In the late 1800s New England, a tuberculosis outbreak killed almost a quarter of the population. While the medical community wasn't yet aware of the disease or how to treat it, some turned to religion for relief, and some had .... other ideas. 

As the disease consumed people's bodies, some thought the cause was vampires rising from the dead to feed on the living. Stopping them involved exhuming bodies and destroying them ... or worse. In this episode, we'll talk about New England vampire panic, and discuss the death and aftermath of a young woman named Mercy Brown, whose story would spread around the world.