Church Bans People From Asking Where Dracula’s Grave Is After Being Bombarded With Fanatics

A church in North Yorkshire has taken drastic measures to ward off horror fans after being bombarded by people asking to visit Count Dracula’s grave.

St Mary’s Church in Whitby rose to fame in the late 19th century after it was mentioned in Bram Stoker’s famous novel Dracula as the site of the count’s arrival in England.

The famously-fictional vampire has been inspiring visits to the area ever since, with fans travelling to see one of the real-life inspirations for the 1897 novel.

Unfortunately for those involved in the day-to-day running of the church, it seems some people have been blurring the lines between fiction and reality, with St Mary’s apparently facing thousands of tourists a year demanding to see ‘Dracula’s grave’.

The problem has become so overwhelming that the church is now explicitly asking people not to come looking for the grave, and if they do visit the church, to stop bothering its congregation.

In a post on Twitter, a local visitor pointed out that the church had recent installed a blunt sign warning tourists off ‘without a hint of irony’, posting a picture of an A4 sheet of paper reading, ‘Please do not ask staff where Dracula’s grave is as there isn’t one.’

The tweet has since gone viral, receiving more than 18,000 likes as people shared their amusement at the sign.

‘We sniggered at this the other day. I used to work at Whitby Abbey and people asked ALL the time!’ one person wrote, while another commented, ‘I recall hearing visitors to the Sherlock Holmes Museum in Baker Street, London, being gently informed by staff that Sherlock Holmes was a fictional character.’

In fairness, fans wanting to make the pilgrimage shouldn’t be that disappointed. Although the church is mentioned in the book, it’s never suggested that Dracula is buried there, with the true site of his grave actually located in Transylvania.