Mercy Brown

Written By V Ravenia

Chestnut Hill Baptist Church and Cemetery, Exeter, Rhode Island. June 2024. Photograph by Ophelia W. Ravenia.

The late 1800’s saw the village of Exeter, Rhode Island in decline. The village’s population had declined from 2,500 in 1820 to just under 1,000 in 1890. Civil War casualties, the lure of lands out west, and the appeal of better paying city jobs had hollowed out much of the town’s population. Of those that remained, a mysterious illness seemed to be slowly taking many of the villagers.



In the late 1800’s, the Brown family of Exeter seemed to be particularly cursed. It began in 1883, when Mary Elizabeth Arnold Brown died of a mysterious illness. During this time, her daughter Mary Olive Brown began to fall ill. She quickly grew frail, and died six months after her mother.

Following these deaths, there was a relatively uneventful period in the Brown Family’s life. Mary Elizabeth Arnold Brown’s husband George tended to the family’s farm and raised their five surviving children. 

These few years of peace weren’t the end of the curse. George’s only son, Edwin, had been a healthy young man. But in 1889, he began to fall ill. His body seemed to waste away; the local doctor diagnosed him with consumption. Following the diagnosis, some friends convinced Edwin to seek treatment in the spa town of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The fresh air of the western town seemed to improve Edwin’s health, and he remained there for a few years.

While Edwin appeared to be improving out west, the curse was far from over in Exeter. On January 18, 1892, Edwin’s sister Mercy Lena Brown died of the same illness that had taken her mother and elder sister. Hearing of the death, Edwin headed back to Exeter.

Edwin’s return was marked by his own declining health.His nights became filled with feverish dreams of Mercy– she appeared to call to him in his dreams, telling him to come with her. The locals began to wonder if perhaps his sudden decline in health and frequent nightmares were due to a vampire draining the life from him– and their main suspect was Mercy.

As Edwin’s health continued to deteriorate, some villagers convinced George to allow them to exhume his deceased wife and daughters. These townspeople wanted to see if any of the bodies remained well-preserved. In their minds, a well-preserved corpse would indicate that the body was that of a vampire, draining the lifeblood of the Brown family.

On March 17, 1892, the bodies of the deceased Brown women were exhumed. Bones were all that remained of Mary Elizabeth and Mary Olive’s bodies. However, Mercy’s corpse appeared remarkably well-preserved. Thus, the townspeople concluded that she must be a vampire. The heart and liver were removed from Mercy’s body, burned, and made into a tonic for Edwin. This didn’t spare Edwin, who died less than two months later. 

Headstone of Mercy Brown. Headstone reads "Mercy L. daughter of George T. & Mary E. Brown. Died January 18, 1892. Aged 19 Years." Offerings of candy, flowers, stones, seashells, flowers, and an iced coffee lay upon her grave.

The Grave of Mercy Brown, June 2024. Photograph by Ophelia W. Ravenia.



Myth and mysticism often begins where our understanding of science ends. Historically, this has factored into many vampire legends, including the tale of Mercy Brown.

The late 1800’s saw the beginning of our scientific understanding of tuberculosis, though this information did little good for most people. Tuberculosis treatment during this era was in its infancy; the United State's first tuberculosis sanitarium was established in 1884. Treatment largely consisted of rest, fresh air, and hope. Antibiotics were yet to be discovered. Tuberculosis was the most common cause of death during this era.

For the average rural New Englander tuberculosis remained a mysterious disease. Treatment consisted of hope and prayer. It is likely that tuberculosis was the curse that afflicted the Brown family. It is noted that during the exhumation of Mercy’s body, a local doctor noted that her lungs showed signs of tuberculosis. The fact that Mercy and Edwin passed long after Mary Elizabeth and Mary Olive wouldn’t have been uncommon for tuberculosis, even if the disease was contracted at the same time. For many patients, tuberculosis remained latent in the body for many years before manifesting and leading to a rapid decline in health. 


As for Mercy’s well-preserved body– preserved enough that traces of blood remained in her veins– there is a sensible explanation for this. She was buried in the dead of New England winter, and exhumed before the body had time to thaw and decompose. 

The Brown Family plot consists of five grey headstones beneath a fir tree.

The Brown Family Plot, Exeter, Rhode Island. June 2024. Photograph By Ophelia W. Ravenia.

Mercy Brown’s legend remains a part of popular Rhode Island folklore, and has gone on to inspire literary works. Bram Stoker had newspaper clippings of the Exeter vampire tale among his belongings; he published Dracula five years after Mercy’s death and may have found inspiration from New England vampire legends. Additionally, Mercy’s story served as inspiration for H. P. Lovecraft’s The Shunned House.

Mercy Brown is far from the only New England vampire legend; however, she was among the last of these legends.

The headstone of Mercy Brown. Offerings of coins, a washer, and a marble lay atop the headstone. Offerings of stones, seashells, candy, flowers, a button, and an iced coffee lay in front of her grave.

The Grave of Mercy Brown, June 2024. Photograph by Ophelia W. Ravenia.

Mercy Brown’s grave can be found in the cemetery behind Chestnut Hill Baptist Church in Exeter, Rhode Island. Mercy’s grave is a short walk down the main path; it is on the left side beneath a fir tree.

Her grave appears to be visited regularly. There is no grass in front of her headstone, the ground has become worn and packed beneath visitor’s feet. Offerings lay around her grave. The day I visited, her grave had offerings of coins, seashells, stones, marbles, a button, and, in true New England fashion, a Cumby’s iced coffee.

For GPS directions, use the address 467 Ten Rod Road, Exeter, RI.

This site is easily accessible for those with mobility challenges. Mercy’s grave is along the cemetery’s main path and is accessible by vehicle.

 
V Ravenia
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