Over two hundred years after the Salem Witch Trials, New England experienced a second wave of hysteria: vampires. When families became ill with tuberculosis, the only explanation could be the blood thirsty creatures. Desperate for answers, the locals would do anything (even exhume bodies!) to prove it was the work of a sinister force.

Sources: 

https://www.scoopwhoop.com/women/story-of-mercy-brown-the-first-female-vampire/

https://boston.cbslocal.com/2011/09/01/two-ri-teens-killed-in-crash-after-visiting-vampire-grave/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-great-new-england-vampire-panic-36482878/?c=y&page=3

https://newengland.com/today/living/new-england-history/new-england-vampire-history/