Meet the Real-Life Vampires of New England and Abroad

The legend of the blood suckers, and the violence heaped upon their corpses, came out of ignorance of contagious disease

  • By Abigail Tucker
  • Smithsonian magazine, September 2012, Subscribe
 
Vampires
At home and abroad, vampire scares usually began when a person died and others in the vicinity began dying, too, usually of the same sickness. (Dod Miller / Getty Images)

More from Smithsonian.com


A little more than a century ago, vampires stalked Rhode Island. Or rather, New England farm families were digging up dead relatives suspected of being vampires and desecrating the bodies in a misguided effort to protect the living. Often these latter-day vampire hunters removed and burned their loved ones’ hearts.

Though the corpses were typically re-buried, modern scholars continue to unearth the stories of real-life “vampires,” whose historic tragedies underlie classics like Dracula as well as Hollywood’s latest guilty pleasures.

The practice of disinterring accused vampires likely began in Eastern Europe, spreading to western countries including France and England in the 1700s, and then to rural New England, where vampire panics were common up through the late 1800s – particularly in Rhode Island.

At home and abroad, vampire scares usually began when a person died – often of a contagious disease, and in New England almost always of tuberculosis – and others in the vicinity began dying, too, usually of the same sickness. Ignorant of germs, people surmised that the dead person had come back to drain family members’ blood, and the exhumation and staking, burning, beheading and whatever else followed (practices varied with geography) were an effort to insulate the community against further harm. Often the vampire-hunters were not disappointed when they pried open the graves: many natural signs of decay, like bloating and bleeding from various orifices, looked like evidence of midnight feasts.

Here are a few  “vampires” from America and elsewhere, the real lives behind our modern legends. 

Peter Plogojowitz: This Serbian villager and accused bloodsucker was exhumed and staked through the heart a few weeks after his death in 1725. In his book, “Vampires, Burial, and Death,” folklorist Paul Barber treats Plogojowitz as the quintessential European vampire, because his exhumation closely follows the broader pattern of the superstition. Plogojowitz was the first in his village to die of a sickness, and subsequent local deaths were blamed on his late-night predations. A rather gruesome-sounding autopsy revealed what were considered the tell-tale signs of vampirism:

“I did not detect the slightest odor that is otherwise characteristic of the dead, and the body…was completely fresh,” one witness wrote. “The hair and beard… had grown on him; the old skin, which was somewhat whitish, had peeled away, and a new fresh one had emerged under it … Not without astonishment, I saw some fresh blood in his mouth.”

Arnold Paole: In the early 18th century, this rural Serbian broke his neck after a fall from a hay wagon. Like many others before him, he was accused of posthumous vampirism and exhumed after a series of deaths in his village; many of his supposed victims were dug up as well. Austrian military authorities in control of the region investigated the deaths, and their published account was widely circulated. Paole’s case is thus credited with spreading the vampire superstition to Western Europe, where it took hold before reaching the New World.

Nellie Vaughn: Just 19 years old, she was buried in 1889 in West Greenwich, Rhode Island. Today this so-called vampire is almost as famous as Mercy Brown, whose exhumation was covered by international newspapers. Vaughn’s cemetery has frequently been visited, vandalized and her headstone broken. But in his book, “Food for the Dead,” folklorist and vampire scholar Michael Bell presents evidence suggesting that Vaughn’s is a case of mistaken identity, and that her contemporaries never accused or exhumed her. The superstition probably arose in the last half century or so, and may be a result of confusion with Mercy (who died nearby at a similar date and age) and the admittedly creepy epitaph on Vaughn’s tombstone: “I Am Waiting and Watching For You.”

Frederick Ransom: A Dartmouth College student from a well-respected family in South Woodstock, Vermont, he died of tuberculosis in 1817 and is an example of an educated person ensnared in a vampire panic usually associated with misinformed farmers. Ransom’s father had his body exhumed in the hopes of saving the rest of his family: his heart was burned in a blacksmith’s forge. “However, it did not prove a remedy, for mother, sister, and two brothers died afterward,” Ransom’s surviving brother Daniel later wrote. “It has been related to me that there was a tendency in our family to consumption, and that I…would die with it before I was thirty.” Happily, when Daniel Ransom wrote these words he was more than 80 years old.

