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The Haunted Librarian

~ Researching, investigating, and writing about the paranormal.

The Haunted Librarian

Category Archives: Folktales

America’s Last Vampire Exhumation: Mercy Lena Brown

16 Tuesday Nov 2021

Posted by The Haunted Librarian in Cemeteries, Folk Tales, Folklore, Folktales, Vampires

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Tags

consumption, edwin atwood brown, tuberculous

In the late 1800s, America was in the midst of a vampire panic. This was directly linked to the outbreak of tuberculous, or consumption as it was called then. The undereducated citizens didn’t understand epidemiology. And people, especially those in rural communities, distrusted medical doctors. It was easier to believe that a person who died from consumption yet seen walking through the cemetery was a vampire than to come up with another, more logical reason, for supposed hauntings. Thus was the case of Mercy Lena Brown, forever known as the “Last New England Vampire.”

Throughout history, civilizations battled outbreaks of horrible and deadly diseases. In the 1800s, it was tuberculosis, also known as TB. At that time, there wasn’t a cure for TB. The survival rate was 20%. Entire families were decimated. And towns attempted to thwart and to explain why people were dying.

In Exeter, Rhode Island, George and Mary Eliza Brown were farmers. They had 7 children, 6 girls and 1 boy. On December 8, 1883, Mary Eliza succumbed to TB. By June 6, 1884, the eldest daughter Mary Olive (2.17.1864-6.6.1884) was dead, as well. Both were properly interred into the family plot, resting in peace in the ground.

When Edwin Atwood, age 24, became ill, he and his young wife, Hortense, headed to a mineral spring in Colorado Springs, Colorado for 18 months. Edwin seemed to improve a bit; however, by the time he returned to Rhode Island, he had already relapsed.

By then, Edwin’s other sister Mercy Lena was ill. Born on August 2, 1872, Lena, as she was called, died on January 17, 1892, in the dead of winter. Her body was stored above ground and in a mausoleum. Edwin’s health was declining so much so that he began to hallucinate. He claimed that Lena was sitting on his chest. Others in the community started telling stories of seeing Lena walking through the cemetery. Within a very short time, vampire panic had taken over Exeter, and the community sought answers.

George Brown was placed in the precarious position of honoring his deceased daughter or allowing her to be exhumed. He was convinced of the latter. On March 17, 1892, Lena’s body was removed from the coffin, and the town folk gasped in horror. Unlike the decomposed bodies of Mary Eliza and Mary Olive, who were also exhumed, Lena’s corpse seemed fresh. It was documented that she lay on one side with blood still within her veins and heart. A mob mentality took hold. And they demanded an offering.

Regional superstition stated that the heart and liver of a corpse must be removed and burned to permanently kill the decedent. Lena was sliced open, her heart and liver removed, and set upon the blazing bonfire. However, that would not calm the folks.

Lena’s cremated remains were mixed with water to make a tonic that was given to Edwin to drink. And drink he did. Yet, it was to no avail. Two months later on May 2, Edwin joined his family in the Chestnut Hill Cemetery.

The surviving heirs retell this horrible violation and desecration by keeping Lena’s memory alive. On Decoration Day, now known as Memorial Day, when people visit and decorate the gravesites of relatives, specifically military members, relative tell her deeply dark tale.

Mercy Lena Brown’s death is a lesson. Pandemics happen. As we work to survive, we should look to the past. We should trust scientists, medical doctors, and epidemiologists. We should also know statistics. Even though vampires may exist (depending on the definition used), the odds of the recently deceased person actually being one is small. Very small. We should also let victims of these heinous desecrations rest in eternal peace.  

Krampus, the Christmastime Monster

20 Friday Dec 2019

Posted by The Haunted Librarian in Famous People, Folk Tales, Folktales, Holidays

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Krampus, the Christmastime Monster*

Stories of the dark half-goat, half-demon monster terrorizing unruly children pre-dates Christianity. Its roots come from Central-European folklore with the exact specifics unknown. His name is derived from either Dutch krampen, meaning “pick” or “iron,” or the Austrian “pickaxe.” Some rely on the German translation of “cramp.” Krampus is a Christmastime monster.

The consensus is that the story of Krampus was a pagan morality tale appropriated by Christians. The cautionary tale of Krampus lives on today as a warning to all children contemplating bad behavior, for their “reward” will be living in the underworld (i.e., Hell) for one full year where they will be tortured or possibly eaten. The punishment is severe enough to whip young children into their best behavior.

