Whitby Abbey illuminated with coloured floodlights in North Yorkshire

Count-down to Halloween. Sink your teeth into this abbey

Perched on a headland overlooking the picturesque seaside town of Whitby, it's not hard to see why this eerie setting helped shape one of the great Gothic novels. In 1890, Dracula creator Bram Stoker visited Whitby, and some of the vampire tale's most dramatic scenes were inspired by his trip to the Yorkshire coast, including the haunted remains of the medieval abbey in our homepage photo. (Even the name of his famous villain was discovered in the town's public library.) At this spooky time of year in the run-up to Halloween, you can see the atmospheric abbey in a new light as Stoker's classic horror story is brought to life within the illuminated ruins.