peashooter85:The Mercy Brown Vampire Incident,One would think that by the end of the 19th century, u
peashooter85:The Mercy Brown Vampire Incident,One would think that by the end of the 19th century, understanding of science and nature would have overcome superstition, and mankind’s historical tendency to make rash, if not bizarre decisions based upon it. However, as late as 1892, vampires were afoot in New England. At the time tuberculosis was the most common deadly disease in North America, inflicting a slow death on tens of thousands of victims. Called “consumption”, the victim would often waste away until the moment of death, giving the appearance that something was sucking the life out of the person.In the 1880’s an Exeter, Rhode Island woman named Mary Brown contracted TB, passing away by the end of the decade. Then her eldest daughter, Mary Olive, died of the disease in 1886. The younger brother of the family, Edwin, contracted the disease in 1890, and tragically, the younger sister, Mercy, died in the winter 1892. In the span of only a handful of years tuberculosis had swept through the Brown family, leaving only the husband and Edwin, who was deathly ill. To the people of Exeter, the Brown family deaths was more than just a tragic coincidence. Many suspected that the Brown family was a victim of a vampire, who was draining the life out of the family members, including the still living Edwin. Thus, before the end of winter in 1892, the bodies of Mary and Mary Olive were exhumed, and found to be in a natural state of decay. The body of Mercy had not been buried yet, as the winter ground was frozen solid, and thus the body was stored in a casket until spring thaw. When the casket was opened, it was revealed that her body was in pristine condition. Upon further examination it was found that the body was still filled with liquid blood. Modern science can explain that because the corpse was stored aboveground in the cold of winter, the body had been naturally refrigerated. However, to the people of Exeter, this was proof positive that Mercy was an undead vampire. Mercy’s heart was removed and burned to ashes. The ashes were then mixed with water, and fed to Edwin as a cure. The cure failed to work, and Edwin died a few months later. The body of Mercy was later buried in spring of that year. -- source link