The Mercy Brown Incident: The Controversial History of the Search for Vampires in 19th Century Rhode Island

Today the Salem Witch Trials are often remembered as being a relic of a superstitious past, and Salem has transformed itself into a tourist haven and Halloween destination by capitalizing off the trials, which remain well known across America. However, most people have forgotten that New England had a “vampire” scare in the 19th century, when superstitious New Englanders looked to lore to explain tuberculosis, a devastating illness for which they had no available answers.

The last and most famous event in New England’s hunt for vampires came near the end of the 19th century after Mercy Brown died of consumption on January 19, 1892 and her body was exhumed on March 17, 1892. Suspicion fell on her as being a possible vampire, and digging her coffin up was an attempt to determine if she was, in fact, a vampire. Her mother and sister had died before her, also from consumption, and when her brother Eddie caught the disease, he had dreams about Mercy. He also had the feeling of a heavy weight sitting on his chest at night.

After her coffin was opened, the remains were examined, and the relatively good condition of Mercy Brown’s body indicated to her family and neighbors that she was indeed a vampire, and that she was responsible for her brother’s illness. While people who think of vampires today conjure up images of Dracula, in 19th century America, vampires were believed to be tied to tuberculosis, which killed millions of people. American beliefs about vampires connected victims who had died of consumption with living family members who came down with the disease, which was quite common because outbreaks of consumption frequently decimated whole families, striking down previously healthy brothers and sisters within a year or two.