Bristoe Congdon’s child: A “black” man named Bristoe Congdon and several of his children died of tuberculosis in Rhode Island in the 1800s. “The body of one of the children was exhumed,” one source wrote, “and the vital parts were burned in obedience to the dicta of this shallow and disgusting superstition.” Though it’s not entirely clear whether Congdon was African-American or American Indian, the case was the first that folklorist Michael Bell has found suggesting that the vampire tradition crossed racial lines.

Annie Dennett: She died of consumption at the age of 21 in rural New Hampshire.  In September of 1810, a traveling Freewill Baptist Minister from Vermont named Enoch Hayes Place attended her exhumation, which her family undertook in an effort to save Annie’s father, also sick from tuberculosis. Place’s diary entry is a curious example of the participation of a respected New England minister in a vampire hunt. “They opened the grave and it was a Solemn Sight indeed,” Place wrote. “A young Brother by the name of Adams examined the mouldy Specticle, but found nothing as they Supposed they Should…. There was but a little left except bones.”


A little more than a century ago, vampires stalked Rhode Island. Or rather, New England farm families were digging up dead relatives suspected of being vampires and desecrating the bodies in a misguided effort to protect the living. Often these latter-day vampire hunters removed and burned their loved ones’ hearts.

Though the corpses were typically re-buried, modern scholars continue to unearth the stories of real-life “vampires,” whose historic tragedies underlie classics like Dracula as well as Hollywood’s latest guilty pleasures.

The practice of disinterring accused vampires likely began in Eastern Europe, spreading to western countries including France and England in the 1700s, and then to rural New England, where vampire panics were common up through the late 1800s – particularly in Rhode Island.

At home and abroad, vampire scares usually began when a person died – often of a contagious disease, and in New England almost always of tuberculosis – and others in the vicinity began dying, too, usually of the same sickness. Ignorant of germs, people surmised that the dead person had come back to drain family members’ blood, and the exhumation and staking, burning, beheading and whatever else followed (practices varied with geography) were an effort to insulate the community against further harm. Often the vampire-hunters were not disappointed when they pried open the graves: many natural signs of decay, like bloating and bleeding from various orifices, looked like evidence of midnight feasts.

Here are a few  “vampires” from America and elsewhere, the real lives behind our modern legends. 

Peter Plogojowitz: This Serbian villager and accused bloodsucker was exhumed and staked through the heart a few weeks after his death in 1725. In his book, “Vampires, Burial, and Death,” folklorist Paul Barber treats Plogojowitz as the quintessential European vampire, because his exhumation closely follows the broader pattern of the superstition. Plogojowitz was the first in his village to die of a sickness, and subsequent local deaths were blamed on his late-night predations. A rather gruesome-sounding autopsy revealed what were considered the tell-tale signs of vampirism:

“I did not detect the slightest odor that is otherwise characteristic of the dead, and the body…was completely fresh,” one witness wrote. “The hair and beard… had grown on him; the old skin, which was somewhat whitish, had peeled away, and a new fresh one had emerged under it … Not without astonishment, I saw some fresh blood in his mouth.”

Arnold Paole: In the early 18th century, this rural Serbian broke his neck after a fall from a hay wagon. Like many others before him, he was accused of posthumous vampirism and exhumed after a series of deaths in his village; many of his supposed victims were dug up as well. Austrian military authorities in control of the region investigated the deaths, and their published account was widely circulated. Paole’s case is thus credited with spreading the vampire superstition to Western Europe, where it took hold before reaching the New World.

Nellie Vaughn: Just 19 years old, she was buried in 1889 in West Greenwich, Rhode Island. Today this so-called vampire is almost as famous as Mercy Brown, whose exhumation was covered by international newspapers. Vaughn’s cemetery has frequently been visited, vandalized and her headstone broken. But in his book, “Food for the Dead,” folklorist and vampire scholar Michael Bell presents evidence suggesting that Vaughn’s is a case of mistaken identity, and that her contemporaries never accused or exhumed her. The superstition probably arose in the last half century or so, and may be a result of confusion with Mercy (who died nearby at a similar date and age) and the admittedly creepy epitaph on Vaughn’s tombstone: “I Am Waiting and Watching For You.”

