Small Rhode Island history center is hosting a program near the end of this month: "The Great New England Vampire Panic":
Exeter, Rhode Island, 1892: After a large exodus of residents, only 900 people remained in this nearly deserted rural village. Frightening and mysterious sicknesses repeatedly struck families throughout town. Residents searched for the cause and reached the unusual conclusion that the culprit was Mercy Brown: 19-years-old, recently-deceased and a vampire.
Are you brave enough to spend an evening learning about the dozens of supposed vampires identified throughout New England during this century-long panic? Join the Center as we present "The Great New England Vampire Panic" on Wednesday, October 24th, at 6:30 p.m. at the South Kingstown Land Trust Barn (17 Matunuck Beach Road). Dr. Nicholas Bellantoni, former Connecticut State Archaeologist, will explore his study of this folk belief and a possible vampire burial discovered nearby. Discussing the incidence of consumption and the great fear it inspired will be public historian Dr. Mary Babson Fuhrer.
This program is presented in partnership with the South Kingstown Land Trust. For more information, please visit http://southcountyhistorycenter.org/upcoming-events/.
This program is presented as part of the Center's series "Resilient Rhode Island: Disasters & Determination in the Ocean State." The series is made possible through major funding support from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, an independent state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Rhode Island Council for the Humanities seeds, supports and strengthens public history, cultural heritage, civic education and community engagement by and for all Rhode Islanders.
https://www.facebook.com/southcountyhistorycenter/
http://southcountyhistorycenter.org/upcoming-events/
New England Vampire History sauce:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-great-new-england-vampire-panic-36482878/
https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2014/10/the-new-england-vampire-panic/