Are there ghost walks in Whitby?

Yes. Local operators including Dr Crank's ghost walk (Whitby Walks), the Whitby Storyteller and the Red Hat Ghost Walk lead ghost walks through the old town. Check each operator's website for dates and booking.

How long is a Whitby ghost walk?

The Yorkshire Post describes Dr Crank's ghost walk as about 75 minutes. Other walks vary, so check with the operator.

What is the Hand of Glory in Whitby Museum?

A mummified human hand found in a cottage wall at Castleton and given to Whitby Museum in 1935. Legend says such hands were used by burglars to keep a household asleep.

Is Whitby Abbey haunted?

Local legends tell of a white lady seen in an abbey window and the ghost of a walled-up nun. The white lady legend was recorded by Bram Stoker in Dracula.

What are the snakestones of Whitby?

Ammonite fossils. Local legend says they were snakes turned to stone by the prayers of St Hild.

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Whitby ghost walks and ghost stories

By Jon Cosson · Updated 25 October 2026

Whitby has more ghost stories than most towns its size: a ruined abbey on the cliff, a harbour full of wrecks, narrow yards and a starring role in Dracula. Several local storytellers lead ghost walks through the old town after dark. This guide tells the best known legends, with where they come from, and lists the ghost walks so you can check dates with the operators.

Ghost walks in Whitby

Dr Crank's ghost walk, run by Whitby Walks, is led by a storyteller in Victorian character. The Yorkshire Post describes it as a walk of about 75 minutes through Whitby's streets and alleyways, with tales of witches, murder and the Headless Horseman.

The Whitby Storyteller and the Red Hat Ghost Walk also lead ghost walks in the town.

Walks run on set dates and some take private or pre-booked groups only, so check each operator's own website for dates, start points and booking before you go.

The Hand of Glory

Whitby Museum in Pannett Park holds one of the strangest objects in Yorkshire: a mummified human hand. It was found hidden in the wall of a thatched cottage in Castleton, up on the moors, came into the hands of Joseph Ford, a stonemason and local historian, and was given to the museum in 1935.

Local legend says a Hand of Glory was cut from a hanged criminal and pickled, then used by burglars. Lit like a candle, it was said to send everyone in the house into a sleep they could not wake from, and its flame could only be put out with blood or skimmed milk. The museum describes it as the only alleged surviving example of its kind.

The white lady of the abbey

When Bram Stoker stayed in Whitby in 1890, he recorded a local legend in Dracula: Mina writes that a white lady is said to be seen in one of the windows of the ruined abbey.

The walled-up nun

Sir Walter Scott's poem Marmion tells of Constance de Beverley, a young nun who broke her vows for the knight Marmion and was walled up alive. Her story became attached to Whitby Abbey, and local legend says her ghost is seen on the abbey steps, begging to be released. English Heritage includes it among its spooky stories of the abbey, though the walling up comes from Scott's poem rather than history.

St Hild and the snakestones

Local legend says St Hild rid the headland of snakes by prayer: their heads fell off and their coiled bodies turned to stone. The snakestones are ammonites, fossils found in Whitby's cliffs and on its beaches.

Bells heard at sea

Dracula records another Whitby legend: that when a ship is lost, bells are heard out at sea.

The barguest, the black dog

Across northern England, legend tells of the barguest, a huge black dog whose appearance foretells a death, and the moors have their own black dog stories. It has been suggested that Stoker had barguest lore in mind when Dracula comes ashore at Whitby in the form of a great dog.

Dracula's Whitby

Whitby's most famous ghost story is a novel. Our Dracula and Whitby guide explains how Bram Stoker found the name Dracula here, the real wreck behind the Demeter, and a walk around the Dracula places.

Read on: a modern ghost story

If ghost stories rooted in real places and real history are your thing, Souls of Scapa Flow by S.D. Read is a supernatural thriller set in Orkney, inspired by the loss of the battleship HMS Vanguard in 1917.

Frequently asked questions

Are there ghost walks in Whitby?: Yes. Local operators including Dr Crank's ghost walk (Whitby Walks), the Whitby Storyteller and the Red Hat Ghost Walk lead ghost walks through the old town. Check each operator's website for dates and booking.
How long is a Whitby ghost walk?: The Yorkshire Post describes Dr Crank's ghost walk as about 75 minutes. Other walks vary, so check with the operator.
What is the Hand of Glory in Whitby Museum?: A mummified human hand found in a cottage wall at Castleton and given to Whitby Museum in 1935. Legend says such hands were used by burglars to keep a household asleep.
Is Whitby Abbey haunted?: Local legends tell of a white lady seen in an abbey window and the ghost of a walled-up nun. The white lady legend was recorded by Bram Stoker in Dracula.
What are the snakestones of Whitby?: Ammonite fossils. Local legend says they were snakes turned to stone by the prayers of St Hild.

Sources: The Hand of Glory (Whitby Museum); Spooky stories (English Heritage); St Hild of Whitby (English Heritage); Whitby Abbey and Dracula (English Heritage); Dracula, chapter 6 (public domain text) (Toronto Metropolitan University Pressbooks); Yorkshire ghost tours: six of the spookiest walks (Yorkshire Post); Barghest (Countryfile); Black dog lore of the North York Moors (Martyn Hudson)

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