Haunted Whitby: Ghost Stories and the B&Bs Where Guests Say They've Seen Things

Whitby's abbey ruins, cobbled yards and clifftop churchyard have drawn ghost-hunters for decades — here's where the stories come from and which stays put you closest to them.

Why Whitby Has So Many Ghost Stories

Whitby's geography does most of the work. The town sits where the River Esk meets the North Sea, and the ruins of Whitby Abbey stand on the East Cliff headland above St Mary's Church and its crowded churchyard. Wind off the water, 199 steps up to the graveyard, and a history that takes in a seventh-century monastery, a whaling port and a Victorian seaside trade — it's a setting people have been writing strange tales about for two hundred years. Bram Stoker stayed in the town in 1890 and used the abbey, the churchyard and the harbour in Dracula. That single connection still pulls visitors.

The other thread is local folklore rather than literature. Fishermen's wives, lost sailors, the 1881 storm that took the town's whaling fleet — these real losses sit behind a lot of the stories retold on the evening ghost walks that leave from near the Market Place. Whether or not you believe any of it, the walks are a good way to learn the shape of the old town after dark. Book the 7.30pm slot in summer; later ones finish after the abbey gates area goes quiet.

The East Cliff: Abbey, Churchyard and 199 Steps

Most reported sightings cluster on the East Cliff. The 199 steps from Church Street up to St Mary's Church are the classic route, and guests at the handful of small B&Bs on Henrietta Street, Church Street and Grape Lane often describe hearing footsteps or doors in the early hours. Treat those accounts as what they are — things guests have said, repeated in good faith — not as verified events. What is verifiable is the atmosphere: gas-lamp lighting, tight cobbled yards like Arguments Yard and Black Horse Yard, and the abbey silhouetted above you.

If you want to stay up here, expect to pay more for the position and less for space. Rooms in the old town tend to be small, in 18th- and 19th-century buildings, and rates run higher in July and August, at weekends and during the twice-yearly Whitby Goth Weekend, when the town fills months ahead. Off-season midweek nights in March or November are the best value. Book direct with a small B&B on the cliff and you'll usually get a firmer answer about which room you're actually getting.

West Cliff, the Harbour and Where to Sleep

The West Cliff side — around North Terrace, Royal Crescent and Crescent Avenue — is the other main choice. It's newer, mostly Victorian and Edwardian terraces, with larger rooms, more parking and a five- to ten-minute walk down to the harbour. You lose the cobbles and gain quiet. Hotels and guesthouses here cluster near the Pavilion and the Whale Bone Arch, and it's where I'd book if you're arriving by car, since on-street parking in the old town is limited and the station car park on Station Road fills early on summer Saturdays.

Between the two, my pick depends on the trip. For a two-night break built around the abbey and the ghost walks, book a small B&B on Church Street or Henrietta Street and accept the stairs and the noise. For a longer stay, a family trip or anything in winter, the West Cliff is more comfortable and better value, and you can walk to the same places in fifteen minutes. Skip the large chain-style properties on the outskirts if the point of the visit is the old town — you'll spend your time in the car.

Getting There, Timing and What to Skip

Whitby is the end of the Esk Valley line from Middlesbrough, roughly an hour and a half by train, and about two hours by rail from York with a change. By road it's around 50 miles from York, an hour and a half in clear traffic, and longer on summer weekends when the A169 over the moors backs up. May, June and September give you the best mix of long evenings, open attractions and rooms you can still book at short notice.

What to skip: the daytime 'ghost' shops selling plastic skulls, and any tour that promises you'll definitely see something. The good ones tell history and let you decide. Also skip trying to see the abbey and the churchyard and the harbour and the moors in one day. Give Whitby two nights minimum, and if you want the coast too, add Robin Hood's Bay, seven miles south by road, as a half-day rather than an overnight.

Questions, answered

Where do most ghost stories in Whitby centre on?

The East Cliff: the 199 steps, St Mary's Churchyard and the abbey ruins above them, plus the old cobbled yards off Church Street. The West Cliff and harbour feature less often in the stories.

What's the best time of year to visit Whitby for this kind of trip?

May, June and September offer long evenings and easier room availability. Avoid Goth Weekend dates unless you book months ahead. Midweek nights in March and November are usually the quietest and best value.

Should I stay on the East Cliff or the West Cliff?

East Cliff for atmosphere and proximity to the abbey, though rooms are smaller. West Cliff for space, parking and value, with a ten- to fifteen-minute walk to the old town.

← North Yorkshire's page