The time for truly morbid tourism (cemetery visits, dark tourism destinations, haunted locales, and the like) is usually in October. However, there's one destination in Rhode Island that's popular for visitors all year-round: Chestnut Hill Cemetery.

The final resting place can be found in Exeter, Rhode Island, and it has a history almost as old as the town in which it resides. Part of this history dates back to the 1890s when it was believed that 'New England's Last Vampire' had been discovered.

The vampire in question was 19-year-old Mercy Brown, and while there was a perfectly good (scientific) explanation for her 'curse,' the town of Exeter did not see it that way.

The Sad Story Of Mercy Brown

While the story of 19-year-old Mercy Brown has become somewhat of a cult legend throughout New England, it doesn't change the fact that it's tragic all the same. The 17th through the 19th centuries in colonial America saw anything from witch hunts to occult creatures, and, in this case, a vampiristic teenager. The idea behind these legendary demons was very much the same as the idea behind 'witches' - with little to no scientific explanation for things such as famine and disease, many turned to mythical means to justify what was happening.

In the case of Mercy Brown, her demise led to an entire town turning on her living reputation to blame her for the lives that were soon to follow after hers. Namely, the entirety of the Brown family.

During the late 1800s, tuberculosis was spreading like wildfire through villages and towns. With little known about the disease or how to stop it, it ravaged entire families. One person was all it took to spread the illness and, in the case of the Brown family, it started with Mary Brown, the wife of George Brown. After that, it took their daughter, also named Mary, and, eventually, their second daughter, Mercy. In an effort to understand what was happening and having no knowledge of tuberculosis, it was believed that the symptoms were simply just 'mysterious.' Because of this, the decision was made to exhume the bodies of both Marys and Mercy to see if one of them was responsible for preying on the living - i.e., being a vampire.

The Unfortunate Findings

When this was done, the townspeople found two things: one, the two Marys had little left of them. And two, Marcy was almost fully preserved - which, back in 1892, could only mean one thing. This was all the 'evidence' that the town needed and, despite an attempt at a factual explanation by the town's doctor, it was determined that she was responsible for the lives that tuberculosis had actually taken.

• Fact: It was determined that the weather was a major factor in Mercy Brown's preservation, as it was the middle of winter at the time and the ground was frozen.

The way to solve this was seemingly easy: Cut out her heart and burn it. Unfortunately, this was done, and - whether a matter of chance or vampirism - tuberculosis would take no more lives that season. Well, with the exception of George Brown, Mercy Brown's brother, who followed the same tragic fate as his family.

Visiting The Mercy Brown's Final Resting Place

Many people come from all over to visit the small Chestnut Hill Cemetry in Rhode Island precisely for this reason. Not only was it believed to be home to a real-life vampire, but it's more the story that travelers play a role in. The town itself marks the site of a frenzied paranoia surrounding the case, so much so that it was actually featured in the Boston Daily Globe back in 1896. The feature front page read:

'BELIEVE IN VAMPIRES.

Rhode Islanders who are sure that they do exist.

Instances told of where the living have been attacked and preyed upon by these representatives of an unseen world.'

Those visiting today can see the gravestone of Mercy Brown, where many people leave their own moments in remembrance. Some on the more light-hearted side leave things such as plastic vampire teeth, while one person left a note that read, 'you go, girl.' According to ati, the surviving members of the Brown family had actually saved the newspaper clippings related to her infamous case. These clippings are pulled out every year for 'Decoration Day,' a day when townspeople decorate their local cemeteries. Visitors to Mercy Brown's grave are also likely to see uplifting gifts left behind, such as flowers and jewelry, as well. While the incident went down in history with her reputation being known as the 'Last New England Vampire,' her actual life story is much sadder.