Vampires or TB

The New England vampire panic was a result of tuberculosis killing people by bacterial infection. However, in the 19^th century, many medical diseases were yet to be discovered that early in history. Tuberculosis was among these unfamiliar medical illnesses. This lack of understanding resulted in communities naming the symptoms for tuberculosis, consumption. This differed, in that; it was believed to be caused by the dead consuming the life of their living relatives. This ideology spread through parts of New England, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Vermont (Cathey, 2016). To cure consumption, bodies were exhumed and organs were ceremonially burned to stop the vampire from attacking others in the family and to prevent the disease from spreading. Two famous cases of this vampire panic involved Mercy Brown and Frederick Ransom.

"Gravestone of Mercy Brown, a young women accused of vampirism."

Mercy Lena Brown lived a simple life with her parents and three siblings. Her mother was the first to contract consumption, which than spread throughout the rest of the family. Mercy’s mother died first, then her sister, her brother, and then Mercy eventually died from this disease. Villagers grew suspicious once Mercy’s only living brother, Edwin, became infected and accusations were made that someone in the family had to be a vampire and draining the life of the only live Brown child (MacGowan, 2012). Hesitantly, Mercy’s father allowed for the bodies of his family to be exhumed. Upon opening Mercy’s coffin, the villagers were stunned to see that Mercy’s body was in perfect condition. And some people say her body was not in the position it had been buried. Also, they noted that her fingernails and hair had grown a lot. There was no decay either. Upon further examination, liquid blood was found in her heart and other areas of her body (MacGowan, 2012). It was quickly concluded that Mercy was a vampire and that she was the reason for Edwin’s lingering disease. As a cure for Edwin, Mercy’s heart was burned and mixed with water. Edwin drank this concoction, however, it was unsuccessful and he died too.

Frederick Ransom was a Dartmouth college student who died from Consumption at the age of 20 (Cathey, 2016). Worried that Frederick would come back to haunt and feed on the family, his father had his body exhumed. His heart was burned on a blacksmith forge; unfortunately this cure did not help the rest of the family. Fredericks mother and three siblings died soon after. This case is interesting because Fredrick was a high-educated college student from a family with decent money. Most of the people during this time who believed in the rise of the vampire panic were apart of less educated societies (Cathey, 2016).

In the end, the rituals continued until around 1892. 10 years later, Robert Koch discovered the bacteria that caused tuberculosis (Cathey, 2016). The idea of consumption was debunked and infection was better grasped. Infection rates began to go down as hygiene and nutrition were taken better care of and improved upon. Until then, however, people were often willing to cling to any chance for the suffering of themselves and their loved ones to make sense. I also think desperateness/hopefulness play a large role in why people were so eager to hold on to and run with this theory.

-Savannah Fillion

McGowan, Doug (2012) “The Mercy Brown Vampire Story.” Retrieved from: https://www.historicmysteries.com/mercy-brown/

Cathey, Kyla (2016). “How Tuberculosis Inspired the 19^th-Century New England Vampire Panic.” Retrieved from: http://mentalfloss.com/article/87985/how-tuberculosis-inspired-19th-century-new-england-vampire-panic