Krampus Night, or Krampusnacht, begins on December 5th. The saltier companion of Joly Saint Nicholas comes above-ground seeking devilish children. His beverage of choice is Schnapps (a fruity Brandy), go figure, as he swats at misbehaving children with gold painted birch branches.

The unfavorable kidnapping tale alarmed communities in the mid-1900s; therefore, towns were encouraged to tone it down or outright ban such celebrations. However, popularity rose again when the film industry started cranking out Krampus and Krampus-like movies. The 2015 movie Krampus was filmed on a $15 million-dollar budget and grossed over $61 million worldwide. Krampus sells.

While Krampus is NOT the anti-Santa Claus, he is the dispenser of bad news (no presents for you) and discipline. Although the tales mention his eating children, no purported cannibalistic rituals involving Krampus and children have been reported. Maybe the threat of visit was all that was needed.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! And…be on your best behavior.

Blog originally published in December 2018.

The Best Christmas Gifts Evoke the Horror of Christmas’ Past

19 Tuesday Dec 2017

Posted by The Haunted Librarian in Book Review, Books, Christmas, Folktales, Uncategorized

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Tags

christmas horror stories, silver bridge collapse, sylvia shults, winecoff hotel fire

Book Cover

The Best Christmas Gifts Evoke the Horror of Christmas’ Past

The Spirits of Christmas: The Dark Side of the Holidays, written by Sylvia Shults, debuted last month, appearing in independent bookstores across Illinois. It can now be purchased online directly from the publisher, American Hauntings Ink (https://squareup.com/store/american-hauntings-ink) for $16. The 240 page compendium is overly ambitious—bulging with tales. However, book lovers live by the adage: More is actually, well, more—and the more tales the better! This book is packed with domestic and international folktales and historical events occurring around the Christmas season. Each of the sections could stand as its own title. But for the 2017 Christmas Season, Ms. Shults’ book will warm the bodies circled around the hearth celebrating “the weirdness that has swirled around the Christmas season for many centuries.”

Ms. Shults rarely delves into any paranormal events circulating around these horrific stories. Instead, she leaves that to the reader. She does, however, include a lot of background information for most of the stories. The organization of the contents is as important as the stories themselves. Ms. Shults groups the stories into themes: traditions; creepy characters; things that bump in the night; natural disasters turned horrific because of the season; ghost sightings; and finally ghost stories inspired from Christmas. Some are true stories written to encourage readers to Google the events themselves. Others are folktales that were believed at the time by the people who experienced the phenomena. All are fascinating. The lengths vary as to the topic.

Krampus

Sylvia Shults is a gifted storyteller. She probably honed her skill by working as a Library Assistant in her busy public library system. Library staff often “booktalk” titles, a practice of giving a brief overview of a book ending with a teaser to hook the reader to check it out. Booktalks are incredibly popular and very easy for a natural-born storyteller. Ms. Shults has a knack for telling stories. Unfortunately, I would have preferred hearing more stories in her voice instead of the original source material.

The book acts as a condensed encyclopedia of horror tales set in December. They cover centuries and continents. While reading, I was drawn to America’s worst hotel fire at the Winecoff Hotel, in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 7th, 1946. The fire paved the way for better fire safety measures; however, it took the death of 119 people—some high school students—for these changes to be enacted. I reside in Atlanta and know much about this tragedy and hotel. (It has since reopened and is a gorgeous boutique hotel.)

Equally interesting was the story on the Silver Bridge Collapse on December 15, 1967. This event is widely seen as the last credible sighting of the West Virginian legend Mothman (see my blogs regarding this geographically-contained phenomenon).

The book also contains quite a few unsolved mysteries and murders. These tales may be the ones to keep readers up at night.

Ms. Shults takes creative license by embellishing some stories; however, they are done to humanize the victims. Further, I wished the citations for sources corresponded with the tales instead of in a bulk listing at the end. That’s the academic in me!

This is the perfect gift for any paranormal enthusiast or history buff who is fascinated by unsolved mysteries or horrific events.

 

For more information on the author: https://sylviashults.wordpress.com/

To purchase the book online: https://squareup.com/store/american-hauntings-ink

 

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Archer Paranormal Investigations

Archer Paranormal Investigations

The Haunted Librarian

Gainesville, Florida

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