Frederick Ransom: A Dartmouth College student from a well-respected family in South Woodstock, Vermont, he died of tuberculosis in 1817 and is an example of an educated person ensnared in a vampire panic usually associated with misinformed farmers. Ransom’s father had his body exhumed in the hopes of saving the rest of his family: his heart was burned in a blacksmith’s forge. “However, it did not prove a remedy, for mother, sister, and two brothers died afterward,” Ransom’s surviving brother Daniel later wrote. “It has been related to me that there was a tendency in our family to consumption, and that I…would die with it before I was thirty.” Happily, when Daniel Ransom wrote these words he was more than 80 years old.

Bristoe Congdon’s child: A “black” man named Bristoe Congdon and several of his children died of tuberculosis in Rhode Island in the 1800s. “The body of one of the children was exhumed,” one source wrote, “and the vital parts were burned in obedience to the dicta of this shallow and disgusting superstition.” Though it’s not entirely clear whether Congdon was African-American or American Indian, the case was the first that folklorist Michael Bell has found suggesting that the vampire tradition crossed racial lines.

Annie Dennett: She died of consumption at the age of 21 in rural New Hampshire.  In September of 1810, a traveling Freewill Baptist Minister from Vermont named Enoch Hayes Place attended her exhumation, which her family undertook in an effort to save Annie’s father, also sick from tuberculosis. Place’s diary entry is a curious example of the participation of a respected New England minister in a vampire hunt. “They opened the grave and it was a Solemn Sight indeed,” Place wrote. “A young Brother by the name of Adams examined the mouldy Specticle, but found nothing as they Supposed they Should…. There was but a little left except bones.”

    Subscribe now for more of Smithsonian's coverage on history, science and nature.



 

Add New Comment


Name: (required)

Email: (required)

Comment:

Comments are moderated, and will not appear until Smithsonian.com has approved them. Smithsonian reserves the right not to post any comments that are unlawful, threatening, offensive, defamatory, invasive of a person's privacy, inappropriate, confidential or proprietary, political messages, product endorsements, or other content that might otherwise violate any laws or policies.

Comments (59)

Just wondering but is this true.

Posted by chanelle on May 13,2013 | 01:52 PM

We Rhode Island folk have now replaced the old vampires with Democrats

Posted by Joan on May 2,2013 | 11:25 AM

Hey. Thank you for creating this. I'm confused. How would we know that all this is truth. Still i keep on researching about this. I don't know why. I like to research such things. AND THIS SITE HELPED ME. SO THANK YOU FOR CREATING THIS WONDERFUL SITE.

Posted by pearl on April 9,2013 | 12:07 PM

It was a great experience reading about vampires. I am not sure whether this thing is true or not, But is was very interesting. thank you for creating such a wonderful site!

Posted by shreema on March 28,2013 | 03:17 AM

Im very interested in vampires and the history of them. Im not really sure if I beleive in them entirley or just the facts that some people confused a lot of human conditions that were unknown then with someone being a vampire. I ftheir were vampires then the ones that say they are vampires would be killed arent vampires supposed to be silent not noticed.The people that say their vampires I believ is BULL that is not something they would publicly admit. Anyways all these supposed vidoes of vampire attacks wouldnt you only see the victim not the actual vampire? Well I have never seen any phisical evidence that their real. I f they are real then come show me meaning BULL they dont exist everyone just wants something to beileive in "eternal life' yes that does sound great. I myself admit I have fantasized about running into a romantic gorgeouse vampire like in twilight BUT IT DOESNT HAPPEN! Anyways I enjoy learning about vampires and hearing old stories about it but youtube has put alot of vampire stuff on their that is stupid but some are fasinating! Its always great to imagine another life eternal life some life different from our own everyone has that feeling like they were made for something greater or different! But being a vampire come on really. I wish it was true but it isnt.

Posted by Heather Russell on March 5,2013 | 11:15 AM

I don't believe in vampires

Posted by Jillian on March 4,2013 | 10:26 PM

I think the comments on this article are far scarier than the article itself.

