New Slains Castle and Bram Stoker's Dracula

[@monicab204]

I read Dracula when as a kid I found a copy in the basement of the family farm. Loved it and I can see how this castle could be an inspiration. FYI: As a child I was sure there was portal to hell the basement.

[@scotlandunplugged]

😂

[@nenaelliott8058]

With a roof, a stone floor and some creepy Gothic furniture, this is exactly what Count Dracula Castle looks like in my mind.. 😢

[@shirleylaboy603]

It is very interesting compared to the stories from Romania. I read the book many years ago, but I think I will read it again. Thanks for another story from the archives. I love your channel Robert thanks for sharing. 🙂♥️

[@salchipapa5843]

You sold me on that being the actual castle with the octagonal room. Great video as always.

[@Emma-Jayne]

That castle is huuuuge! It’s certainly the size I imagined castles would be when built. Odd flow to it though, although the sea is calling to it. Must see it and take pictures before the sea claims it as her own though….Bucket liiiist! ❤

[@sheilaaguon-hs5gf]

The only way you could have made this scarier was to film at night. Wow very cool place. Thank you.

[@Feline_Frenzy53]

How beautiful it is, Robert. It would be a shame if it fell into the sea. I think it is a real contender for Dracula's castle!

[@craigsinclair7864]

I am originally from Cruden Bay, many generations of kids grew up playing in the castle. The octagonal red brick tower in the centre is the original 16th century bit. The Bram Stoker story is well known in Cruden Bay, the kids learn about it in primary school....as well as the battle against the Vikings in 1012. The name Cruden Bay is a corruption of the Gaelic Croch Den, or slaughter of the Danes....

[@scotlandunplugged]

I tried pronouncing croch den but realised I was messing it up 😂

[@bigblue6917]

To the victor goes the spoils. Or in this case bragging rights,

[@shalacarter6658]

Thanks for this great information!

[@shalacarter6658]

Is this National Trust land? And what about the beaches?

[@craigsinclair7864]

@@shalacarter6658 morning, the castle was bought quite a few years ago by a property developer . They planned to turn it into luxury flats but nothing happened so maybe the costs involved were too high, after all it is a historic building dating back to the end of the 1500’s.

[@Patricia-zq5ug]

I watched The Castle Girl on this just the other day. This is one of the most beautiful ruined castles ever!

[@danaridings6387]

Just the kind of place I would love to camp at. Love old ruins like these!

[@KatrinaMacGregor]

Slaines is on my next trip, number one on the agenda. Not because of Dracula, but because of the book, winter sea, which is my favorite book -historical fiction. It talks about life there during the 1707 Union.

[@waynekerrgoodstyle]

Dracula or not, It would still be a good day out.

[@DawnaLeigh]

Wow! I've never heard that story before. I'm not surprised though, after all we are talking about Scotland.😂

[@Zaephyrs]

Thanks for another great video! New Slains Castle looks quite worth a look and the Kilmarnock Arms seems like the place to stay while doing it.

[@sharonm3677]

I bet that castle was exquisite in its day. I actually could see Dracula living in a castle like that and going from room to room! Lol. Loved the video Robert and thank you for again climbing to heights to bring us a good story. ❤❤

[@mschoy1597]

You have vampires in Scotland 😃 I will be going there FOR SURE 😁😁😁😁😁

[@scotlandunplugged]

😂

[@lindamazur4208]

that is a beautiful setting for sure ,I would camp there ,but maybe outside the castle walls .Looks great to explore !💙

[@brianstevenson5626]

Grew up in Cruden Bay and loved exploring the castle in my younger years. Still visit to this day

[@LeonTroutskiunplugged]

Another fantastic tale, Thank you so much!

[@jacquelinejohnson9447]

Cool video. Thank you!😊

[@EbbandFlow1234]

Love the Dracula story. Thankyou.

