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 and wolves and night". In 2009, an official sequel was published, written by Bram Stoker's great grand-nephew Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt. Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker will write a prequel to "Dracula" titled "Dracul". An interpretation of the missing 101 pages of the original novel, it was pieced together from Bram Stoker's editorial notes, artifacts, and journals. The story of "Dracula" has been the basis for numerous films and plays. Stoker himself wrote the first theatrical adaptation, which was presented at the Lyceum Theatre on 18 May 1897 under the title "Dracula, or The Undead" shortly before the