WHITBY Abbey has been bathed in an eerie glow ahead of the town’s ever-popular Goth weekend this Halloween.

This year marks the 21st anniversary of Whitby Goth Weekend and – as ever – the town is set to attract thousands of Goths, steam punks, witches and people from across the British Isles wanting to join the theatrical and macabre celebration.

Coinciding with this year's festival is the illumination of Whitby Abbey, which is being lit up in a multi-coloured display for four days.

At the abbey, costumed characters will present tales of grave robbing and witch trials and a live performance of Dracula.

The bi-annual Whitby Goth Festival began in 1994 when Jo Hampshire organised a meeting of about 40 penpals who met via NME magazine. The first event was small enough to be held in the back room of the town’s Elsinore pub.

Now it has spread out across the North Yorkshire coastal town, bringing people in flamboyant dress from Britain and abroad to the place made famous by Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

The festival is estimated to generate an estimated £1m in annual income for the town.

Events will be kicked-off on Thursday night (October 29) when RAW nightclub, will host a fundraiser for the Sophie Lancaster Foundation, a charity aiming to promote tolerance towards alternative cultures, LGB groups and people with disabilities in schools and prisons.

The charity was set up in memory of Sophie Lancaster, who died in 2007 after she and her partner were attacked in Stubbeylee Park in Bacup, Lancashire.

There will also be a new Fringe event; as Alternative Model of the Year search for their 2016 winner at The Coliseum Centre in Whitby on Saturday afternoon. The event strives to challenge the traditional view of beauty and is £6 to enter.

The festival is one of the sponsors of Alternative Model of the Year.

It is also continuing to fundraise for the Bat Conservation Trust. To date it has raised more than £48,000 for the trust and has even sponsored its own orphaned bat at Tolga Bat Hospital.

A number of bands are lined up to perform over the weekend.

On Friday (October 30) bands Altered Images, Fearless Vampire Killers, Bad Pollyanna and Chasing Dragons will be performing in the town.

On Saturday, Spear of Destiny, The Last Cry, Vince Ripper and the Rodent Show and In Isolation will be playing.

The majority of festival attractions take place on Saturday (October 31) and Sunday (November 1). HotRod Kustom cars will be on the West Cliff, while the Bizarre Bazaar will feature 120 stalls of alternative clothing at Whitby Pavilion.

This year the festival has seen a large demand for tickets.