World Dracula Day celebrates anniversary of Bram Stoker's novel

May 26 (UPI) -- World Dracula Day, celebrated annually on May 26, was started by a fan group in 2012 and timed to coincide with the date that Bram Stoker's vampire novel was first published.

The holiday was founded in 2012 by The Whitby Dracula Society 1897, a Whitby, England, group dedicated to celebrating the cultural importance of Bram Stoker and the novel Dracula, which is believed to have been inspired in part by the Gothic architecture of the town's Whitby Abbey.

The fan group chose May 26 for the holiday because it coincides with the date of Dracula's publication in 1897.

World Dracula Day 2022 will feature a Guinness World Record attempt at Whitby Abbey. English Heritage, which manages more than 400 cultural sites in the country, is aiming to gather 1,897 people in vampire costumes to celebrate the novel's 125th anniversary.

Other holidays and observances for May 26, 2022, include Ascension Day, Eat More Fruits & Vegetables Day, National Blueberry Cheesecake Day, National Cherry Dessert Day, National Paper Airplane Day, Sally Ride Day, World Lindy Hop Day and World Red Head Day.