Posted by yirna on February 21,2013 | 01:45 AM

Really people?? Meet real vampires? Come on, if vampires were real. They wouldn't invite you to your door! People get a life. Stop watching twilight!

Posted by Josh on February 21,2013 | 02:16 PM

I want to be a vampire. Please turn me into a vampire. SHOW ME HOW!!!!! I will do ANYTHING !!!

Posted by Itanaya Maye on February 19,2013 | 05:20 PM

I like this a lot cause I am into this kind of stuff.

Posted by ginny on February 18,2013 | 05:45 PM

Okay so all these movies about vampires are really tru i thought it was just to intertan people not to be real.i wonder how many vampires are in this world right now? and why do people always belive in people coming back from the dead and all that how can they because somethings you cant belive in everyrthing so why do they belive in it now? see am 11 years old and i dont belive in it till i see it with my eyes and not from a computur or a tv. if anything evry one should be a vampire so they can have a second chance to live there life.

Posted by jaliah on February 17,2013 | 06:58 PM

Why would you tempt fate with one of my kind? You should relish and thrive in your humanity, like only a human can. Also, to the young woman who has posted a taunting invitation to her household in the Philippines, I would sincerely recomend rethinking that invitation. We can't change who you are, we can only kill you trying.

Posted by Serena Claire on February 11,2013 | 06:59 PM

i want to be vampire

Posted by andualem ttekle on February 6,2013 | 05:13 PM

Vampires are real

Posted by Holly on February 3,2013 | 03:06 PM

I m interested in vampires power

Posted by Elizabeth on February 1,2013 | 03:23 PM

this is so aousome because i love vampiers I LOVE THEM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH

Posted by AHMED ZAHER on January 31,2013 | 11:41 AM

are they really Exist ?!!!

Posted by shaistha samreen on January 30,2013 | 12:55 AM

vampires rock they are awsome becuase i know that they do not run out of energy me and my dad want to be a vampire so that we can live longer and stay young forever vampire rock.

Posted by keylee on January 28,2013 | 07:34 AM

if vampires are real then why dont we hear abput attacts if there fake why then mafe the mith

Posted by piebert on January 27,2013 | 01:09 AM

are vampires real

Posted by tyreisha on January 27,2013 | 10:38 PM

I would love to learn more about vampires ive love every thing about them sence i was a younger girl :-)

Posted by april on January 27,2013 | 04:35 PM

i would love to be a vampire i live in las vegas..i'll do anything

Posted by kahlil brown on January 26,2013 | 02:12 AM

i would love to become a vampire i would do anything i live in australia please to live forever would be amazing, i have always believed and i will continue to proudly

Posted by alex on January 21,2013 | 12:23 AM

I know that ware woolf exist but wampire that not possible i never see

Posted by Sam on January 21,2013 | 06:12 AM

Id like to see face to face a real vampire! if vampires does really exist id like to see you!, come visit Philippines. i'd love to be one! im obsessed on becomming one, if your a vampire, im inviting you to our house! I DARE YOU!

Posted by Veronica on January 20,2013 | 07:01 AM

i belive that vampire are real because i ready story about vampire in my childhood

Posted by cryn on January 19,2013 | 06:45 AM

I wanna bcom a vampire am in africa i can survive plz..

Posted by Daniel ndungu on January 16,2013 | 01:39 PM

this history is so nice because ilove vampire like For ex:twilight saga,eclipse,breaking dawn1,2,newmoon&vanhelshing,frightnight,dragula,others flims. me im vampire funs do you like vampire like me drink bloods Are vampires is real?I wish people would consider their option's, and really read the vampire story thank for reading buy the way im hikari ching for more imformation thanks..................................

Posted by hikari on January 16,2013 | 04:41 AM

I believe in vampires. I want to become one of the powerful vampires. Please reach me as soon as possible, I live in India.

Posted by Kalpana Malgaonkar on January 15,2013 | 02:17 AM

i want to become a vampire so what i will have to do

Posted by ravi shekhar vidyarthi on January 12,2013 | 10:24 PM

Hi,I am from Turkey. Only want to this,are vampires real? maybe now you are laughing me but I want to learn,I have to learn.please info.thanks

Posted by Esra Ekinci on January 11,2013 | 02:26 PM

till now vempires live in this world.they shape their canines like dracula and make up the faces like demon.They drink the real blood of hm.

