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. The following account was taken from ‘The Journal of American Folklore’ (1889) by Jeremiah Curtin (Born 6 September 1835 – Died 14 December 1906, Vermont). ‘The man* had died of consumption six months before and his body buried in the ground. A brother of the deceased fell ill soon after, and in a short time it appeared that he too had consumption; when this became known the family determined at once to disinter the body of the dead man and examine his heart. Then they reinterred the body, took the heart to the middle of Woodstock Green, where they kindled a fire under an iron pot, in which they placed the heart, and burned it to ashes.’

*Surname possibly Corwin