[@hildabower314]

😮

[@bethotoole6569]

Okay so Stoker was a method writer?? Interesting..so he became his character.. Yup I wouldn't want to be around him either! Many thanks for the unrelated death and religion. Always enjoyable! Great drone footage!! 👍👍😎

[@scotlandunplugged]

Haha. Maybe...

[@bethotoole6569]

@@scotlandunplugged Hey Robert,,, have you considered doing a video on Bonniebridge??

[@bethotoole6569]

Disregard.. just heard you mention it on your live!!

[@seuchengaul77]

my favourite book of my youth

[@cheryl4811]

I definitely think this is Bram Stoker's Castle Dracula. Thanks Robert.

[@skyedancer3106]

Hi Robert, that castle is so huge. What scares me is it looks ready to fall at anytime. Thanks for sharing. Take care and stay safe till next time. ❤

[@haggielady]

Thank you Robert, you nailed it again. This castle makes so much more sense than Transylvania.

[@suellenspencer-eb2nv]

Fantastic history. Thank you❤❤❤

[@nicohutcheon]

Another enjoyable watch James 👍🙂

[@annebell7274]

Never knew about this Castle but I've been to Whitbyfor many a holiday. Fantastic place. Love Dracula, one of my favourites also. 👌👌👌🧡

[@scotlandunplugged]

Was there on holiday five years ago. Love North Yorkshire. My dad was born there.

[@herstoryswitness]

There is something about these remote ruins that affects some people in the extreme. No one can say for certain but it could be dark shadows!😊

[@bigblue6917]

Not the place to be on a cold night in a thunderstorm. We were in Whitby just a few weeks ago. We had intended to climb those steps but as it was very cold and windy we thought better of it and went to Trenchers for fish and chips.

[@scotlandunplugged]

Sounds like a good choice!

[@mjdossett7343]

That was so interesting! Thanks again for a great story! I had read Dracula at a young age and loved the story, but didn't know the writer was from Dublin. Your back ground info about him just made it all that more interesting. Wish I could travel to Scotland and just stay for about 6 months and visit all these great sites you've shown us!

[@Iris_Germany]

Thank you for this interesting story! ❤

[@ramonadixon1291]

Yes!! That is exactly what I think it would look like. I would be a bit creeped out being there by myself even during the day. 😮

[@patriciamccormack7626Teashee]

Dracula oooo😈spooky right enough Robert 😳 Thank you for the information on the man behind the story/history, that shore looks so peaceful to be near something so spooky 🙃 Have a great weekend Robert ❤

[@brucemacallan6831]

1:35 RIP Ian Steele, he fell to his death right there when we were boys of 10 years of age.

[@scotlandunplugged]

That's horrific. I get the fear any time I'm near cliffs and my kids are around.

[@robertamity3563]

🧛‍♂️Good story, 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿unplugged❤️your work 👍😎🇺🇸 !

[@scotlandunplugged]

Thank you!

[@robertamity3563]

@@scotlandunpluggedYou are very Welcome and How are your Brother’s ? 👍😎🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿/🇺🇸 !

[@stephenoran2019]

I'm afraid that Hollywood has muddied the waters too much for me to sort out exactly what the castle would look like. There's even a little bit of Mel Brooks influence in there somewhere! But this was a very interesting bit of history! Thank you for that!

[@E_D_43]

Brilliant video. Love Dracula, but didn't know this Scottish link.

[@treyporter7611]

Good story. Nice haircut!

[@shalacarter6658]

Hi Robbie! So, that beach. Is that part of a national park? Or just a pay at the car park and hang out place? I wonder why no one is fishing there. (Always take your trash home with you especially your fishing line, folks!) What a great video! I've never heard of Dracula's Trail and now must research it. Sweet stands of Gorse there! I am somewhat obsessed with spotting Gorse.

[@scotlandunplugged]

It's not part of a national park and surprisingly the car parks in the area are free. I think the cliffs are probably just a bit high for fishing, although you could get down on to the rocks. It was a Wednesday so it was a bit quiet.

[@lindadeleon8326]

Looks like Dracula could walk right out looks haunted

[@leofsige]

I love that castle layout. Really intriguing. But staying there over night… probably not.

