Weatherwatch: 1885 Whitby storm inspired grim scene in Dracula

5 October 2020 · The Guardian

Jeremy Plester

Bram Stoker Estate account

Estate summary

Jeremy Plester recounts the storm and wreck of the Dmitry at Whitby in October 1885, considering its connection with Dracula’s fictional Demeter. The piece places the novel’s arrival scene beside local maritime history; the two ships and their stories should be distinguished.

Weatherwatch, 5 October 2020. The source discusses the 1885 wreck of the Dmitry and its proposed relationship to the fictional Demeter. The related Whitby photograph is not a photograph of the wreck.

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Related illustration: Whitby Abbey and St Mary’s Church above the townCourtesy of the Bram Stoker Estate.