New Slains Castle
New Slains Castle, first built in 1597 by Francis Hay 9th Earl of Erroll, sits at the top of the cliffs on the North Sea coast of Aberdeenshire; overlooking the Bay of Cruden to the southwest and the villages of Port Erroll and Cruden Bay about 1km to the west.
It is known as New Slains Castle to distinguish it from the nearby Old Slains Castle which was all but destroyed in 1594.
The author Bram Stoker (1847-1912) visited New Slains Castle before it fell into ruin and it apparently inspired him to write his novel Dracula. The novel's description of Dracula's castle does bear some resemblance to Slains including a reference to a small octagonal room which seems to match with the octagonal tower at Slains and the building's location on the top of steep cliffs.
Bram Stoker was a frequent visitor to Cruden Bay for summer holidays between 1892 and 1910. He usually stayed at the Kilmarnock Arms Hotel in Cruden Bay during these holidays and wrote part of his Dracula novel while visiting Cruden Bay in 1896.
New Slains Castle
New Slains Castle, first built in 1597 by Francis Hay 9th Earl of Erroll, sits at the top of the cliffs on the North Sea coast of Aberdeenshire; overlooking the Bay of Cruden to the southwest and the villages of Port Erroll and Cruden Bay about 1km to the west.
It is known as New Slains Castle to distinguish it from the nearby Old Slains Castle which was all but destroyed in 1594.
The author Bram Stoker (1847-1912) visited New Slains Castle before it fell into ruin and it apparently inspired him to write his novel Dracula. The novel's description of Dracula's castle does bear some resemblance to Slains including a reference to a small octagonal room which seems to match with the octagonal tower at Slains and the building's location on the top of steep cliffs.
Bram Stoker was a frequent visitor to Cruden Bay for summer holidays between 1892 and 1910. He usually stayed at the Kilmarnock Arms Hotel in Cruden Bay during these holidays and wrote part of his Dracula novel while visiting Cruden Bay in 1896.