The Screaming Tunnel
"Like many landmarks in Whitby this passage has become linked to Dracula. The ‘Screaming Tunnel’ is said to
be the Count’s hideout, where his victims scream as they meet their fate. In truth it has a different kind of dark
history. Looking at the ‘Screaming Tunnel’ does it remind you of anything?
Though fishing was important in Whitby for centuries, poor roads over the surrounding North York Moors meant
catches could only be traded short distances. Few Whitby goods passed York, 46 miles away. But in the 1830s a
young entrepreneur identified a solution for expanding Whitby’s trade – the railway.
George Hudson built many of Yorkshire’s early railways and he completed a line and station in Whitby in 1839.
Hudson’s railway helped to transform the town. Trains improved Whitby’s trade links and encouraged new visitors.
People from across North Yorkshire, East Riding and beyond now chose Whitby as a holiday destination.
Hudson quickly saw Whitby’s potential as a seaside resort. He began building hotels and houses on the cliff top,
including Bram Stoker’s haunt the Royal Crescent. To speed up the job, Hudson built a small railway to carry
building materials up the cliff. The line (now a road) is still called The Khyber Pass, after a railway in India. The
‘Screaming Tunnel’ was part of it, which is why it looks like a mini railway tunnel.
By the 1860s, Hudson controlled railway companies across Britain. But “the Railway King” had a secret. Irregularities
were found in Hudson’s accounts and in 1865 he was jailed for corruption. In Whitby the Royal Crescent was left
half built while the ‘Screaming Tunnel’ became a shortcut to reach the harbour. [...]" (
Fish, fangs and fossils - Discover Yorkshire Coast
The Screaming Tunnel
"Like many landmarks in Whitby this passage has become linked to Dracula. The ‘Screaming Tunnel’ is said to
be the Count’s hideout, where his victims scream as they meet their fate. In truth it has a different kind of dark
history. Looking at the ‘Screaming Tunnel’ does it remind you of anything?
Though fishing was important in Whitby for centuries, poor roads over the surrounding North York Moors meant
catches could only be traded short distances. Few Whitby goods passed York, 46 miles away. But in the 1830s a
young entrepreneur identified a solution for expanding Whitby’s trade – the railway.
George Hudson built many of Yorkshire’s early railways and he completed a line and station in Whitby in 1839.
Hudson’s railway helped to transform the town. Trains improved Whitby’s trade links and encouraged new visitors.
People from across North Yorkshire, East Riding and beyond now chose Whitby as a holiday destination.
Hudson quickly saw Whitby’s potential as a seaside resort. He began building hotels and houses on the cliff top,
including Bram Stoker’s haunt the Royal Crescent. To speed up the job, Hudson built a small railway to carry
building materials up the cliff. The line (now a road) is still called The Khyber Pass, after a railway in India. The
‘Screaming Tunnel’ was part of it, which is why it looks like a mini railway tunnel.
By the 1860s, Hudson controlled railway companies across Britain. But “the Railway King” had a secret. Irregularities
were found in Hudson’s accounts and in 1865 he was jailed for corruption. In Whitby the Royal Crescent was left
half built while the ‘Screaming Tunnel’ became a shortcut to reach the harbour. [...]" (
Fish, fangs and fossils - Discover Yorkshire Coast