An Outbreak of Tuberculosis Sparks Fear
In the 19th century, rural New England was gripped by a tuberculosis epidemic, then known as “consumption.” The disease spread quickly within families, and with no clear medical explanation, townspeople suspected the work of the undead, believing that deceased family members were draining the life from the living.
Graves Disturbed in Search of Vampires
Desperate to save loved ones, families exhumed bodies to check for signs of vampirism. In many cases, they burned organs, particularly hearts, and sometimes even rearranged the remains. One famous incident occurred in 1892, when townsfolk in Exeter, Rhode Island, exhumed the body of Mercy Brown, a young girl who had died of tuberculosis, and burned her heart.
An Enduring Superstition
The fear-driven rituals spread across New England communities, with dozens of documented exhumations. Though the Vampire Panic eventually subsided, these accounts were well-documented and became some of the best-known examples of the lengths people would go to combat tuberculosis before understanding its true cause.
In 19th-century New England, a tuberculosis outbreak called “consumption” led people to fear the dead would return as vampires to drain life. In response, townsfolk exhumed bodies, looking for signs of vampirism and taking drastic steps to stop what they saw as a threat. pic.twitter.com/fwa75hxy5p
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