The Vampire Panic
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The Vampire Panic of the 18th and 19th centuries in America was a time absorbed by superstitions. With little or no medical knowledge in the rural parts of New England, folklore took over. Entire families and communities were being ravaged by "the white plague". Desperate for answers, these communities began to look for otherworldly answers.
America had a "vampire problem." But really they had a tuberculosis problem.
The "problem" came from immigrants in the 1700s. They carried over stories of dog-like and spectral, disease-spreading demons. They would say that these "demons" were eating away at the victim's lungs, causing them to "bark" (cough).
Even Voltaire wrote about this epidemic, "The [vampire] was a corpse that sucked the blood from the living, extracting it from the neck or stomach. The victims, over a short period of time, grew pale and ashen in complexion while becoming weak and gaunt in appearance, until they finally succumbed to their weakness and wasted away." The corpse would flourish in the grave. Remaining fresh, well preserved, and well nourished. This may seem confusing, I know, but the dead were not digging their way out of the ground each night to torture the living. They were more like ghosts. Leaving their host body and going unseen through the community.
Before we delve deeper into vampire lore, let's talk a little bit about life and superstitions. Harsh illness and early death were a part of normal life during this time. Tuberculosis was a primary predator. It went by many names; TB, consumption, the white plague, Phthisis, Pott's disease, and scrofula. Symptoms include; chronic cough (often violent enough to damage or even break ribs), spitting blood, night sweats, fever, extreme weight loss causing the victim to look gaunt, and at the end delirium.
Tuberculosis isn't a new disease. It has been around for millennia. Modern archaeologists and anthropologists have found the disease as far back as 15-20 thousand years ago, in the Neolithic period. As humans began to shift from a nomadic lifestyle to more permanent agricultural-based communities the potential for disease increased. Specifically, from domesticated animals in the form of Mycobacterium Bovis.
In ancient times, Hippocrates said the disease was hereditary. Aristotle said that it traveled between people (contagious). Marcus Vitruvius Pollio argued that it was caused by the direction of the wind (blowing from the north). Benjamin Marten (1720) claimed that microscopic organisms called Animacula would thrive and multiply inside a human host thus causing consumption. His theory was widely rejected. It was proven correct 162 years later by Dr. Robert Koch.
Dr. Robert Koch
I know the history of TB is just riveting but let’s learn a bit about the superstitions. There is plenty to go around.
With so much death and a lack of proper education, superstition ran rampant. Especially through the rural backwoods areas of New England. There were so many superstitions surrounding death. Such as; all the doors and windows must be opened after a death in the house so the dead may depart easily. Mirrors were covered by the oldest living relative after a death so the spirit wouldn’t be trapped inside. Or the mirrors could be flipped around. The deceased was always taken out of the house feet first for fear that his spirit might look back through the threshold and glimpse a living soul. Whomever was glimpsed would be next to die. Cover all the furniture in white linen. Here’s a fun one, beehives would be turned, and the oldest child would inform the bees of the sad news. If this deed was not done the bees would attack the family. And finally, a relative would inhale the dying breath of the soon to be deceased. The “why” of these superstitions have foggy answers but most appear to be generational customs.
Now that we’ve learned about consumption and some of the superstitions surrounding death let’s get into the nitty-gritty of the vampire lore.
With consumption plaguing New England, people were desperate for a cure. How the disease spread was poorly understood. People took little or no precautions to prevent illness. If you coughed – you open mouthed spewed wherever you were. Even over the dinner table. At night, you would cuddle up with the whole family in one or two beds. You would even cuddle up next to grandma as she hacked up blood and leaked various bodily fluids.
If you did manage to get sick, which wasn’t difficult with spit and blood flying all around, there were some remedies. There were multiple options to choose from. I don’t think the phrase “pick your poison” has ever been truer. You could swallow live baby frogs before breakfast (tadpoles I suppose). You have the afflicted person sleep in a herd of cattle. Being exposed to the breath of cattle was said to help. You could drink broth made from a rooster (chicken broth sounds helpful) or a dead cat (much less helpful). If the cat was black or white, bonus points. You could drink tea made from coltsfoot and flaxseed that was sweetened with honey. To cure your cough, you could wear a sprig of garlic around your neck (now that one sounds familiar).
Vampires became a scapegoat for the illness. Usually, these communities would turn their attention to the recently dead in these times of crisis. “Killing the dead” was a practice that originated in Europe. The freshly dead would have their graves exhumed. They would be examined to look for signs of vampirism. Such as; blood around the mouth, a bloated corpse, groans and moans emitting from the corpse, the body in a different position, the body would twitch (depending on how long they had been dead), a heart with “fresh” blood in it, and the nails and hair appear longer. All of these are natural signs of decomposition. Blood around the mouth is common because as the body decays fluid will leak from the orifices. If there’s a hole, fluid will come out of it. Bloating occurs because of a buildup of gases. The blood in the heart will coagulate but then as decomposition continues the blood will return to a liquid state. Moans and groans would come out of the corpse when the body was poked, prodded, or staked because gases or air would travel over the vocal cords. Finally, the nails and hair only appear to have grown because the skin shrinks. Of course, there was no embalming during this time, or very little that I am aware of, so the effects of death were more pronounced.
