Vampire Folk Belief in Historic New England: The Archaeological Evidence

Wednesday, December 11
6:00 pm - 7:30 pm

Burroughs-Saden Main Library

Wednesday, December 11, 2024 @ 6pm

Via Zoom.

In 1990 a couple of very surprised young boys discovered two skulls at the site of a new gravel quarry in eastern Connecticut. Dr. Nick Bellantoni, Connecticut’s State Archaeologists, and others were called in to investigate what turned out to be a forgotten colonial family cemetery. One grave caught their eye. Someone had arranged the burial in an unusual way. This led to further investigation involving archaeology, forensics, genealogy, and folklore that produced the theory that the cause for the oddity in the burial was the belief that its occupant was a vampire. Vampire folklore was rampant in New England from 1780 to the 1890s, and a combination of disciplines helps archaeologists today discover more about this period in New England history. As it turns out, a real public health issue was to blame.

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