Paul Golder writes for the Brentwood Gazette

I have to admit that I’m not a big fan of Halloween. I have to admit that I don’t really get into the spirit of it – my preferred way of dealing with it is closing my eyes until it goes away.

But our regular radio historian Margaret Mills came in to the studio last week with a suitably spooky Essex tale – about the little-known Essex connection with Count Dracula!

In Bram Stoker’s 1897 book, mention is made of a place called Carfax House in Purfleet. It will come as little surprise that the original Carfax House no longer exists – if it ever did.

However the house on which it is believed Bram Stoker modelled his fictitious venue was Purfleet House, built in the 1790s for the Whitbred family and demolished in the 1920s.

Margaret is a mine of information – she’s been a regular contributor to Scott Ross’s lunchtime show One 2 Three for more than 10 years now. Her recent stories have featured Tennyson’s time in High Beech, the Purleigh Colony, Essex’s first motor vehicle and the old airfield at North Weald Bassett.

You can listen again to Margaret’s tales at www.phoenixfm.com – or catch her live on Mondays at 1pm.