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 to popular belief, the name Dracula does not translate to "son of the devil" in Romanian, which would be "fiul diavolului". Stoker came across the name Dracula in his reading on Romanian history, and chose this to replace the name ("Count Wampyr") originally intended for his villain. Some Dracula scholars led by Elizabeth Miller argue that Stoker knew little of the historic Vlad III except for the name "Dracula" in addition to a few bits of Romanian history. Stoker mentions that his Dracula fought against the Turks and was later betrayed by his brother, historical facts in the novel which