Bram Stoker
Crowd with teeth from 1369 broke the Guinness World Record for vampire gatherings in honor of the classic novel by Bram Stoker
It was, of course, said the English Heritage later, a fantastic effort. But there was a lot to bet on. After months of careful preparation, the idea was to set a world record for the most people dressed as vampires in a place that Dracula would surely call his spiritual home.
He wouldn’t be pleased with how happy and carefree everyone looked as they entered the Gothic ruins of Whitby Abbey on Thursday night. The gray clouds and the rain of the afternoon even made their way to the blue sky and the magnificent sun.
It was also incredibly windy, which provided maximum swelling of the noses.
The meeting marked the 125th anniversary of the publication of Bram Stoker’s novel. Photo: Christopher Thomond / Guardian
“These are just things I have in my closet,” said 24-year-old Keith Robson in full vampire attire. She was there with her siblings Christine, 29, Nick, 27, and William, 23, from Cockfield, Durham County.
Christine was the driving force behind them because she loved Bram Stoker’s novel. “Prose is so different from everything written now, it was such a different way of looking at the world. There were so many layers and meanings, she said. For Nick, meanwhile, it was “just a great way to scare people.”
Retired photographer Chris Martin of Beer Devon led the queue. “As soon as I heard about it. I knew I had to get on.
“This is the first time I’ve dressed and spent about a week learning how to put on makeup – what does it look like?”
The stewards checked people’s teeth before letting them in. Photo: Christopher Thomond / Guardian
Another couple, Bob Trainer and Christine Brown of Stockton-on-Tees, were there for fun to celebrate Stoker’s local ties to Whitby; the author finds his original inspiration for the story while on holiday in the coastal city of Yorkshire in 1890 and provides atmospheric places in the book. The coach said he worked in a bodybuilding factory. “Not real bodies,” Brown said. “No, Luton Box vans,” Trainer said.
The goal was to gather at least 1,040 people in the abbey dressed as vampires, thus breaking the record set in 2011 at an amusement park in Doswell, Virginia. Whitby’s efforts were focused on marking the exact 125th anniversary of Dracula’s publication.
It was a silly event, yes, but they took it deadly seriously, said Abbey Governor Mark Williamson, dressed in a magnificent Victorian cloak and suit made in the 1840s. “I live with a costume historian,” he explained.
“We have to take it seriously because we have a lot of respect for the people who set the record. We want to honor these people. It would be bad if we suddenly let people in sneakers. “
Stoker visited Whitby in 1890 and was inspired by the city and the ruins of a 13th-century abbey. Photo: Oli Scarff / AFP / Getty
Previous attempts to break the record failed due to stupid things like the wrong shoes, so the organizers tried to simplify the invitation as simply as possible: black shoes, black pants or skirts, black cloak, shirt, vest and pointed teeth.
More than 3,000 people have registered their interest, but registering an interest and appearing are, of course, two different things.
There were nerves torn before the event. Williamson said he really had no idea how many people would come.
But they showed up, including many who did not register but simply heard about the event at the last minute. There were entry requirements. “Can I see your teeth, please,” said the flight attendants. Shortly after 9pm on Thursday, the news came – the effort was not in vain, the record was broken with 1369 vampires gathered in one place.
Guardian journalist Mark Brown grits his teeth. Photo: Christopher Thomond / Guardian
Whitby Abbey was the obvious place to try to record. It is in Whitby Stoker that he absorbs the atmosphere that will be a key part of the novel’s success – the ruins of the abbey, innocent tourists, the beautiful harbor and the salty tales of the chewed-up locals.
The names of several victims were taken from tombstones found in the church, and Stoker found the name “Dracula” while looking at a book in Whitby’s Public Library.
Gothic canine accomplice. Photo: Christopher Thomond / Guardian
Williamson said: “When you look at the legacy of this book, which has not been published since 1897 and has been adapted hundreds of times … it means so much to so many different people. So, in fact, having a mass of people dressed as vampires just feels right.
He certainly looked real, though he seemed insecure. “I don’t know what my team will think of me, parading in a place that looks like Darth Vader.”
His colleague Joe Savage, a senior interpreting manager at English Heritage, also looked pretty good. “I’m afraid I look more like a fat middle-aged bat than a polite vampire,” he said.
Unlike Williamson, he didn’t have a cloak to put in his closet. “My daughter made mine. She cannibalizes a prom dress. But I have teeth and I have Fixadent, I’m ready to go.
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