The church that sits in Chestnut Hill Cemetery on Rhode Island, dates back to 1838. Though many of us would consider that any cemetery may be haunted due to the number of dead who have been buried there, this cemetery has a particularly interesting tale belonging to one of its tenants. In the late 1800s, people of the area were not only afraid of witches but there was also mass hysteria about blood sucking vampires. People everywhere were absolutely horrified at the thought of people rising from their graves.
It just so happened, that a woman named Mercy Brown was accused of being a vampire after her death. Unfortunately, Mercy died in 1892 due to tuberculosis along with two of her sisters. Her father gave the townspeople permission to dig up their bodies in order to inspect them for signs of being vampires. Having grown long fingernails and hair and not having decomposed, the townspeople decided it would be best to remove Mercy’s heart and burn it before returning her body to its grave. Since her return to the ground, people began to witness an apparition of a young woman wandering amongst the gravestones. Others note seeing glowing orbs or hearing strange noises in the dark. Apparently upset, people have also claimed to have been pushed away when they come too close to her grave. Those religious folks who have come to bless her grave have noted smelling strong scents of roses before departing. Maybe it is her way of thanking them for their kindness.
If the rumors are true, then it is a sad tale of a poor young girl accused of something she was not. Unfortunately, her restless soul may be condemned to the cemetery for eternity, keeping watch over her grave.
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