Who doesn’t love driving through beautiful Rhode Island? With scenery of all types to admire and a different sort of charm in each season, there is never a wrong time to enjoy a road trip in little Rhodey. That said, there might be some spots that you’d rather not be at night! For how small Rhode Island is, the state has it fair share of hauntings, and many have said that driving through certain spots in the dark will send shivers up your spine. Exeter is thought to be one of the most haunted towns in the state, and here’s why you may want to keep your trip there to the daylight hours.
The town of Exeter was founded in 1742, giving us over 250 years worth of history to get spooked out by!
Josh McGinn/Flickr
The densely packed woods and pastoral barns all lend to the feeling that Exeter is a town trapped in time. There has of course been modernization, but while driving through this town that is less than 60 miles long and has a population of under 7,000, it is very easy to feel like you have traveled back to an era long past.
Roger Williams/Flickr
The most famed scary story to come out of Exeter is one known world wide. The story of Mercy Brown, the suspected vampire.
Josh McGinn/Flickr The New England vampire panic of the 1800’s came right around the time of a tuberculosis epidemic.
With people dying left and right and corpses left looking different than people expected after being ravaged by the disease, many began to assume that the disease was caused by the undead eating the souls of living people.
Josh McGinn/Flicker Digging up graves became quite common during this panic to ensure that those who had passed on had not themselves become undead.
Mercy Brown is the best known victim of this epidemic. When Mercy was dug up, blood was found in her heart (likely due to being buried in frozen ground.) This made the villagers assume she was a vampire!
Josh McGinn/Flickr The rumors go that Mercy’s heart and liver were removed and burned, then turned into a tonic that her father drank to prvent him from catching vampirism. Tragically, the tonic just passed on the tuberculosis and killed him.
While people may focus on the spirit of Mercy Brown when telling tales of Exeter, we also have to remember that many others had their graves disturbed during this vampire panic.
Peter Rintels/Flickr
It can be presumed that lots of unrestful spirits are roaming through Exeter. Unless you are a daredevil, we recommend visiting before sunset.
CorpsNewEngland/Flickr
Exeter is scary to travelers and locals alike! Do you think you’ll be venturing out there any time soon? And if so will you be doing it in the light of day or the dark of night?
Josh McGinn/Flickr
Roger Williams/Flickr
The New England vampire panic of the 1800’s came right around the time of a tuberculosis epidemic.
Josh McGinn/Flicker
Digging up graves became quite common during this panic to ensure that those who had passed on had not themselves become undead.
The rumors go that Mercy’s heart and liver were removed and burned, then turned into a tonic that her father drank to prvent him from catching vampirism. Tragically, the tonic just passed on the tuberculosis and killed him.
Peter Rintels/Flickr
CorpsNewEngland/Flickr
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Address: Exeter, RI, USA
