Nellie Vaughn

The Nellie Vaughn case was a unique vampire case.  She was never suspected of being a vampire, at least not by his family and friends.  They never exhumed their body, or tear her organs apart and burned them.  She was never a vampire at all, but legends made her a vampire.  It was almost 100 years after she died when she acquired her reputation of being a vampire.

the tombstone of Nellie Vaughm

Between the periods of 1790-1899; exhumation of body was pretty familiar on New England that led to the popular New England vampire case.  More than a dozen were exhumed, taken their hearts and other organs and cremated.  The locals believed that they were creatures of the dark or suffering from an undead manifestation.  Nellie Vaughn died on 1899 due to pneumonia unlike most of the suspected vampire who died due to consumption.  In 1977, a newspaper of Rhode Island related his name to a vampire.  Westerly Sun pointed out the signs surrounding the grave of Nellie Vaughn; they further added that no plants would grow on the land that surrounds her grave which is apparently a clear sign of vampirism.

After the story of Nellie Vaughn was published in the newspaper, tourist started to flock on the grave of Nellie Vaughn.  Visitors, who were mostly teenagers started to vandalize her tomb.  The priest grown impatient on the situation, and that the other tombs have also been compromised.  There are signs of attempted digging on the grave, other also left coins on the grave while the others take it.

Nellie Vaughn; New England Vampire Case

The next incident that associates Nellie Vaughn to a vampire happened in Coventry High School.  Apparently the students mistook one of the teachers story about a vampire.  They believe he was talking about Nellie Vaughn when in fact he was trying to relay a story about Mercy Brown.  But this story was an urban legend since no one can pinpoint the high school teacher mentioned in the story.

Others also said that Nellie Vaughn started to haunt the place.  Some people also said that they were attacked by the spirit of Nellie Vaughn.  They also made the inscription on Vaughn’s tomb a part of the whole vampire story.  But experts said that the engraving “I am waiting and watching for you” has nothing to do with it.  The engraving means that the souls of the deceased are waiting for her family members and loved ones in heaven.

In 1993 someone dug up a grave believing it was Nellie Vaughn’s grave, but he was surprised to see a corpse of an old man.  Nellie Vaughn’s stone mark was removed to protect her tomb.  Eventually the vampire scare about Nellie Vaughn was proven to be a hoax, but it still became a part of the New England Vampire craze history.