Dare yo

The historic town of Whitby, currently a fishing port and popular tourist destination, has had a diverse and influential past. Situated on the North East coast of England, in the county of North Yorkshire, Whitby snugly straddles the mouth of the river Esk facing out into the inimitable North sea. An eclectic mix of picturesque fisherman's cottages, storied Georgian town houses, cobbled streets, nooks and snickets, Whitby has a lot to offer its visitors; whether they are lured by the town's rich history, unique beauty, tourist attractions and amusements Whitby can't fail to satisfy.

Great Explorers such as Captain James Cook and Sir William Scoresby sailed from the Town of Whitby. Captain Cook was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer. Cook made detailed maps of Newfoundland and then went on to make three voyages to the Pacific Ocean. During these voyages he became the first European to make contact with the Eastern Coast of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, and made the first recorded circumnavigation of new Zealand

Ironically, Whitby’s most famous supernatural association comes from between the pages of a book, rather than from the recollection of a ghostly encounter or gleaned from local folklore. Bram Stoker based part of his famous vampire novel ‘Dracula’ in Whitby. Bram Stoker spent time researching in the library to learn the history of the old harbour town and talking with the old sailor’s and hearing their yarns. He would have been told the story of the ship called Demetrius; a Russian schooner that a few years earlier had been wrecked on the rocks surrounding Whitby. The Demetrius had been carrying a cargo of coffins and for some time afterwards, decaying corpses would be found washed up on the shore. In the famous novel, Dracula arrives in Whitby on a ship called the Demeter that was also carrying a cargo of coffins and it was in the town that Dracula turned Lucy Westenra into a vampire. The Bram Stoker Memorial Seat was erected in 1980 on the spot on the southern end of the West Cliff where Bram Stoker is believed to have received his inspiration for the part of the novel that is set in Whitby.

The coastline from Whitby to Saltburn by the Sea has long been famed for its smuggling activities. Houses in these tiny coastal communities pile one on top of another and it was easy for contraband to be passed from one house to the next without it appearing above ground. Secret rooms were also built into some of the houses so that smugglers could hide from the Excise men.
Smuggling itself was an accepted way of life for English coastal villages in the late 18th and early 19th Century and it was an activity performed by all sorts of people across the social scale from farmhands to clergymen to local gentry. Entire villages would turn out to help hide the contraband goods before the arrival of the preventive officers. Folklore and local legend depicts the smugglers as harmless men, who were merely trying to avoid paying an unlawful tax.
Saltburn and other villages like it were remote and isolated communities where hidden beaches meant unlawful business could be carried on far from prying eyes. Saltburn itself is ideally situated for smuggling as the cliffs provide an effective hiding place and the wooded coves provide cover for offloading cargo. The peak of smuggling activity was over a 150 year period from 1700 and towards the end of the 18th Century, the Saltburn - Whitby area became notorious as a smuggling hotspot.

With Whitby its self being full of gruesome tales, it isn't surprising that the Station Inn is very haunted. With its secret tunnels that the smugglers used to use and a room that they call the Murder Room down stairs in the cellar. The Inn is home to many disturbed spirits that are just waiting and lurking in every dark corner. With feelings of uneasiness and a sense of being watched isn't it understandable that when the bar staff have to go down the cellar they just want to get the heck out and do what they have to do fast and quick! When visiting the Station Inn myself, the atmosphere was really intense down in the cellar and I witnessed a dark shadow running out of the Murdered Room!