Chestnut Hill Cemetery

A Brief History: The Baptist Church in Exeter, Rhode Island, also known as Chestnut Hill Baptist Church, has quite the checkered past. The church was built in 1838 and added to the national register of historic places on November 21, 1978. In the late 1800's there was a disease that spread through many households. The disease would wipe out entire families. The disease was known as consumption or present-day tuberculosis. When several people from the same family dies it was thought that they would come back as a vampire to take the rest of the family.

The Brown family lost mother Mary, daughter Mary Olive and the youngest daughter Mercy. The Brown’s son Edwin became sick, Father George decided to exhume the bodies of his wife and daughters. At the time of Mercy's death in 1892 the ground was frozen; her body was placed in a holding building. When George's wife and daughter, Mary were exhumed their bodies were fully decomposed. When Mercy's casket was opened she had barely decomposed. George of course thought Mercy must be a vampire. He had her heart and liver taken out and put in a fire. He then made a tea with the ash to give to his son. The tea did not help. Edwin passed away in about two months.

Haunted History: The story of this family is said to have inspired many stories of vampires such as Lovecraft's Shunned House and Bram Stroker's Dracula. If you visit the site today, you may see orbs or smell roses by Mercy's headstone. People have also claimed to hear disembodied voices when no one else is around.