this is gonna turn into a long ass rant so, be warned.
Gonna preface this by saying most of my stuff is based on New England (AKA Rhode Island) vampires because, I live here, it’s easier for me to get information.
(This is probably just going to end as a Mercy Brown rant, because, RAHH!!! But I have a LOT of opinions on Vampirism.)
So!! We’re gonna start with how (at least Rhode Islander’s believed) vampirism was thought to like, happen? In the 1800s, Consumption was going around. (Consumption = Tuberculosis)
Symptoms of Consumption include: Paler more dead-looking skin, sunken eyes, skinner appearance, and the appearance of being ‘consumed’. To people in the 1800s, this looked like they were being drained. Their conclusion? Vampires.
Now, I’m going to preface this detail with stating that New England gets extremely cold. So cold it’s difficult to bury multiple people in one spot.
Why is this important? Well, it’s important because it explains the case of Sarah TillingHast (this site is something my history teacher showed us). So! When half of the TillingHast children died of consumption, the family buried each child in the same spot. (Because it was winter and digging through frozen dirt is fucking hard and this spot was soft from being dug up prior.) Eventually the townsfolk were like “Buddy. One of your kids is a vampire.” after ANOTHER one of his kids fell ill. So, they dug up the kids. First grave, decomposed. Second, decomposed but a little less. And this continued until they reached Sarah and saw that she was in nearly pristine condition! (Read the source if you have time, it’s such an interesting case.)
So, Rhode Islander’s believed that to kill a vampire you had to cut out their heart and like, burn it and then feed the weird ash stuff to anyone who had been ‘bitten’ by the vampire (to cure them).
Sorry, this is so long. Dear lord I’m not even done.
I’m not going to tell Mercy Brown’s story (because it’s long and I’m supposed to be in science class), but she is the most well documented case and the ‘Last New England Vampire’. (Also it’s theorized that she inspired a character in Dracula.)
UHH ENJOY MY VAMPIRE HISTORY RANT!! THERE’S OBVIOUSLY A LOT MORE STUFF BUT THIS IS ALL THE STUFF I CAN GET OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD!
Jack: I got us matching friendship bracelets, and you say I don't care about our relationship.
John: These are handcuffs.
Jack: Yeah, 'cause we're partners in crime!