Slains Castle, also known as New Slains Castle to distinguish it from the nearby Old Slains Castle, is a ruined castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
The core of the castle is a 16th-century tower house, built by the 9th Earl of Erroll.[1] Significant reconstruction of the castle has been carried out a number of times, lastly in 1837 when it was rebuilt as a Scots Baronial mansion. At one time it had three extensive gardens but is now a roofless ruin.
Slains Castle is associated with the author Bram Stoker, who was a regular visitor to nearby Cruden Bay between 1892 and 1910.
Although New Slains Castle did not inspire the plot for Dracula, it is feasible that it provided a visual palette for Bram Stoker when he started writing the book in Cruden Bay in 1895. And a distinctive room in New Slains Castle, the octagonal hall, may be the source for the octagonal room in Dracula.[23][24]
‘The Count halted, putting down my bags, closed the door, and crossing the room, opened another door which led into a small octagonal room lit by a single lamp, and seemingly without a window of any sort.’ Dracula.[25]
Doesn’t look that new to me