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A five stage multi-cache in the Marino / Fairview area of North Dublin
The fictional character of Dracula is famous throughout the world and has scared countless people in the books and numerous films that have been produced about him down through the years. While his legend may be well known, what is perhaps less well known is the fact that the author who brought him to life, Bram Stoker, was a Dubliner. Born in Marino in 1847, Bram (Abraham) Stoker was a sickly child and spent a lot of time in bed. Growing up his mother told him a lot of horror stories. Stoker studied Maths at Trinity College Dublin and graduated in 1867. After graduation he became a civil servant. At this time, he also worked as a freelance journalist, a drama critic and editor of the "Evening Mail". In 1876 he met Sir Henry Irving, a famous actor. Stoker accepted a job as a personal secretary to Irving and went to England in 1878. Before he left Ireland he published his first book "The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland" in 1878. While working for Irving he met an aspiring actress named Florence Balcombe. They were married 1878 and had one son, Noel, born 1879. In England he also began writing a series of novels and short stories the first of which was "The Snake's Pass". Although best known for "Dracula", Stoker wrote eighteen books before he died in 1912. Stoker died at the age of 64 of exhaustion. This cache will bring you to a few Stoker related places in Marino / Fairview and give you the opportunity to learn about his fascinating life and, if you desire, have your wits scared out of you! Before you set out though, please note that this cache can only be completed at certain times, as some of the clues needed to complete the cache have restricted access. See stop #1 for details of the opening hours. Fairview can be reached by the DART train – the stop you want is Clontarf Road, as well as by the number 130, 29A, 31, 31A, 32, 32A, 32B, 20, 20B, 27, 27B, 42, 42A, 42B, 43, 127, 129 busses. Some of these go from Lower Abbey Street. If you wish to drive you should be able to park beside Clontarf Road DART station, or on one of the back streets behind Fairview Main Street. For the coordinates below, replace the missing number (i.e. the ?) with the answer from the previous stop’s question.STOP #1 N53 21.869 W006 13.874The first stop is Marino Library. This quaint library hosts an impressive collection of horror novels including, unsurprisingly, a huge number of Stoker’s books and a few biographies about him. The library is open at the following times - Mon & Wed 12.45pm-4.00pm, 4.45pm-8.00pm Tue, Thur & Sat 10.00am-1.00pm, 2.00pm-5.00pm Fri, Sun CLOSEDYou will not need to be a member of the library to go in, but you will need to be a member if you wish to borrow one of their books. In the library, look for the collection of Bram Stoker books. On the spine of each of Stoker’s books there is a letter stuck on to indicate where the book needs to be filed. Convert this letter to the position it appears in the alphabet (A=1, B=2,…Z=26, etc) . Add 1 to the answer to get the missing number below.STOP #2 N53 21.892 W006 13.?07The second stop has only a pretty tenuous link to Stoker, as it is merely a café named after him. What street number is the café? Double the answer to get the missing number belowSTOP#3 N53 21.919 W006 13.6?5This is the house that Stoker was born in. It is situated in “The Cresent”, an interesting street named after its shape. What number is the house? (it’s the one with the red door) Add the two digits together to get the missing number below STOP#4 N53 21.817 W006 13.?48Here lies a new high tech gymnasium complex which houses a wide variety of gym equipment and features Ireland’s only 50m swimming pool. What does this have to do with Bram Stoker, I hear you ask… Well if you go through the gym’s bar and up the stairs you will find The Bram Stoker Dracula Experience. This is a recently constructed tribute to Bram Stoker, who had previously been badly under-represented in terms of a fitting memorial or tribute to his contribution to literature. So I guess having the tribute above a pub and beside a modern gym is the best we can hope for. Despite the questionable surroundings, the experience is well worth a visit. There’s fun for all the family as the first half of the experience is a museum which tells the story of Stoker’s life and writings and features a fine selection of movie posters showing the many adaptations of Dracula. The second half of the experience is a haunted house of horrors. Watch your step as ghosts and other creepy creatures leap at you from all sides! Admission to the experience is €7 for adults, €5 for students and €4 for children. The opening hours are Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 12-10pm. Please note that you do not have to visit the Dracula Experience to complete this cache, but it is well worth a visit if you wish to learn more about Stoker, or grapple with some ghostly characters!
(visit link) At the coordinates listed above you will see a sign for the gym’s pub “Bar-Code”. In the sign is a barcode number (it may be a telephone number too). What is the third last number of the code? It matches the missing number belowSTOP#5 N53 21.?86 W006 13.640This is the cache! It’s only a 35mm film canister, so don’t bring anything much bigger than a coin. There’s a badge and a log in the canister, so please bring your own pen to sign the log. Please be discreet when looking for and replacing the cache as you may be within view of people sitting in the park. Happy hunting! After you find it you can have a relaxing sit down in this park or read some more about Bram Stoker on the signs by the main entrance.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
va gur ubyybj bs gur gerr