Whitby mulls idea of fake graveyard for goths

The creation of a mock graveyard has been proposed to deter Dracula fans from taking pictures with real headstones in Whitby.

The North Yorkshire town was Bram Stoker's inspiration for Dracula and is home to a twice-yearly music festival for goths. But locals have complained for years about regular trespassing onto the graves of loved ones by goths wanting to shoot selfies and leaning on headstones, reports the Daily Mail.

Nearly 1,000 people have signed an online petition calling for the closure of St Mary's churchyard, which is close to the ruins of Whitby Abbey, during the festivals to avoid "damage" and "undesirable behaviour".

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"Not only is this disrespectful to the families and the church, it is giving goths a bad name, and causing tension in the community for those who are goths all year round, not just for the weekend," says the petition.

Organisers of the Bram Stoker Film Festival, another event held in Whitby, have come up with the idea of creating a "movie set" graveyard.

"The small movie set could be positioned to take in either the Abbey or St Mary's church as a backdrop for photographs," said the group.

Elaine Edmunds, of the arts group Decadent Drawing, told the BBC: "I think it is a very good idea. A lot of people want to come up here to have pictures taken. People show virtually no respect for the graveyard itself or the people buried there."

Scarborough Borough Council says it would be willing to discuss the land use, although this would require planning permission and consultation with residents.

But not everyone is so keen. GP Taylor, a former vicar at the abbey, said: "This is an absolutely stupid idea – completely ridiculous. I used to serve tea to the goths in the graveyard at midnight and they were extremely well behaved.

"We should be welcoming them to the church – not pushing them away. When I was there we had services for the goths and they contributed significant amounts to church funds."