Once the body was exhumed and examined for signs of vampirism, the bones would be rearranged (usually in a cross or X shape over the chest), a stake driven through their mouth or heart, the organs removed, or the entire body would be burned.
Exorcisms for vampirism were usually carried out in the dark of night. In some areas of New England, they became a sort of community celebration. They were vanquishing something harmful, so it was time to celebrate. The wealthy during this time actually adopted a TB look. They saw it as a form of enlightenment. Wealthy women would paint their faces to make them appear gaunter, pale and corpse-like. The fuckin rich, man.
There are a limited number of examples of these vampiric exorcisms occurring in the States. One such story is the Young family. Nancy Young was 19 years old and lived at home with her mother, father, and seven siblings. Nancy and one of her sisters died in 1827 of consumption. Months later in summer it was decided that Nancy needed her corpse examined for vampirism because other members of her family were getting sick. The community thought that by burning her body on a pyre and inhaling the smoke of her burning remains they would be saved from further illness. Spoiler alert – it didn’t work. Only one sister would survive. It was later discovered that the family’s well, where they got all their water, was contaminated. So, was it really consumption? Maybe. Maybe not.
Author Henry David Thoreau even wrote about this ghastly practice in a journal entry from 1859; “The savage man is never quite eradicated. I have just read of a family in Vermont, who, several of its family members dying of consumption have burned the lungs, liver, and heart of the deceased in order to prevent any more of them having it.”
A more popular example of these exorcisms is the tale of Mercy Brown.
Mercy Lana Brown lived with her parents, siblings, and her own children in Rhode Island. The shocking bit about this story is that it happened in 1893. In the grand scheme of things – that's not that long ago! The brown family began to suffer from consumption. With the mother and Mercy’s eldest sibling dying first. A child became sick, possibly one of Mercy’s own children, and he was sent to Colorado to be exposed to the aired climate. This was thought to slow the progression or even cure TB. He would return only a few months later and pass away.
Mercy would be the next to contract the wasting disease. She developed what was known as “galloping consumption”. Slow consumption was thought to be a kinder way to die. It gave the victim time to put their affairs in order. The galloping kind was quick and fierce. She was laid to rest with her family in the Chestnut Hill Cemetery on Victoria Highway.
Residents began to feel unsettled. There were rumors that the Brown family had been cursed by a vampire. Ghostly sightings of Mercy began to be seen walking among the graves and walking across farmlands. Got to get your cardio in somehow, I guess...sorry. The townspeople approached father Brown and convinced him to exhume his daughter Mercy. He told a reporter who was there to witness the vampirism case that he was doing it to “satisfy his neightbors.” Her heart needed to be burned to prevent further illness. My question is, why just Mercy? Didn’t three people die before her? Why weren’t they accused of being vampires?
Father Brown’s only request was that a doctor be present.
At this time, it was winter. Mercy had been dead for a very short time. They hadn’t been able to bury her body yet because the ground was still frozen in winter. Her body lay in an above ground crypt. Like a freezer. The other Brown family members were exhumed as well and considered to be decaying at a normal rate.
Mercy was different. She had not decomposed, her body had changed position in the coffin, her face was flushed, her hair and nails had continued to grow. “She was too well preserved,” the townspeople would note. The truth – she hadn’t had time to decompose, and she had been sitting in what was basically a freezer. After the doctor conducted his thorough examination, he declared that Mercy’s lungs showed signs of TB germs (How? I have no idea? Did he drag large medical equipment out to the cemetery? I don’t even know for sure what kind of equipment would have been available to him at this point and in this rural area).
The community then took it upon themselves to remove her organs. Her heart still had liquid blood in it which must have meant she was draining the life of her family. Especially her brother who was currently very ill with consumption. Her heart was burned on a nearby rock and the ashes were fed to her brother. By consuming her heart, the spell would be broken, and the victim would recover.
He died two months later.
Overall, the vampire panic of New England was a culmination of fear, superstitions, and poor education. I would like to think that we left “crazy” behavior like this in the past, but the modern world is not much better. Look at the people who thought colloidal silver and antiparasitic drugs would cure Covid-19. Anyway, I think this story shows how desperate times call for desperate measures. People will do anything to help their friends, family, and community. Even burn the heart of their sister and eat the ashes.
So. Now that you’ve read the story. Here is the art that I was inspired to create.
This green beauty is an original. You can read all about her HERE.
The Green Gothic: Echoes of the Vampire Panic
A fun little note: do you remember the bit about the bees? “beehives would be turned, and the oldest child would inform the bees of the sad news. If this deed was not done the bees would attack the family.” I have hidden a small bee somewhere in the artwork. It’s not overly difficult to find but it is fun.
Keep questioning, keep wondering, and above all, keep embracing the weird.
SOURCES:
The Great New England Vampire Panic | History| Smithsonian Magazine
19th Century VAMPIRES: MYTHS Unveiled - LITERATURE Secrets
Vampire | Characteristics, History, Powers, Folklore, & Facts | Britannica
Vampire Panic | Science History Institute
The Dollop Podcast. Episode 7 "American Vampire Panic". With Dave Anthony & Gareth Reynolds
"A History of Vampires in New England" By Thomas D 'Agostino (Google Scholar)
