In the graveyard of St Marys Church, next to the Abbey, in Whitby is a gravestone marked with a scull and crossbones. It is heavily weathered but the carving can still be seen.
Some say that this is the grave of Dracula.
There are, however, other graves in the cemetery which are also marked with a deaths head and it is said that these mark the final resting places of pirates.
Those who died in poverty and were subject to a paupers funeral were believed also to have their graves identified in this way.
Others (hereafter referred to as 'spoilsports') insist that these graves belong to Puritans and that the scull and bones is simply a reference to death from a time before any macabre meaning became applied to the symbol, much in the same way Angels are regarded today.
Take your pick as to which you choose to believe, but I vote pirates!
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