The original idea was conceived in 2007, when two friends Matthew Bland and Joseph Tan, developed the story after sharing their love of horror films. They started talking about Dracula's creation in the small fishing town of Whitby, North Yorkshire. A town that is a thirty mile drive from their hometown of Middlesbrough. They were frustrated at the fact, no Dracula film has ever been filmed in Whitby, but in alternative locations. The pair decided to write a story about the return of Dracula to Whitby.
By 2008, they completed several drafts of the script. Sadly in 2009, Joseph died of complications from heart surgery and Matt decided to put the production on hold.