*This is a tale that was told to me many years ago as a Cub-Scout, and it’s a story that has been passed down throughout Cubs as they stay at the spooky railway station in Kettleness. When the railway station was in use, and in a time where child labour laws were nonexistent, a young…
Although the North York moors boast a plethora of haunting ghosts and foul beasts that lurk among its heather there aren’t many tales that are as harrowing and horrifying as the story known as the Gytrash of Goathland. In Julian Park once stood a castle built by Julian de Mauley. The date of this tale…
In the small town of Robin Hood’s Bay once lived a very frugal farmer named Bert Marshall. Now, a lot of Yorkshire folk are frugal, we tend to save money where we can and heaven forbid we pay out money for something we don’t need. Bert Marshall went way beyond looking after the pennies and…
Years ago, Oysters weren’t a delicacy of the rich, in fact they were thought of as more a poor man’s food and a lot of the working class on the coast depended on oysters for a meal. And that was no different in Whitby. Gadgy Clarke, or more commonly know around the town as ‘the…
As a child and visiting Whitby my parents were always telling me horror stories of Dracula and how he was buried in St Mary’s church, and it’s a story that was passed down to them from their parents. I had a deep fascination with anything macabre (and still do) so wondering around St Mary’s cemetery…
In many countries and the towns inside them have a variation of myths and legends describing a demonic black dog that is feared by all. The name often changes, depending on where you are, from ‘Black Shuck’ to the simpler ‘Hell Hound’, the folklore behind this creature even inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘the Hound…
This story is not one for the faint hearted. It has been passed along over time, though the details have not often changed. It is even featured in Whitby’s famous ghost walk, and for good reasons. On Grape Lane (once known as ‘Grope Lane’) there is a building that still stands today, but what a…
Before the introduction of Whitby’s toll booth in 1788 (built to pay for the upkeep of Whitby Abbey) a William Smith came to join a crowd of people that were being entertained by a popular puppeteer. William, for reasons unknown, refused to pay to watch the show entitled “Incredible Motion” which built up a rage…
Last night we ventured up to Whitby Abbey to witness it beautifully lit up, changing colours as the time went on and as people gathered in awe of the remains of what was once the most important building in Whitby. It was a fantastic night, filled with ghost stories, a retelling of Dracula, and an…
Whitby Uncovered 