As covered here before, Rhode Island was a hotbed of supposed vampire activity in the late 1700s. This activity continued up to the late 1800s. I covered the cases of Mercy Brown and Sarah Tillinghast in previous blogs. In all cases, consumption was thought to be the real cause. Consumption is now known as tuberculosis. But what about the unbelievable case of the vampire skull found in the late 1940s?
Richmond, Rhode Island, is on the border of Exeter. This is where the above two stories originated. It is the location of our story. The area has developed more now. Nonetheless, it is still heavily wooded, just as it was when this unreal discovery was made.
Two boys were playing in the woods. They came across what looked like a human skull partially buried in the leaves. There were also other bones scattered around but it was the appearance of the skull that genuinely terrified them.
The boys acted as expected. They immediately picked up the skull to play with. After a quick glance, they dropped it in terror. The skull appeared very old. It had canine teeth that were much longer than would be expected on a normal human skull.
In addition, the two pairs of front incisors on the top of the mouth were pointed. Forensic examination found no indication of “filing down.” The third “deformity” was the ridge over the orbital sockets that gave the skull an angry or evil appearance.
The boys ran back home and brought their father to the site of the discovery. Upon seeing it, he promptly contacted the local police and was visibly shaken when they arrived. He stated, “I can’t believe that thing is real!” They ruled out foul play at the source of the bones as all of the bones appeared very old. There was no sign of a historic cemetery, and the bones were then brought to the local coroner for examination.
The bones that were found included many ribs and a shoulder blade. They also had most of the right arm and part of the pelvis and spinal column. No legs, hands, or feet were found. The missing parts were dispersed by years of weather. Predatory animals had also contributed.
Carbon dating was still in its infancy at this time. The age of the skull was approximated to be from the early 1800s. No stake was found at the site. However, two of the ribs exhibited striations. The left hand side of the spinal column also exhibited striations. These markings would go along with a staking, either by hard wood or something metal.
In recent years, other skeletons have been uncovered showing signs of vampirism. Some still had a wooden stake in place. Others were beheaded and had the head put between the legs before burial. Still others had a brick jammed into their mouths, perhaps to prevent them from rising again and biting someone.
In 2019, in Bulgaria, over one hundred graves were uncovered. Many of these graves had been staked by a two-pound iron rod. This occurred in an ancient city known as Thracian. The skulls had also been crushed, probably after death.
In 2013, a chilling discovery was made in Poland. Construction workers building a road discovered four skeletons that were all buried in the same way, with their heads cut off and placed either between the hands or the knees. The belief was that separating the skull from the neck would prevent the vampire from rising again.
These discoveries could explain the absence of hands, feet and legs. If a vampire were to rise again, it would certainly need these things to exist. The bones found in Poland included the skull with the rest of the body. However, there were other cases where the skull was never found. A stake was clear between the ribs on the left-hand side.
This fantastic story gets even better. After the bones were examined they went into storage, only to disappear many years later. As technology advanced, more tests were needed to be done. Though the box was found that stored the remains, nothing remained inside. There are no records indicating that the bones were moved. Perhaps they were stolen, buried as a John Doe or…who knows?
Though the story is far-fetched, pictures do not lie (or do they?). The owner of the pictures is the son of the original police officer. This officer came to the site of the discovery. The son brought the pictures to my attention after reading my blogs on Rhode Island vampires. He said that his father was obsessed with finding out the truth behind these implausible bones. He kept the pictures and hoped to reopen the case. Still, he gave up hope when the actual bones disappeared. I guess we will have to as well.
Don’t forget to read my other posts in my CABINET OF CURIOSITIES series!