Good morning and welcome to the grim. Hi, I'm your host, Kristin, on today's episode, we'll be opening the gate at entering Chestnut hill cemetery located in Exeter, Rhode Island. So grab your favorite mug cozy up. And let's take a dig into history. After last week's episode, sand hauntings. I figured you listeners needed a graveyard ghoster to. Or maybe something a little bit more grim. Located in a small town on the east coast, in Rhode Island.
And I was one of the most haunted cemeteries in this state. Get tales of ghosts are not the only encounters on these hallowed grounds. Situated next to the Chestnut hill Baptist church on victory highway in Rhode Island sits an idealic cemetery that doesn't portray its grimmer tales from the past of the vampires. Grasp. And the rituals committed to its residents along ago. The officially named Exeter cemetery started in 1838. And holds about 1000 souls laid to rest.
But in the 18 hundreds, the townspeople felt the souls didn't stay laid to rest praying on the living. In new England prior to the 18 hundreds, there was around 20 documented instances of vampires being Exuma before the American revolution. But in the village of Exeter. Rhode Island. There was about to become another case. The church first began in 1838. And the church has history of it. Cemetery isn't documented well beyond the burial of the souls within its grounds.
But one can fairly assume the church's history and cemetery go hand in hand. The congregation is home to the oldest Baptist faith in Exeter. Seeing a rapid expansion and membership in the early years, but then saw scandal. In 1839 controversy regarding the moral character of the pastor at the time, elder Gershom Hommer resulted in his expulsion. This led to his supporters, also following him from the church till 1845 when they reconciled with the parent church, but never really fully rejoined.
The church only had 188 members and never regained its membership again. This was also affected by the declining population in the late 18 hundreds in rural areas of Rhode Island. Caused by new railroads and the promise of richer land to the west. It learned young men away and the tragic losses of the civil war with a small towns population made it extremely sparse. One family in particular would find itself part of an epidemic unknown to many at the time.
Farmers George and Mary Brown lived a quiet life on their farm. Put their two oldest daughters. Mary olive and mercy, Lena, and one son Edwin. This was part of the time period that consumption now known today as tuberculosis or TB was the leading cause of death. The bacteria of the illness was just discovered in 1882. But being a rural community, they weren't connected well enough with the world to know about the discovery. And there also wasn't a vaccine just yet.
Putting many still at risk and the brown family, right in consumption's path. The mother Mary was the first to fall ill in the family passing away in 1883. Beloved by many in the community. Her funeral was attended by a lot of the local town folk. With her obituary saying the last few hours she lived was of great suffering. Get her faith was from, and she was ready for the change. The following year, the oldest daughter, Mary olive took ill, rapidly and died at the young age of 20.
The brown family then experienced a few years of better luck until their son Edwin's health began to fade. Varying of also being taken by illness. He can stop there with a local physician who suggested he and his wife moved to Colorado Springs to regain his health. But his sister mercy, who went by Leno would see her turn next in illness. Fearing for his sister's life and the possibility of not saying goodbye. Edwin rush back to Rhode Island to be by her side.
Mercy then passed away in January at 1892 at just 19 years old. Due to the cold weather during her death Mercy's body was kept in a receiving crypt in the cemetery and unable to be buried in the frozen ground. This was a common practice back in the time before technology would enable digging during the colder months. To this day, older cemeteries still have receiving Crips. If you look closely for them. Sometimes appearing as a crypto or a volt.
Edwin was now back in Rhode Island and sadly still saw his health declining. The Brown's neighbors though started taking notice of the family's bad string of luck with illness. And they settled on the possibility that it wasn't just sickness or bad immune system. They decided the family was suffering from being in the vampires. Grasp. Common in the late 18 hundreds of vampire panic had taken hold of the world. Or lack of understanding of the illness consumption. The fear of consumption.
Let some residents digging up their past loved ones or neighbors while looking for vampires and lurking blood-sucking spirits. Believing that illness was an effective vampires, not bacteria. And to warn listeners, this gets very grim and a little gruesome coming up. So if you're squeamish, I'd suggest not listening ahead. In a neighboring town in 1872. Uh, William Rose of solder town, Rhode Island.
Whose son was sick with consumption, believed in the old folklore that the consumptive dead draw nourishment from living. Consumption had symptoms of a fever hacking bloody cough and invisible wasting away of the body. Reading one 18th century description. The emaciated figure strikes one with terror, the forehead covered with drops of sweat, the cheeks painted with a livid. Chrisholm the eyes sunk the breadth offensive, quick laborous and cough.
So incessant as to scarce, allow the wretched suffer time to tell his complaints. The symptoms progressed in such a way that it seemed like something was draining the life and blood out of somebody. Rosewood looking for recent Veda of consumption, hoping to save his son. By burning the vitals of the dead. Assisted by local Indian. He built a fire near a grave.
