The second child of George and Mary Brown- #MercyBrown lived a quiet life in rural Exeter, Rhode Island when a tuberculosis epidemic swept through New England. The disease would claims hundreds of lives in the area and not leave the Brown family untouched- first her mother and sister, and then Mercy would all succumb. . When her surviving brother Edwin became ill he claimed he could not breath because his sister Mercy was sitting on his chest. Hysteria ensued and some townsfolk reported seeing Mercy walking the cemetery at night. . . On March 17, 1892 the town officials along with a doctor and Mercy’s father and brother would exhume Mercy, and her mother and sister. Mercy’s mother and sister had died the previous year and when their coffins were opened the bodies had decomposed as normal. Mercy however, who had died that January, was found remarkably preserved with her face flush and veins still full of blood. . . Now “proven” a #vampire, Mercy’s heart was removed and burned nearby. The ashes were mixed with water and the mixture given to her brother Edwin in hopes of curing him. It failed. . . . #talesofnewengland #ghoststory #legend #vampires #vampirehysteria #newenglandvampirehysteria #igrhody #rhodeisland #exeterri #taphophiles_only #taphophilia #cemetery #cemeteryphotography #legends #ghoststories (at Mercy Brown's Grave)