Whitby: On the trail of Dracula
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Hi, I'm Lil. And I'm Fitz. And you're listening to Knock Once For Yes. Well, our living room may still be strewn with signs of the end of summer, looking rather like a second-hand camping shop with the yet-to-be-unpacked chaos of our last research road trip to the coast. But outside, summer is definitely over, and chill, misty mornings and autumn winds are declaring that spooky season is in full swing. So what better time to take you on a journey to track down ghosts, mythical beasts and even vampires in the second installment of our Whitby series. So Fitz, what have we got coming up on today's episode?
Coming up, we have a haunted island on the paranormal radar. We have listener stories from Kat, Rob and Katie. And we proudly bring you the second episode of our Whitby adventures in which we discover ghosts, legends and history galore as we return to the cliffs of Whitby on the trail of Dracula. And if you want to skip ahead to any of these segments, there will be timestamps in the show notes. But before we get stuck into all of that, we would like to say a huge thank you to our latest patron, Connie Martin.
And as always, we want to say a massive thank you to all of our patrons and coffee supporters, old and new. I know this episode has been a long time coming and this whole series, including the third instalment, which we still have coming up, has been a labour of love. But it's something I've wanted and needed to create for basically 20 years. So from the bottom of my heart, I am so grateful that you wonderful people have given me the incredible opportunity to create it. Thank you so, so much for making this happen. And I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we have loved making it. But now let's get stuck into the episode. And Fitz, what have you got for us on the Paranormal Radar?
Our Paranormal Radar story this episode is brought to us by Sky News, who asked the question, would you buy a six-acre island near Plymouth with a private beach and 15 ghosts? And we say, do you even need to ask? Drake's Island, named for Sir Francis Drake, lies a mere 600 yards from Plymouth. It became a fortified defence against the French and Spanish fleets in 1549 and continued its role in defending the southern coast for several hundred years and through both world wars, all the way until 1963 when the War Office finally vacated it. The island houses a barracks and other buildings from the Napoleonic era and even artillery batteries including several 18th century cannons. It has changed hands a couple of times since 1963, first being used as a youth adventure training centre from 1964 until 1989, which sounds super cool. It was then bought by a businessman that wanted to turn it into a hotel complex. It was most recently bought for £6 million in 2018, with the aim of opening the island up as both a museum and a hotel.
but it seems that the renovation costs are more than the current owner is able to invest in the site, as he has suggested a figure of £25 million will be required to complete his vision. He has, therefore, put the site back on the market. There is no guide price that I can currently find, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was now a little north of the £6 million paid in 2018. Sadly, even without the £25 million for the renovations, Drake's Island is a little out of our budget, as I would love to get my hands on it. Not only is it a really cool little island, but it is also, apparently, really haunted. The story claims that there are 15 ghosts on the island, and after looking at a few articles, I found that number repeated several times, but I haven't managed to find out exactly how that figure was reached. There does though seem to be a lot of paranormal activity reported there.
I found a story from Plymouth Live in 2021 when they spoke to the steward of the island who recounted a few of the experiences that people have had, as well as some handy hints if you would like to experience them for yourself. The activity is reported to range from uneasy feelings and sounds like whistling and coughing, even including voices from within a shuttered-up building, to more physical encounters with people being touched and having things tug on their clothing.
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