A Spooky Visit...

[Estelle]

The week before last I was hiking and camping in north Yorkshire. I just got around to downloading pictures from my phone, and thought I'd share these ones in case there are any vampire/gothic fiction fans here...

This is this ruins of Whitby Abbey, a 13th century monastery church which inspired a scene in Dracula! Bram Stoker visited Whitby while he was working on his novel, and part of the action takes place there. You reach the abbey by climbing 199 steps, which are supposed to have been climbed by Dracula in the form of a black dog... (click for larger image)


At the top of the steps is St. Mary's church and the graveyard where Dracula attacks one of his victims:


In the afternoon, a chilly mist descended, as if the legendary Count was returning from the grave! Here's a view from the other side of the harbour, with the steps, church and abbey just visible in the mist:


Definitely worth a visit if you get the chance!

While I was away, I re-read the Chronicles of Pern, and two other great sci-fi books which I hadn't read before: Kindred by Octavia Butler, and Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon.

Did anyone else make a fun trip over the summer? Or read anything good?

[Leigh]

Fantastic pictures, Estelle! Thank you for sharing 'em.

I started collecting "The Lunar Chronicles" by Marissa Meyer recently. I'm two books down, two to go. There's more in the series, but I'm not as interested in 'em; the primary story arc is in "Cinder", "Scarlet", "Cress", and "Winter". So those're the ones I want.

[emma]

I haven't been to Whitby in ages - did you check out Trenchers or The Magpie for the best fish (haddock) and chips??


I went to San Francisco, continuing the spooky theme, here's one the bridge emerging from fog

[Estelle]

Those books are on my (very long) to-read list, Leigh - what did you think?

I saw the Magpie - I think that was the one with a big banner saying it had won a Best Fish and Chips award - but annoyingly, I had just bought a cone of chips from another shop and two helpings seemed a bit much, even after all the hiking.

Although that did remind me of the highlight of my time in Whitby, which was that while I was walking along the harbour with my chips, a shadow fell across my path. An enormous seagull swooped down, snatched a whole ice cream cone out of the hands of a man right in front of my eyes and flew off. His expression was priceless!

I think seagulls must be our equivalent of firelizards...

[Leigh]

Those books are on my (very long) to-read list, Leigh - what did you think?

They're the best damn fractured fairy tales I've ever read. And they're done by a fellow "Sailor Moon" fan and cosplayer. [quietly geeks out with a squee]

[Len]

Lovely photos!