MERCY BROWN, VAMPIRE

Tale from Brad

"Apparently Rhode Island (from the 1800's up to the discovery of disease-causing germs) was the capital of digging up loved ones to dismember their bodies in hopes that this practice would curtail any further deaths in the family.

Mercy Brown is the easiest case to verify, since her gravestone still stands. There are others: Nellie Vaughn, whose gravestone reads I'M WATCHING & WAITING FOR YOU, is a Rhode Island favorite located on Devil's Road. People say that you can see eyes watching you from the cemetery as you drive by. The eyes are two pieces of mica in one of the gravestones that reflect cars' lights. Another story relates to the Black Tillinghast, the meanest pirate of his time. Tillinghast's grave still stands on its original site because people are still freaked out by this guy. The grave is right in someones yard on Benefit St. in Providence's East Side. The story goes that all the Rhode Island vampires had Tillinghast bloodlines. Sara Tillinghast was the first popular vampire case."-Brad Maloney

Story from Jeff Belanger