An Anniversary for Dracula Fans

Awaiting the furnace tech to arrive to give my furnace its annual cleaning, I found a very nicely written article by David Barnett published yesterday on The Guardian.com about Whitby in Yorkshire, England, the town that inspired Bram Stoker to write the story of Dracula. This year is the 125th anniversary of Stoker's visit to the seaport town, so I'd say it's going to be a good year for all of the tourism spots in town that base themselves on Dracula! 

Whitby sounds like a cool town to visit with a Dracula walking tour, Dracula Experience, the Bram Stoker International Film Festival and a Goth Weekend occurring twice a year. I bet there will be extra special activities to celebrate the anniversary. In fact, if you check out VisitWhitby.com events calendar, you can see everything planned month-by-month, Dracula related and not. There's an interesting event called Get Gruesome With the Hands on History Crew that teaches about the plague and medieval burials "with an array of children's interactive activities." I'm curious to know what those activities could be! 

Whitby looks like a really scenic, fun and educational place to visit, especially if you're a fan of Dracula.                       

Gothic Day Trips: Seaside, Waterford, Connecticut

On the National Register of Historic Places, Seaside is, with the help of plenty of vandals, a decaying yet lovely piece of  early 20th Century architecture facing a beautiful white sandy beach on Long Island Sound. It was first used as a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients, then a home for the elderly and finally a home for the mentally retarded. I'm sure many patients from all three incarnations have died there and there may be some rambling spirits residing in the abandoned buildings.

Paranormal investigators have examined the property and did find evidence of spirits in the buildings. Check out the video clips from investigations by Paranormal Encounters which prove that there is spiritual activity in the main building! 

I was there today and the place was crowded with beach goers even though it was late in the afternoon and, judging by the random positioning of the remaining cars in the parking lot and on the grass, many more people were sunning themselves there earlier in the day. The state of Connecticut owns the property and plans to convert it into a state park eventually. There's an extremely vigilant security guard driving around the grounds greeting visitors and stalking them mercilessly making sure they don't get withing 50 feet of the buildings. I imagine the state is trying to prevent any lawsuits from curious visitors cutting themselves on one of the many broken windows or impaling themselves on the rusty gates. I suppose getting too close to the buildings might put one in danger of being bopped in the head by a loose falling brick or roof shingle. 

Obviously, the state wants to prevent anyone from entering the building and being hurt or killed. There are signs posted that the park closes at sunset unless you're fishing. Apparently, people armed with a fishing pole are free to enter at any time. The place must be super creepy in the dark in the moonlight with the soft waves lapping and the spirits wandering.

Graveyard Travels

Ye Olde Burial Ground

I like visiting cemeteries, not only to wonder about the mystery of death and where we might go after our bodies die, but also to appreciate history. This cemetery dates back to the American colonial days of the 17th and 18th century. I've studied enough history to know that I'm glad I didn't live back then! I really appreciate modern conveniences like public utilities, indoor plumbing, central heating, etc. Not to mention modern transportation.

However, there were some pretty cool things going on back then and it's interesting to learn how people thought and what they believed and see how our culture has changed over the centuries. Most of the words are worn from these stones, unfortunately, but many of them are still legible. Rubbings are not allowed in this graveyard because the stones are so fragile; visitors are discouraged from touching them. I was intrigued by those two memorials in the photo that are shaped like tables. they look kind of awkward and crowded, even out of place.

After a small amount of research I learned that they are simply elaborate gravestones that resemble altars. Elaborate mostly because of the financial expense as well as standing out from the rest. The people buried under them must have had lots of money! Probably very high ranking in the community too. I've read in several sources that later in the 19th century, cemeteries were built in park-like settings where people would go for walks and bring picnic lunches to visit graves and enjoy the scenery. In fact, both my mother's ancestors and my father's ancestors are buried in cemeteries that fit that description. 

I don't know if that was the case in the earlier centuries when these altar-like monuments were erected, but it seems as though the markers would have come in handy for the picnics!