Chestnut Hill Cemetery

Rhode Island · United States · Cemetery

The Exeter burial ground where Mercy Lena Brown was laid to rest in 1892. Two months after her death, her heart was removed and burned.

In the cemetery at Chestnut Hill Baptist Church in Exeter, Rhode Island, lies Mercy Lena Brown, who died of tuberculosis on 17 January 1892, aged nineteen. The family had already lost her mother and a sister to the same disease, and when her brother Edwin fell ill, the remains of the dead were examined in March that year. Mercy's heart was removed and burned in an attempt to stop what was believed to be causing Edwin's illness. He died in May regardless. The event is often mentioned among the last known cases of the vampire belief found in New England. Collections of ghost stories, including the Shadowlands index, mention a female figure and lights at the grave. These reports are unverified. The cemetery is a burial ground; please be respectful and leave the gravestones untouched.

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Where is Chestnut Hill Cemetery located?

Chestnut Hill Cemetery is in Rhode Island, United States.

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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.