The Great New England Vampire Panic
Over the last few weeks I have been adding articles about some of the vampires found throughout New England that were associated with tuberculosis deaths.
Country and County: Vermont
Consumption Vine, Dummerston
Tuberculosis has been known by various names throughout history, phthisis, scrofula, Pott’s disease, white plague and of course, consumption. There are several cases throughout New England where a fear of the disease and the lack of medical knowledge to treat it, led to people seeking a supernatural explanation and a cure in old folklore.
Woodstock Vampire
Named after Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England, Woodstock was first settled in 1768. Six decades later, in 1829 a case of vampirism linked to consumption was suspected.
Rachel Burton (nee Harris), Vampire of Manchester
Captain Isaac Burton and Rachel Harris (stepdaughter of Esquire Powel) married on March 8, 1789. Unfortunately the marriage did not last long and she died of consumption (Tubercolosis) on 1 February 1790, after which she was considered by some to have become a vampire.
Lake Memphremagog
Lake Memphremagog (meaning "where there is a big expanse of water" in native Algonkian) is a thin twenty seven mile long freshwater glacial lake which some believe is the home to a huge serpent like creature known as Memphré. Lake Memphremagog spans across the border between Canada and the United States of America.
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