We did it! Well done to all that assisted the Whitby Abbey’s successful Guinness World Record attempt for the ‘largest gathering of individuals costumed as vampires. The record was broken this morning with thousands of blood sucking vampire outfits parading all around the abbey.
The news was shared on the English Heritage Twitter page with an image of all the gathered vampires (in daylight we might add).
Writing on Twitter they said: “We’ve just broken the GUINNESS WORLD RECORD™ for the Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Vampires with 1369 vampires!
“We’d like to say a BIG thank you to everyone who has come along to Whitby Abbey to help make this happen – you all looked fang-tastic!”
The world record commemorates the 125th anniversary of Dracula, Bram Stoker’s first publication. The Whitby Abbey personnel successfully organised the world’s largest gathering of individuals dressed as vampires this morning.
To break the record the “vampires” needed to stand together in the same place for five minutes. Shortly after nine on Thursday, it was confirmed that the record had been broken.
The record attempt kicks off a week of special events to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the first publication of Dracula, which was inspired by the ruins of Whitby’s 13th century gothic abbey.
Dracula’s first victim is in Whitby, and the abbey appears in Bram Stoker’s 1897 gothic horror book. The previous record was set in 2011 in Doswell, Virginia, with 1,039 people costumed as vampires.
Every year, hundreds of Dracula aficionados flock to Whitby, with many visitors to the North Yorkshire coastal resort mistakingly inquiring where Dracula’s burial is, oblivious to the fact that he is a fictional character.
Read More: The Fascinating History Behind How Whitby’s 199 Steps Became So Famous
Feature Image Credit: English Heritage Twitter
