St Mary's Church, Whitby arch is a Jacobean pew. There is a monument to Sir Richard Cholmley who died in 1631. Two significant land slips due to broken drainage and torrential rain, the first occurring in November 2012, have placed the churchyard, and properties below the cliff, in significant jeopardy. Whitby town councillor Steve Smith stated the church was in no danger, having been built on solid rock. Human remains have fallen onto the street below, and pathways on the cliff-side of the church have been closed. Bram Stoker used St Mary's Church graveyard as the setting for a scene in his novel, "Dracula":
Dracula in popular culture Henry Carpenter, Van Helsing's valet who saves Van Helsing's life multiple times. Department 19 (or Blacklight), is an organization started by the people from the original "Dracula", and they fight vampires across the world. Dacre Stoker, who is a great-grandnephew of Bram Stoker, co-wrote with screenwriter Ian Holt a sequel to "Dracula" titled "Dracula the Un-dead" (Stoker's original title), which reveals that Dracula was not actually the true villain, but sought to eliminate the more dangerous Elizabeth Bathory, the storyline also revealing that Quincey Harker is actually the son of Mina and Dracula and ending with the death of all