[@scotlandunplugged]

Haha. No way.

[@Alasdair54]

I'm sure Stoker took a lot of inspiration from New Slains but you need to remember that when he visited it and dined with the Hays that the castle was still a (rich) family home, not a ruin. The current state is a result of the 1920s selling off to pay debts and the roof then being removed to avoid taxes. It is steadily deteriorating. Unlike the solid granite Dunnottar, which would need a nuclear explosion to destroy it, much of New Slains is made of brick (from the local brickworks) and is becoming ever more ruinous. The modern appearance is not how it looked when Bram Stoker visited. It was quite a grand house at the start of the 20th century.

[@shalacarter6658]

Cool! Not that it is falling into ruins, but that it was a still a family home then.

[@EmeraldVideosNL]

The octagonal room is too much of a coincidence. I do imagine Dracula's castle to look more gothic, more medieval.

[@davidcreager1945]

It's a wonderful Castle ! But i think it's too big and not defendable enough for The Prince . By the way Dracula translates to Son of The Dragon , his father was a knight . Thanks for sharing this enjoyable video ! Hope you and your family have a wonderful weekend ! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 / 🇺🇲

[@sallychambers7783]

Quite a big ruin. Have to say I haven't given Dracula much thought in my life. Interesting nevertheless.

[@jeremy1350]

Hi Robert. I had quite the Dracula library. Odd books from all over, when I lived in Miami. Years ago. There are many accounts I remember of old castles. The one book I re-read often is by Elizabeth Kostova - The Historian. it is a very hefty book coming in at 642 pages. I've also read Bram Stoker's books too. There was one Dracula book, I had, set in Britain that I was very fond of, back in the day. I don't think you could find many copies of some of the Dracula books I had in my collection any more. They are all probably out of print. (this is back when Borders Books) had a brick and mortar I used to shop at in Miami. They had very odd and particular collections of books you could not get anywhere else. Thanks to whomever did their buying. When they went belly up, so did their collections. Saw the "Sheep Saver" himself over at Tom Pemberton's Farm earlier today. They were at the National Hoof Trimmer's Conference together.

[@scotlandunplugged]

Haha. The Sheep Saver. I had to think about that. I'd forgotten about Borders Books. It was always a good place to hang out.

[@BoadiceanRevenge]

Yes I read the many years ago. Some of the films were good although the one with Keanau Reeves got a bit of a drubbing because he was seen as a bit 'wooden'. Not now of course! Cheers for video. That castle in itself is definitely a bit scary! Ooer missus! 😱😁🙋👌

[@curtwright4740]

Really cool lad! Like your content and like you.

[@lindaarmstrongjackman9788]

Now I will have to read the book

[@scotlandunplugged]

Always a good thing :-)

[@sarahhunter1114]

I need to start saving for a trip to Scotland. I've started dreaming about being there! This obsession is becoming unhealthy😆

[@charlesmugleston6144]

Is it haunted by any Drac Queens do you know ? Looks like a place of high drama anyway.........and the odd dram or two.........

[@TheKillerqueen40]

Wait... Brahm is short for Abraham?? I just assumed it was his full name! I'm learning a lot today...

[@viridiangreen8259]

🧛‍♂️ 🏰 ❤

[@vgalis]

In all fairness, the "real" Dracula's Castle (Bran) was designated as such during the communist era as a ploy to boost foreign tourism. It is a real 14th century castle, but it belonged to the city of Brasov and was guarding one of the mountain passes on the border between Wallachia and Transylvania. It has (almost) no relation to the historical Dracula, and we know Stoker never saw it. I have mixed feelings about it, as I think of it as both an overcrowded tourist trap and also an interesting place worth a visit as it's still in good shape and one of the older castles in that area.

[@scotlandunplugged]

I'd love to visit, but I live in Edinburgh so know exactly what you mean about mixed feelings and tourist traps! 🙂

[@slydermartin6008]

BOO!