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 on the role of Dracula in "Count Dracula", a 1970 Spanish-Italian-German coproduction notable for its adherence to the plot of the original novel. Playing the part of Renfield in that version was Klaus Kinski, who later played Dracula himself in 1979's "Nosferatu the Vampyre". In 1977, the BBC made "Count Dracula", a 155-minute adaptation for television starring Louis Jourdan. Later film adaptations include John Badham's 1979 "Dracula", starring Frank Langella and inspired by the 1977 Broadway revival of the Deane/Hamilton play, and Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 "Bram Stoker's Dracula", starring Gary Oldman. The character of Count Dracula has remained popular