The Reference Desk

Have you ever fallen down a rabbit hole into an obscure topic and suddenly need to know all the details and consume all the media related to it? You've found your people. Every other Wednesday, librarians Hailee and Katie take turns sharing the topic that has them bewitched. After a deep-dive into the subject-du-jour, fill your "to read" list with their related book recommendations.

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The Reference Desk

The New England Vampire Panic

December 02, 2021 • The Reference Desk • Season 2 • Episode 1

This week, Hailee is bewitched by the New England Vampire Panic. During the later part of the 18th and 19th centuries, large amounts of people were dying from what they called consumption, what we know of today as Tuberculosis. In New England, they had a different idea about what was causing their friends and loved ones to waste away in front of their eyes: vampires. Though they never used the exact term, they thought that the undead were preying upon the living and they had some very interesting methods to stop the attacks.

Links:

The Great New England Vampire Panic - Smithsonian Magazine

Belief in Connecticut Vampires

The New England Vampire Panic

The Strange History of the New England Vampire Panic

Recommendations:

Media

Lore - Season 1 Episode 1: They Made a Tonic

Ask A Mortician - America's Forgotten Vampire Panic

Non-Fiction

Michael E. Bell's Food for the Dead: On the Trail of New England's Vampire

Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality by Paul Barber