Tales of vampires have been around a long time, and folklore worldwide tells stories in which the undead suck the blood of their victims. Today’s vampires are found in works of fiction, but in 1799 people truly believed that the dead were feeding off the living. This is the tale of Sarah Tillinghast, a vampire story that occurred 93 years before the more well-known case of Mercy Brown.
The Death of Half an Orchard
It was the middle of the night when farmer, Stuckley Tillinghast, awoke from a troubling dream in which half of his apple orchard withered away and died. Stuckley and his family ran a successful farm, complete with a flourishing orchard from which they sold apples, and the dream worried him.
Stuckley was concerned about what the dying orchard symbolised and if his dream had been a prophecy. He couldn’t figure out what the dream meant, but it wasn’t long before he got his answer when his daughter Sarah quickly became ill with consumption (tuberculosis) and died.
Sarah Tillinghast Returns
Soon after Sarah’s death, another of Stuckley’s daughters, Ruth, was taken ill. This time, however, Ruth claimed it was Sarah that was the source of her discomfort. Sarah would visit Ruth during the night and sit on various parts of her body, causing her extreme pain. It wasn’t long before Ruth also passed away.
Ruth wasn’t the only Tillinghast child that Sarah visited. One by one Stuckley’s children began to get sick and die after being visited by their sister.
Stuckley’s wife, Honor, also started to receive nightly visits from Sarah, and with another child sick, people began to suspect the dead were responsible. They decided to dig up the bodies of Stuckley’s children.
Sarah Tillinghast the Vampire
The neighbours helped to dig up the bodies. All of them were decomposed as expected except for one. Despite the fact she was the first to die, Sarah Tillinghurst’s eyes were open, her heart filled with fresh red blood and her hair and nails had grown. It was clear who was responsible for the deaths of the Tillinghast children.
They removed Sarah’s heart and burned it on a rock before reburying the bodies. Stuckley’s son was too far gone, and he passed away. The ritual, however, did work for his wife, Honor. She recovered and lived until she was around 86 years old.
In most versions of this story, seven of Stuckley’s fourteen children died. Stuckley’s nightmare had come true but instead of losing half of his orchard, he had lost half of his family. However, someone claiming to be a descendent of Sarah’s brother, Stephen, stated on Reddit that only four children died of consumption in 1799 – Sarah (22), Ruth (19), Aunstis (17) and James (13).
This is confirmed by folklorist Dr Michael E. Bell in his book, Food for the Dead: On the Trail of New England’s Vampires. Dr Bell, however, did find evidence that Sarah’s body had been exhumed toward the end of the 18th century.
Visiting Sarah Tillinghast’s Grave
The Tillinghast family are buried at Rhode Island Historical Cemetery Exeter #14, located on Forest Hills Drive, Exeter. Though some of the graves are easily identified, such as those belonging to her mother and brother, Sarah’s grave is harder to find.
The Rhode Island Historical Cemetery Commission has a list of graves on its website. One of the graves is marked with the initials ST and is located beside the grave of Honor Tillinghast, Sarah’s mother, so this is a possibility. It’s also interesting to note that there is also another Sarah Tillinghast on the list who was born in 1821 and died in 1876.
The cemetery is located only 2.5 miles away from another famous Rhode Island vampire Mercy Brown.
Sources:
The Belief in Vampires in Rhode Island – Sidney Rider, Booknotes – March 1888 found at What Lies Beyond.
