In the rural town of Exeter, Rhode Island, the 1892 story of Mercy Brown gave rise to one of New England’s most chilling legends. When illness swept through her family, neighbors believed Mercy had risen from the grave to drain the life of the living. In desperation, they exhumed her body and performed a ritual meant to banish the so-called vampire. Though rooted in fear and folklore, the tale of Mercy Brown endures as America’s last recorded vampire case.
