Road Trip Into The Unknown: The Unmerciful Treatment Of A Girl Named Mercy

I never really cared for the term, “Mass Hysteria” it’s not that I don’t believe it is a viable term to explain the psychological effects of a close knit society that thinks that it is under going an otherwise unexplainable event. Mass Hysteria has no style and certainly has absolutely no sense of humor which is why I prefer Mass Wackiness, allow me to explain. In a previous post I detailed the events that have become known as the Mad Gasser of Mattoon, I have no doubt that some lone nutjob was possibly pumping some noxious chemical through the windows of the citizens of Mattoon, Illinois as they slept at night however a threat was perceived and wackiness on a mass level began where people were injured quite possibly allowing for the guilty party to make their hasty escape. Now consider the events that transpired in the town of Exeter, Rhode Island in 1892, when the plague of the “White Death” or Tuberculosis swept into town and began to wipe out entire families on a wholesale level. Instead of caring for the sick and dying and seeing to their comfort a few superstitious and unenlightened townsfolk banded together and placed blame on a creature that lived primarily in the myths and legends of Europe, the Vampire. And the guilt of being this undead demonic creature of the night was placed squarely on the shoulders of an innocent young girl named Mercy Brown.

George Brown, Exeter’s most prominent and wealthiest citizen was a gentleman who seemed to live an almost charmed life. He enjoyed a thriving business, a loving wife and wonderful children the youngest of which was the apple of his eye Mercy, that was until the White death came to town. It seemed that virtually overnight tuberculosis was killing off the citizens of Exeter, Rhode Island so rapidly the town undertaker could not keep up with the demand for caskets and the plague was no respecter of social standing. George was heartbroken when his beloved wife, Mary was the first to succumb to the sinister siren’s call of death. Mary, barely showed symptoms of the disease when she expired in her bed one afternoon. Mary Olive, George’s oldest daughter was the next to go. It was reported that Mary Olive, was quite the beauty and attracted many suitors in the town of Exeter and surrounding communities, however when she died she was nothing more than a living skeleton, a shell of the lovely young woman she once was. Mercy, The aptly named youngest daughter of George Brown was the next to taste death, her promising life snuffed out by the insidious White Death.

A few months after the deaths of the only woman in his life George’s one and only son, Edwin began to show signs of the disease. I can not even begin to believe the turmoil that poor George Brown was going through he had lost his wife, his two beautiful girls and now it looked as if he would soon be burying his one and only son. I wonder if George ever shook his fist in God’s face and cursed his holy name or asked why them and not him. I suppose that knowledge is lost to history and the private thoughts of a man who once lived many years ago.

As the disease spread a swathe of destruction through the community certain citizens began to spread rumors through the town that a demonic beast, a vampire, was at work in their community. And for whatever reason I can only wonder they pointed the finger solely in the direction of George Brown. The Citizens of Exeter were terrified and they wanted to put the matter to rest and if that meant digging up the bodies of George Brown’s family than that was exactly what they would do.

At first George Brown, was mortified at the very idea of this ghoulish venture, the thought of desecrating his beloved families graves disgusted him not to mention the very idea that his

youngest daughter may be some kind of demon spawn not only greatly troubled him but offended him. However he acquiesed to the demands of the gowing sentiments of the townsfolks. The graves of the Brown family would be disinterred and checked for signs of vampirism.

What came next can only be described as something that came straight out of a late night Hammer horror festival. George Brown, the town Minister and a large group of intrepid Van Helsing wanna-bes ventured out into into the local graveyard after the sun dipped below the horizon (because as we all know night time is the right time to kill a vampire) to expose the monster and destroy the blood thirsty beast.

When the brave group approached Mary’s grave they raised pickaxes over their heads and drove their shovels into the ground with righteous zeal. When they exposed the corpse the town doctor who arrived late examined the corpse and declared the deceased wife of George Brown to be truly dead and in an advanced state of decay. After a few moments they discovered the same about Mary Olive, completely, totally dead as a door nail. Although George Brown was aghast at this display of barbarism he could not help but feel triumphant that so far his family was not not to blame for this outbreak of death that was until they reached the reached the grave of young sweet Mercy Brown.

After long moments of digging and hacking away at the earth the casket of young Mercy was opened to expose a most horrifying sight. The young sweet faced girl although she had been dead for six months had not shown one iota of decay instead her visage looked as if she had improved as she lay in her grave. Her chestnut hair had grown past her shoulders and her nails were healthy and long even her face was full and ruddy as if it was filled with the warmth of fresh blood. The town had found their sinister undead fiend and it was the girl named Mercy Brown.

The townsfolk came up short with how to rid themselves of this undead foe until one of the locals declared the only to dispatch this fiend was to cut out it’s heart and burn it and of course cut it’s head off. All agreed this would certainly send the soul of this creature screaming into the netherworld. At this point, George Brown could not help but agree with the sentiments of his fellow townspeople it was apparent that his daughter was some kind of creature born of the fires of hell and she must be dealt with before she caused more people to die. As the doctor went about the macabre procedure to remove the heart from Mercy Brown fresh blood flowed from the chest cavity giving more credence to the belief that she was a vampire. After the heart was removed it was burned to ash and the ash was mixed into water and Edwin drank the mixture because it was believed this would make him well. Unfortunately two days after the bizarre affair Edwin died from tuberculosis and the strange case of the Rhode Island Vampire came to a tragic close.

What are we to make of this truly weird case? The Case of the Rhode Island Vampire is a true historical event that took place in Exeter Rhode Island in 1892. Was Mercy Brown really a vampire? Or was she the dead desecrated victim of Mass Wackiness? Let’s look at the facts laid out to us by modern science. When Mercy died it was in the dead of winter and it was common practice, at the time, to store the body and wait for the ground to thaw for burial. It would not be uncommon that her corpse would have been frozen and preserved perhaps she was buried a little earlier and when they exhumed her she was just thawing out which gave her the appearance of incorruption. Furthermore when a body is going through decay and not properly preserved bodily fluids, such as blood, will gather in the chest cavity and gases will give facial features a bloated and ruddy look. And as for hair and nails well they are dead cells that will keep growing indefinately after death. So was Mercy Brown a evil, twisted bloodthirsty minion of the prince of darkness highly unlikely but then again I wasn’t there in 1892, maybe you were.

Rick E. Hale

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