Posted by abhaya on January 9,2013 | 10:10 PM

I always believe in vamps I would watch out if I were you

Posted by sarah on January 9,2013 | 05:56 PM

I like vampire story,because i watching lot of vampire movies. For ex:twilight saga,eclipse,breaking dawn1,2,newmoon&vanhelshing,frightnight,dragula,others flims.vampire kills enemy only but,dont kill other people.My suggestion vampire is good.I want to meet the real vampire and its my friends.

Posted by ramalkshmi on January 7,2013 | 02:28 AM

This informs me little bit about vampires. Great article!!!!!

Posted by Jessie Gossett on January 5,2013 | 09:24 AM

To much writing

Posted by po on January 4,2013 | 01:35 PM

I think vampires are real.most people dont think they are and some people just say they are old ghost storys to try to scare young people but the thing is,is they are real their just from long ago and based on real events and real actions just formed by different people.i believe they are real because i have facts and most people dont and thats why they say their fake.but let me just say one thing they are real and one day alot of people will know the truth because they will have to show themselves because alot already know soooo people say their not real but they are.

Posted by katelynn on December 31,2012 | 03:08 PM

How can you become a vampire?

Posted by Sarah on December 28,2012 | 11:40 PM

i'm curious what are they exist? i wan't to know where they are now? even i want to meet them ans become my good friend

Posted by lasignora vizieta on December 25,2012 | 10:03 AM

The one with the child in it is toley fake.

Posted by katie martin on December 24,2012 | 03:13 PM

Are vampires real? Do they still live?..

Posted by on December 19,2012 | 09:16 PM

I wish people would consider their option's, and really read .

Posted by kai on December 17,2012 | 07:30 PM

i want to be a vampire

Posted by mellisa issabell b antersicat on December 13,2012 | 07:33 PM

Vampires... I skeptically believe that they're real...and would die to be one...

Posted by Chris on December 13,2012 | 06:53 PM

can't say your a fan of vampire movies if you like twiilight

Posted by vampire man on December 13,2012 | 06:10 PM

Are vampires real?

Posted by Demario on December 12,2012 | 10:01 AM

they are real i can see vampires

Posted by on December 10,2012 | 09:03 PM

very interesting and weird

Posted by demi on December 3,2012 | 08:27 AM

So is there a possability of vampirism in the modern world?? Is there Vampires Today?? These questions linger my mind!

Posted by Nialer's boo on November 17,2012 | 12:54 PM

Vampires really do exist? Well, I want to be like them. I want to be a vampire. But I just want to kill animals not people. Maybe bad people.

Posted by Vye on November 17,2012 | 09:44 AM

this is cool and scary very nice but i want to ask are vampires real .

Posted by thea on November 8,2012 | 07:53 AM

Are vampires real?

Posted by Jennifer on November 5,2012 | 09:44 AM

Maybe seeing and obviously looking on a real vampire makes me believe they really does live in our world..I wonder would they be nice to me..Anyways I so much love to meet even just one vampire in real life because I love vampire movies..such as the twilight movie...

Posted by Roselynn Nulo on October 29,2012 | 09:54 PM

Its a lie vampires r not real man

Posted by Yaquob on October 28,2012 | 06:05 AM

So how can I talk to or see a real vampire if they are real and prove that he/she is?

Posted by Christopher Lewis on October 20,2012 | 03:25 PM

i think vampires are really cool but they look wierd

Posted by chelsea on October 20,2012 | 02:15 PM

i believe they are real

Posted by collette on October 18,2012 | 09:40 AM

But it still dont explain if they are real or not.

Posted by on October 10,2012 | 02:01 AM

I am by no means an expert, but I think its possible that the epitaph on Nellie Vaughn’s tombstone, “I Am Waiting and Watching For You,” could be a message to her family that she was waiting to see them in Heaven. I didn't think it sounded creepy in that context.

Posted by Valerie on September 21,2012 | 01:26 PM



Advertisement


Advertisement

Follow Us





First Name
Last Name
Address 1
Address 2
City
State   Zip
Email


Travel with Smithsonian




Smithsonian Store