09/24/2025
When Mercy Brown, a young woman, died of tuberculosis (then called “consumption”), her family had already lost several members to the same disease.
So, Locals believed something supernatural was draining the life from the surviving family.
To stop it, Mercy’s body was exhumed. Unlike her relatives, her co**se appeared unusually well-preserved, and her heart still contained blood. This was taken as a sign she was a “vampire.”
It actually was likely due to the fact it was winter.
Her heart and liver were removed, burned, and the ashes mixed into a tonic for her sick brother to drink as a supposed cure. Despite this, he died soon after.
Today, the incident is seen as a tragic clash between folklore and medical misunderstanding during a deadly tuberculosis outbreak.
