Voting Station

Mercy Brown

Please vote to return to collections.

Oddity

The Resume

    (1872-January 17, 1892)
    Born in Exeter, Rhode Island
    Known as 'New England’s Last Vampire'
    Died of consumption (tuberculosis) at age 19
    Body removed from crypt, heart cut out and burned on a nearby rock (March 17, 1892)
    Circumstances recalled in the 2001 book 'Food for the Dead - On the Trail of New England's Vampires' by Michael E. Bell

Why he might be annoying:

    Though TB was running rampant in New England during her time, after death she was singled out as a probable vampire.
    Her brother Edwin contracted the disease, and during an episode of high fever, stated that his sister was 'sitting on his chest,' suffocating him.
    When she was disinterred, it was reported she barely showed any signs of decomposition, thus making her a vampire (never mind the cold winter freezing her body in the above ground holding vault).
    After her heart was burned, it was mixed with a liquid concoction and given to her brother to drink as a remedy.
    Her brother proceeded to die of TB two months later.
    She had become the unwitting victim of superstitious folklore linking multiple deaths in one family to the activity of the undead.

Why he might not be annoying:

    Her mother and older sister had contracted TB and preceded her in death.
    She died of a misunderstood disease at a young age.
    Her body was desecrated over superstitious nonsense.
    Her life is the subject of Caitlín R. Kiernan's short story, 'So Runs the World Away.'
    She was the inspiration for the characters Lucy Westenra in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel 'Dracula' and Mercy Dexter in H.P. Lovecraft's 1924 short story 'The Shunned House.'

Credit: Scar Tactics


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 17 Votes: 47.06% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 12 Votes: 58.33% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 66 Votes: 50.0% Annoying