiration behind the legend.

In the opposite corner of the dispute, lies the North Yorkshire fishing port of Whitby, which has portrayed itself for years as the true home of Bram Stoker’s legendary vampire, something Aberdeen and Grampian Tourist Board strongly refutes. So convincing are their own claims, they now intend to use the vampire lord as figurehead to launch their latest marketing drive.

Marketing Manager Beverley Tricker says "It’s very well documented that Slains Castle is the true home of Dracula. Yorkshire Tourist Board has for years been luring our potential visitors under false pretences. We intend to sink our teeth into this fable and bring tourists to the real home of Dracula."

The Grampian Tourist Board says early drafts of Stoker’s novel show Dracula coming ashore at Cruden Bay and that the author was inspired by Aberdeenshire’s towering cliffs, jagged sea rocks and wild shores..

The dramatic clifftop castle may only be a ruin now, but it is still a forbidding site.

Over a 17-year period, Stoker frequently holidayed in the small fishing Hamlet of Whinnyfold, near Cruden Bay, which is only a short distance from sinister Slains. In 1895, the Irish-born writer visited Slains as a guest of its owner, the Earl of Erroll. Stoker’s classic novel was published two years later.

The marketing drive is coming at a time when the rural economy is being flattened by the foot and mouth epidemic. Beverley Ticker believes that, with the Dracula connection, she can hope to attract yet more visitors to an area reputed to have more castles per acre than anywhere else in Britain.

She says, "From next week, Dracula is one of our figureheads for our latest marketing initiative. In short, we want out vampire back."

John Begg, managing director of Caledonia Heritage Tours welcomed the Dracula push. He said, "Slains Castle at dusk is a blood-curdling experience and you can easily imagine the impact it had on Stoker’s chilling masterpiece. It’s about time we laid the ghost to rest about Whitby being the inspiration about Dracula."

But the Yorkshire Tourist Board say they have no intention of relaxing their grip on the vampire legend, claiming Stoker’s book clearly portrays the Count as being washed ashore in the North Yorkshire fishing town following a shipwreck.

Lesley Young, press officer for the YTB said: "We are not aware of any strong connections that Dracula had with Aberdeenshire. However there are indisputable links with Whitby, which are well documented. Bram Stoker’s character is large enough to benefit both regions and as we have many Scottish visitors, we hope they will continue to enjoy coming to Whitby."

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