The Photography of Dr. Jeff Harper

New Slains Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland is perched on cliffs above the crashing waves of the wild North Sea.

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Just outside of the little Scottish village of Cruden Bay, on a muddy track, sits the amazing New Slains Castle . . . the true home of Dracula.

On a very cold, clear, and windy morning I walked out to a seaside promontory where the [intentional] ruins of Slains Castle was situated.  It was the first sunny day in weeks, so I grabbed my camera for the opportunity for a castle shoot.

New Slains Castle is privately owned and is not developed for visitors.  Heavy rains over the past week made the walking torturous.  In fact, the entry was blocked by a fence, a cliff, and this wooden barricade.  But . . . . .

I found an inviting entry point to the castle property and went in.  I walked along a path that took me by some of what I thought might be out buildings.  I wanted to see the North Sea before I entered the ruins.

As I walked up on the North Sea cliffs, I could see the rough waters.

New Slains Castle sits high on the edge of cliffs that look down on a craggy coast pounded by the wild North Sea winter surf.

The waves were ferocious!  The wind at the edge of the cliffs was powerful: I could barely brace myself enough to take a photo.  What DRAMA!  What inspiration!

I was riveted by the constant pounding of the huge surf on the rocks.

Is there nothing more infatuating than watching big surf crashing on the seaside, with the wind blowing the tops off of the waves?  I do not think so.  I must have taken 100 photos here . . . and thinking each time that I had captured a momentous occasion of extreme importance . . . the Sea and Land in rough embrace.

The castle placement atop cliffs above the wild sea . . . a marvel.

I walked along the windy narrow strip of long grass between the castle on my right, and . . .

. . . the jagged rocks at the base of the cliffs on my left.

Forced to stand so close to the castle, I studied the construction detail.

The weathered plaster-over-stone construction method was coated in sea salt deposits.

I entered the ruins of 'Dracula's Castle.'  I say Dracula's Castle because  . . ." On [Bram] Stoker’s return to Cruden Bay in the summer of 1895, ‘the’ book [Dracula] was written. It is said that when the winds blow into Cruden Bay, the sea is churned into such violence that it fills the onlooker with fear. It was on such a day that Stoker sat near Slains Castle in the wind and rain like some sea bird perched on a rock and slowly, his creation, Count Dracula began to emerge in his mind’s eye... “... I saw the whole man slowly emerge from the window and began to crawl down the castle wall over that dreadful abyss, face down, with his clock spreading around him like great wings...” [ Citation ]

"That Dreadful Abyss" that Bram Stoker saw from the window of New Slains Castle.

Dracula's view!

"In her book The Essential Dracula, Clare Haword-Maden opined the castle of Count Dracula was inspired by Slains Castle, at which Bram Stoker was a guest of the 19th Earl of Erroll. According to Miller, he first visited Cruden Bay in 1893, three years after work on Dracula had begun. Haining and Tremaine maintain that during this visit, Stoker was especially impressed by Slains Castle's interior and the surrounding landscape." (Citation)

"In 1925 the roof was removed to avoid taxes,   and the building has deteriorated since. It is now a roofless shell, with most of the outer and inner walls standing to full height. In 2004 it was reported that the Slains Partnership was preparing plans for restoration of the building and conversion into 35 holiday apartments.   In August 2007 the scheme was granted outline planning permission by Aberdeenshire Council, but the plans were put on hold in 2009 due to the economic downturn." ^[Citation]

The tower of New Slains Castle was begun in 1597, and was built, remodeled, and rebuilt for many centuries afterward.  It was occupied up until 1906.

The castle has a very complex floor plan.

Wherever I went in the castle, I invariably came back around to a window opening that looked out onto the wild North Sea.

With the windows, doors, and interior wall panelling taken away, the spaces left were . . . quite spooky.

Long halls went off in all directions.

Halls everywhere.  You can see the joist supports coming out of the wall at right, indicating where the second floor would have been.

It was very interesting walking down these halls.  Openings would appear and new views would present themselves.  With the wind whistling through these passages, it was a very exciting experience.

One of the best things about the day was studying castle construction methods.

This must have been a Great Hall or Dining Room.

I had fun trying to figure out the intended use of each room.

Construction materials and methods varied throughout the castle.  I couldn't tell the difference between the 16th, 17th, or 18th century renovations and remodeling.

Previous doors and passages are bricked up here and there throughout.

I wondered if some walls were broken in order to get large fixtures out of the building, like fireplaces.

A rare historical photo of the interior of New Slains Castle while occupied (circa 1900).

This photo illustrates how wood panelling was attached to the stone and brick walls: wooden dowels were inserted in the stonework as it was being mortared so that panels could be affixed later.  They are still there, so presumably, they could be re-used.

It was such a beautiful day.

At this time of year, February, in the Northeast of Scotland the sun is always at a perfect angle for photography.

Of course, all of my wanderings were leading me to the feature that defines a castle, the tower.

The five-story tower in all its glory!

The tower spiral stairs.

The colors, textures, shapes, surfaces, and shadows in this scene create a complex and magnificent portrait.  The doorway to the castle tower steps.

The 'wall history' underneath the castle tower stairs.  At some point a plaster grout was trowelled in and something, perhaps tiles, were laid in, and since vanished.  Seeing the medieval craftsmen's scratches and marks humanizes these spaces.

The tower interior view from a different corner.

As it was getting late, and the sun was falling fast, I left the tower to go outside . . . .

I left New Slains Castle through this door.

I stepped out into the gale force winds to see the tall grass, laid over, where it met the weathered stone of the castle . . . too beautiful.  A still life portrait to remember.

A turreted element of the castle architecture.

The south exposure of New Slains Castle in all its glory.  The 14th century tower at right.

A similar view of New Slains Castle when it was still a living residence (circa 1900).

As I walked around the exterior of the castle, I realized these weren't the ruins of out buildings, but the exterior wall of yet another expansive renovation in the past.

I wanted to walk a way up the coast to get a long shot of the castle and it's precarious position on the cliffs . . . . when I turned around I saw this view . . .  WOW!  The tall grasses laid over in the ferocious wind.

It was a struggle walking in this slippery, grabby grass in such a strong wind.

I took my last photo of the rugged Scottish coast before walking back to the car and heading home.  It had been a magical day in a magical, if somewhat creepy, place.

As I drove back through the village of Cruden Bay I realized I hadn't eaten all day, so I stopped in at a small hotel and had a traditional Angus steak pie and tatties.  It was, of course, delicious.

I set the GPS to take me home . . . but I began to defy its instructions, making it compute an alternative route  in the hope that I might find something interesting on a new road.  I did.

The Belhelvie North Parish Church (circa 1870).  I was happy, the sky was beautiful, and I had spent the day outside on a wonderful winter day.