We all know about things like the Salem Witch Trials, a very dark chapter in early American history. But there are things in every corner of the globe that don't often escape local lore or that just get lost in time.
The case of Mercy Brown dates back to a time when many people were still caught between wanting to be enlightened and remaining true to their faith and spirituality. It happened in 1892 in Exeter, Rhode Island and while not the only case of this type, it is one of the most famous and well documented.
Mercy Brown's mother had died of Tuberculosis (known as Consumption back then) followed by her sister in 1888. In 1890, Mercy's brother became ill but actually outlived his sister who succumbed in 1892. This raised a lot of suspicion amongst superstitious locals. What was going on with this family? Why were they and others around them getting sick and dying? Maybe they're coming back from the dead and preying on the living! Yes! That must be it!
There had been cases prior to this many years before in Vermont and Connecticut. What are now known to be Tuberculosis victims dug up and thought, because they weren't decomposing at a "normal" rate, as well as having blood remaining in their hearts, growing fingernails/hair (Which is actually untrue. They don't grow, it's the skin retracting, revealing what lies beneath.) to be vampires.
There were several ways that vampires were dealt with that ranged from simply flipping the body from its back to its stomach to removal of "fresh" organs and decapitation. Often, the organs would be burned and relatives or those close to the vampire (thought, at the time, to be the most obvious feeding choices) would inhale the smoke or consume water containing the ashes of the organs to be cured. In Mercy's case, her brother was given the latter treatment. He died two months later.
Mercy's case is rumored to have actually inspired the creation of Lucy in Dracula. Bram Stoker had supposedly read of her in newspapers. Whether that's true or not, I don't know. Mercy wasn't a vampire, none of them were. She'd been kept in an above ground tomb following her death, which was in January. The cold New England winter obviously slowed decomposition, as I'm sure was probably true in some of the other cases.
We romanticize the hell out of things like this these days and don't often think about the fact that in these myths and legends, there is always some truth. This was a cruel way to die and was all too common back then. Losing loved ones is hard enough, but to have accusations such as this hurled at you and your relatives corpse defiled had to be maddening.
I've been to Mercy's grave, as well as many other famous and not so famous graves and historical sites in New England and it's almost always a humbling experience. I can't imagine living in those times. All of you who think you would should pull yourselves away from the books and TV shows and read ACTUAL history and see how much you'd like it afterward.
Rei~
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