Exume the body of a 12 year old boy hoping to complete the ritual, but he was beyond a K. He then proceeded to exume the body of a seven year old girl. We was able to remove the remaining vitals and burden them in the fire, completing the ritual. To add to the extreme nature of the story. He had witnesses to his actions as they wanted to watch him commit these foolish and superstitious acts. Needless to say he didn't pertain permission from the families prior and caused quite the stir in town.
But rose. Wasn't the only one in Rhode Island with his so-called foolish and superstitious acts others in neighboring towns also attempted to save loved ones with the same actions. Looking into examinations rose. Might've been one of the first, but he definitely wasn't the last Rhode Island's rural setting had cases around, but they were more hush hush than other communities in Maine or Massachusetts.
Normally only family and neighbors like Edwin's case would step in, but other communities saw town, fathers voted on the matter or medical doctors and clergymen giving their blessings or even going further and pitching in. The ritual needed was said to entail burning the deceased heart and at times other vital organs. And then sometimes inhaling the smoke as a cure or the ill consuming the ashes in a drink after.
Verdi counts, also document beheadings or overturning the deceased face down in their graves. Making them unable to rise from the dead. Yeah. Now one was successful in curing or being freed from the vampires. Grasp all passing away from illness. There are still struggles today to fully understand the public hysteria at the time. But each of the accused vampires was the mist, the consumption outbreak..
New England folklorist and scholar, Michael Bell has discovered almost 100 excavations of graves in the area. Related to the vampire suspicion. The coffin would be in con condition, but cadavers would be beheaded, chest horn, open and various bones from the lower body crossed over the chest. Most rural families felt ill consumption and did see their standard physician like Edwin. But sought to blame early victims for the loss of their loved ones.
Believing those gone before them picked or preyed upon family members who fell ill. The failed attempts from others to free themselves from the vampire's grasp. Didn't stop the Brown's family from attempting to care. Edwin with a folk ritual. George Brown influenced most likely by his neighbors and perhaps the loss of his daughters and wife decided to attempt to save Edward by performing the folk ritual. With his father's blessing, but notably not his assistance.
Edwin neighbors and the doctor dug up the graves of his mother and his sister, Mary olive in March of 1892. The result, wouldn't be pretty as both women had passed for years. Leaning to severely decomposed bodies. Mercy Lenna Edwin's sister had yet to be buried though with her coffin still in the receiving crypt, from her passing in January. Upon opening her coffin. They found mercy. Linda turned sideways. Leading to further evidence to the neighbors and the doctor that she was indeed a vampire.
And listeners. I absolutely agree that it was ridiculous that no one thought she might've been turned or tossed for being carried or possibly buried alive. Which was common and an accident that happened to people back in the day. The doctor then removed mercy. Lainez heart and liver. For the ritual leaking blood and other superstition leading to believe she was a vampire. The problem was mercy died in January. And was placed in a freezing cold crypt.
Most likely preserving her body leading to these suspicious pieces of so-called evidenced townsfolk, that she was a vampire. And not just a set of circumstances set up by her passing in winter. Some had counseled the story, very saying that BRC. The letter was buried and then zoomed from the ground. But the results are just the same. The group then taking her organs, set them on fire on a rock in the cemetery.
The doctor collected the ashes, mixing them with the liquor and had Edwin drink the concoction. Get Edwin, just like the others who had tried and failed miserably with the folk ritual only lived six more weeks dying in may of 1892. Myrcene Linda is set to hot Chestnut hill cemetery Blue lights are claimed to be seen floating close to her grave on the brown family plot. Beneath the evergreen tree.
The tale of mercy Lenna became famous in vampire tales over the years, leading to her headstone, anchored to the ground. To prevent it from being stolen. And noticed by authors, Bram, Stoker, and HP love craft. Struck her reportedly had newspaper clippings of her story found in his possessions after passing, perhaps giving influence to his famous novel Dracula. Lovecraft was a Rhode Island resident who lived at provenance nearby. And mentioned her in his short story, the shot and house.
Visitors can sign a guest book. If you visit myrcene Lenna, they can be found at a Tupperware box in the cemetery. Sadly, the quiet coastal new England life in this sleepy, rural town. Wasn't so quiet as it seemed in the 18 hundreds. Visitors do leave her mementos and pennies, hoping to see mercy Lenna when visiting. The cemetery does have intermittence. So please be respectful if you plan on strolling through and vampire hunts are not appreciated.
Sadly mercy Lena's grave is known, ever remembered for all the wrong reasons that she would never foreseen during her lifetime. The rest of Chestnut hill cemetery residents might not be as famous, but are definitely more fortunate than Mercy's case. Her father George lived to see the consumption or tuberculosis vaccine in his day. Only causing one to wonder if he ever regretted giving his blessing for Edwin's ritual. But one may never know. The grave grind for Chestnut hill cemetery.
Isn't ice lavender cold foam. Gotcha. From Sophie's brew house close by an extra Rhode Island. For more honorary grinds, please visit the-grim.com for more information. But for now, we're closing the gate on Chestnut hill cemetery. We hope you enjoyed our dig into history. If you did subscribe today and join us next time, when we open the gate on the grim.