I never read Dracula as a kid. I was too busy catching up with Super Fudge
and Fourth Grade Nothings,
Ramona and Beezus, 
to give a hoot about "classic" books.
So as an adult, as in a YEAR ago, I picked up Dracula for the first time.
Now, I am NOT a book snob- I will sit in the library at the University I teach at and openly, PROUDLY read from the Twilight books. So I can admit here that when I purchased Dracula, I also picked up a copy of Shelley's Frankenstein. On three separate occasions, I poured a glass of wine, lay in the tub, and tried to become absorbed in Frankenstein. It just could not hold my attention. I put it back on the shelf, and picked up Dracula, fearing that this, too, would be a bitter disappointment (or maybe my attention span had really shrunk to miniature proportions).
Dracula ROCKED! It was a page turner! I could not put it down, and finished it in about a day. Since then, I have been OBSESSED with going to Whitby, the main location for the book.
I finally coerced my dear friends Pat and Trevor to fulfill my literary nerd fantasy this past week.
The Abbey, where Dracula first prays upon Lucy, looks EXACTLY as Stoker describes it. Towering, looming against the horizon.
The Graveyard- Can you not see "Thriller Part 2" being shot here!?!?
One of the best parts of the trip was going to the Dracula Museum. Yes, such a place exists! You pay your cash, then enter into a pitch black haunted house-like extravaganza. Imagine Chuckie Cheese animatronics gone goth! You could barely see where you were going. I was alone, and completley disoriented. About half way through, I seriously was scared, thinking THIS WAS A REALLY SHIT IDEA. At the very end, right before you exit Dracula's "tomb," an actor runs up behind you. I almost peed my pants. Totally worth the three quid admission, if for nothing else than the shock at the end.
Of course, a trip to Whitby would not be a trip without fish and chips. We went to Magpie's, a spot that fish expert Rick Stein has coined "the best fish and chips in the UK." There was a half an hour que in the take away line! By the time we got our meal, our little band of travelers could barely speak, we were so hungry. Honestly, Magpie's was ok, but NOT the best. I am still saying the Fish Shack in Southwold holds that honor. If you are going to pay £60 for a meal (yes, that was the cost for three fish and chip meals, NO BOOZE!!!), wait for a long ass time, etc., it had better be divine! I would personally pass on Magpie's and instead go to a take away, then stroll along the docks.
Overall verdict on Whitby: A bit "everyday like Sunday," as in a seaside town they forgot to shut down. Worth a day trip if you are a goth / literary nerd / NEED to be near a beach like me. I am happy that I did not force my beau James to come with me for a weekend- I do not think there would have more to do than an afternoon would allow for. Come if you are in the Yorkshire area, or just can not stop obsessing about vampire ground zero.
Next trip: James forces me to go to Nottinghill Carnival- in exchange for taking me to Winchester to see Jane Austen's house.
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