Hoards of revellers painted the town black in typically outrageous fashion as they enjoyed the vast array of events on offer including an international line up of bands who took to the stage in the Pavilion, entertained the vast crowds.

Daredevils took on the perilious Dracula Drop at The Bandstand raising money for the RNLI, while The Resolution Hotel, in Flowergate, hosted a Horror Lab including a fantastic special FX demonstration and workshop by Ade Varney.

During the weekend around 500 people also gathered near the whalebones for the bench dedication to remember Sophie Lancaster.

Organiser Sam Hoyle said the festivities were extremely successful but added he was slightly disappointed with the turn out.

"It went well and was very enjoyable but there were not as many people and it was quieter than we had hoped for as we have had in the past".

However, Mr Hoyle said although numbers were down on previous years, the weekend saw a lot of new faces to the town which contributed tremedously and helped raise a lot of money for weekend regular Melanie Denyer (DJ Lucy*Fur), who at just 37, is dying of cancer.

"There were a lot of new faces and we managed to raise a lot of money for Mel".

And he added, while he was disappointed with the decision not to close Flowergate, it didn't affect the enjoyment of the weekend.

"It was a shame it couldn't get closed but it didn't affect the atmosphere, it was still very well attended and we are all looking forward to the next one in October".

Camera crews from the Channel Four programme, The Paul O'Grady Show were also in town over the weekend, which also saw visitors treated to a rare glimpse of a Victorian Spa Well in Broomfield Terrace, a Burlesque night at The Met, the ever popular Bizarre Bazaar with more than 120 stalls and the chance to discover the more sinister side to the town with a ghost walk.

Jill Gomez-Mannion, manager at the Pavilion, said the weekend was a success and passed without incident.

"It went very well and there was no trouble.

"We had a capacity attendance of 1,000 and everyone seemed to enjoy it."

Sergeant Steve Pearse of Whitby police said the weekend passed without any trouble.

"It was quieter than usual in terms of the numbers, and we had no reports in respect to the goths and they all had a good weekend".