Tuberculosis took many people to their graves. Then brought them back…
In German folklore, a Nachzehrer is a type of vampire which was believed to live off the flesh and blood of humans after its death. A legend that was likely brought to America by German settlers in the 1700’s.
Serbia also had legends of the Vampire in the early 1700's. Petar Blogojevic was a peasant that died in 1725 and came back as a vampire. He was blamed for nine villagers dying. His wife even said he visited her in the night and would steal her shoes. His body was dug up and staked though the heart. This and other stories were brought to America as well.
Rachael Harris is one of the first known cases of the New England Vampire Panic in Manchester, Vermont, 1790. A year after she passed away from tuberculosis, her husband Isaac Burton married Rachael’s stepsister Hulda. Hulda soon began to show signs of consumption. Her family and friends believed it was Rachael’s vengeance.
February 1793, Raechel’s body was exhumed, and her heart, liver, and lungs were cut out. Then were then burned in front of hundreds of Manchester residents. This was to rid Hulda of the curse. The ritual didn’t work, and Hulda passed away. The residents then claimed Rachael to be a witch instead of a vampire.
Tuberculosis was considered the leading cause of death in the Northeast during the Vampire Panic in the 1800’s. It was easily spread among family members. But superstitions lead many to believe that the early victims of the disease were vampires that preyed upon family members.
One of the last documented cases of vampirism took place in Exeter, Rhode Island. The Brown Family. George and Mary. Their children Mary Olive, Edwin, Annie, Mercy, Hattie, Jennie, and Myra. Mercy would go on to be the most famous and talked about case.
In 1883 Mary Brown died of Consumption. In 1884 Mary Olive died. In 1889 Edwin began showing signs of Consumption. In 1892 Mercy died.
Mercy Brown
Edwin went to a Colorado Springs sanitarium for a while. It was designed to treat those with consumption. It helped for a time, but he decided to return home before Mercy died.
Neighbors begged George to dig up Mary, Mary Olive, and Mercy to figure out which one was the vampire and try to save Edwin’s life. They feared that one of the dead was draining Edwin’s life. If any of the women showed signs of life their vital organs would be removed and destroyed. A ritual that would stop the contagion.
Town doctor, Dr. Metcalf thought this to be ridiculous, but convinced Geroge Brown to go along with it to appease the neighbors and tamp down the panic. George reluctantly agreed, but refused to be present when the bodies were exhumed.
March 17, 1892, Mary and Mary Olive were dug up by four men and Dr. Metcalf was present. The women had been buried for years and the men found only bones. They then turned their attention to Mercy’s grave. She had died only 8 weeks before and kept in an above ground crypt until the ground thawed enough for her to be buried. When they removed the lid of Mercy's coffin her skin appeared flush and there was blood in her heart. Her hair and nails appeared to have grown. Proof she was a vampire.
In reality, she had been frozen and had a lack of decomposition. Dr. Metcalf tried to explain this and that it was natural for the hair and nails to look as if they had grown. He also explained that her lungs showed evidence of Tuberculosis.
The townspeople refused to believe it and demanded that her heart and liver be cut out, burned them to ashes and mixed with water to make a potion. Then it was given to Edwin to drink to cure him. He died two months later.
Unfortunately, Consumption would also take Annie and Jennie in 1895 and Myra in 1899. Hattie being the only child to live. George Brown had lost his wife and six children.
It’s believed that the Mercy Brown case gave Bram Stoker inspiration for his Dracula novel. Also, inspiration for H.P. Lovecraft's The Shunned House.
There have been eighty documented cases of exhumed family members and vampire accusations around New England in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. But it's believed to have been over a hundred cases.
A great book for more information about the New England Vampires.
There are so many interesting, alleged Vampire cases that are interesting. I fell down the rabbit hole but kept things short and sweet. I may dig deeper into this and, who knows, maybe include it in a book someday.
