New England Vampires

New England VampiresRob Pattinson and his denizen of sexy undead have really brought the vampire craze back to life so to speak. But are they real? Do vampires truly exist, is it a misunderstood disease or could it be that such beautifully horrifying creatures help to express that most primitive part of ourselves?

New England is known for it's superstitions and hauntings, but there is more, New England is also known for it's vampires! The most famous case is Mercy Brown in Exeter, Rhode Island. Tuberculosis (at the time called consumption) was running rampant throughout the small towns of Exeter, Foster and other rural areas.

Many people believe that Mercy was indeed the beginning of the whole string of afflictions that came upon the family but in fact that was not the case. You see Mercy's mother Mary was actually the first to fall victim to the disease in 1888 and then Mercy's sister Mary Olive succumbed to it. In 1890 Edwin (Mercy's brother) fell sick, then Mercy caught the contagious disease in 1891, she died in January of 1892 at the age of 19. George Brown looked on in horror as he watched his wife, and two daughters die, he couldn't stand to lose his son too.

Friends and family in the village had him convinced that it must be the work of some evil

force. Eventually Mercy's father was persuaded to allow the exhumation of his wife and two daughters. On March 17th 1892 they opened the coffins and found that, Mary and Mary Olive had undergone significant changes while buried over the years. However because of weather conditions Mercy was never buried, she remained in the crypt while the January cold bit through New England. When they opened the lid on Mercy's coffin she looked as though she had died days ago, they also found blood in her heart. Back then, finding what would now be considered a normal stage in decomposition was a grievous sign of a malicious entity.

With that confirmation George could do nothing more than sit by as he watched the doctor who accompanied him to the cemetery place her innards on a rock and burn them to ash. George's son Edwin stood nearby as the doctor mixed Mercy's ashes with water for him to consume. Unfortunately this did not cure Edwin of the illness and soon he joined his kin in the cemetery.

At the time I was writing a book on Rhode Island, about it's ghosts and legends, I could not ignore the mystical call of the vampire. I brought Beckah with me to see if she could connect with the spirit of Mercy and her family. She did just that. When we arrived it was

a blustery day, we first stopped at Mercy's grave. The headstone had been secured to it's cement base with a piece of steel. Evidence that there may have been people in the past looking to steal or desecrate the headstone. However, one could easily tell occult activities took place there. By occult I do not mean "evil" I mean that someone came to honor Mercy in a non-traditional sense, a black rose in front of the grave, tea lights and sea shells on the little cement block the bar was connected to.

After taking a couple of pictures, we ventured to the crypt where Mercy's body was held during the winter. Immediately Beckah began to hear weeping, she explained to me that Mercy had watched her family burn her heart to ash and that it was the most devestating thing that had ever happened. However, she did forgive her father for what he did. She did not like being called a "vampire" thought of the term as unsavory. Mercy did like the attention though, she appreciated those who came to see her and that she was not forgotten.

Beckah also spoke of the doctor and father, saying that the land remembered the event.

That she could still see Mercy's body being burned and the doctor looking grim as he set the organ to flame. "Her father had a lot of remorse for this." Beckah said, "But he believed it was the only path, the only way to help his son. I don't think Edwin knew what to think about the whole ordeal. He was out of it a lot of the time. I don't believe that Edwin was right there when they burned the heart because as I'm seeing it they bring the ashes back to him. It's not just the doctor and father either, there are others around, people from the town. I feel like they were there to support him, to see him through it. At the same time, I think there is a somewhat grotesque fascination in it for them. Almost like a horror movie that you don't want to watch but can't look away from."

Having spoken to the spirit of Mercy, and finding out that she is not "stuck" or grounded, but in visitation, we decided to leave her be for the time being. But we are going back for a full episode for Supernatural Hotspots.

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