New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-05-15
pUoDE ISLAND SUPERsHTIoM
RELIEF THAT CONSUMPTION IS NolhiN'
THAN AN INVISIBLE VAMPIRE

nr,rrr THAT CONSUMPTION - N"iN
THAN AN INVISIBLE vAMPlhh'
r,,o Interested IN folklore should know Oh r.es
deve,opmcnis OF the vampire super 80, a h,cblx
island Rhode Island is n thckly se''..u a..nsos and
a,'',,,ra, s,,,c Along the great watercoui'o' "''N
''''''"' s,o,os q, the Narragansett Bay 1t Is one
''o''o ',,,,,o I'm, tock toward the ConnccucA n,''
-. ana forests which never have oo"eu " '''
~ and a race OF people who preserve All ''o ~ .
,,,,,s and traditions of another age. I''o"e
c,,sous superstitions among the peopN "''e 80, =
,.o,otcd regions Is that OF the 'a'"P'o' h a.
ballot I'm the existence OF hn'ha" amp - -,
- ,,a n, when he curcled the blood OIL h'S ho"'
..s u,,, the tale Of Lord Ruthven, or such a. 'o',
. mar, Of the folklore OF cena'h l"'''S VI nnd
a. o which seems peculiar to these people ""u
~, ,., ~ which would repay Investigators NV
,,,., many OF them, and believe IL thoro"s"'
,hat consumption is not disease ou' u"o - ,ho
,bo operatiOns Of q mysterious ''o" ~
,.om,re which fastens Itself upon u ia"''s " w.
therefore indestructible by Ordinary
means sucks the blood from hrst one '''"'' NV
ano,hsr They believe that from the iohc's s"'
a., -crv farm m influence steals Tor dea'h
' ne tho body of the dead consumptVe mus
,,rd In IT. heart for there the vampire Is a' W."
and &c draining the blood OF the living '''''' ''''
the body Of the dead. ...osor, IN OK
bur,. the body and burn the paris ee"e'"i'' "0
.hora
nghos IN some manner to the living and ahc'ea ones
-, o., stropc element Of mysticism In the mihds
~ these people, and It is not perhaps strh"7c .'",
.r ,, scourcc Of consumption which battles meuic'il
cienco and sweeps away many of the sturdy We"
England race should be invested os 'hem WIZ" INV
weird superstition Of the vampire
rho most recent case Of an outcrop Of the vampire
SUPERSTITION occurred last March george l. BROWN
rosnoc,,hlc farmer OF Exeter, lost his wife about
.tlf
and his other daughter. Mercy, last January al
,y,nc from, consumption Mr.. Browns son Elwin' Il
Young married man, Is also Il consunptiVe. Tic "en'
with his wife TO Colorado springs. having heiru VI III"
curative properties Of that place In cases IKE MS anu
,ayed there for eighteen months but got no bet''r'
Then longing came to him and his wife To see again
tho pine trees and the old familiar hceS IN hhVnc
Island and he came back to Exeter. his native town.
ON March H. shortly after hi, return, 1t was de"hed
~ DIG mn the bodc, Of his mother and sisters and sec
II the vampire were SIN at work. physician was
son, Dor from the village Of Wexford. considerable
distance away. He came and made an examination
~ the oxhumcd bodies. In the heart Ut Mercy, the
last Of those who had died, was found blood The
heart and lungs Of the dead girl were fhereupoh
burned. How the ashes were disposed Of was Kept
II profouud secret. only few people were allowed
10 be present the cremation and detailed account
u II be- obtained. but Il must have been "eiI,l
49,, WsrSh ,yird' b-owlng over the de,olate country
The CLEANER a paper published In the Pawtlxr'
Valley give, account Of another cas-" oi similar
nature which occurred In the town Of Foster. H. L. some
y",r, aso. Lew Young. who lived on "A farm IN tl,
southwest Of the town. had large family oi
and girl, som" Of them died Young from con
sumption the Others showed Of the disease
When Nancy Of the girls had been dead three
months her body exhumcd and burned ito XIII
the vampire while IN. rmanins members of the
family stood around and Inhaled the smoke. These
things took place In the most denscy populated state
I'm tho Union. bui among people living In Isolated
regions. among whom all ancient traditions and super
.,itionS are Tenacious Of life.