Monumental Mysteries
Monumental Mysteries! This Travel Channel show wanders the country, investigating the stories behind some of America’s oddest monuments. Is there really a secret vault hidden behind the carvings on Mount Rushmore? Are the letters of the HOLLYWOOD sign actually haunted? And what’s the story behind the grave of a nineteen year old girl named Mercy Brown?
At a cemetery in balmier days…
In a week or so I’ll be standing in the snow of a Rhode Island cemetery, talking on camera about Mercy’s life, her death, and the events that came after! This will be the third time I’ve been on TV, and since the other two interviews both aired well before 5:00 am, I’m not quite sure they count. It’s exciting and unnerving and–seriously–which coat should I wear? The warm, bulky one or the jazzy, fashionable one that really wasn’t made for January?
Read MoreAll About Mercy
The Literary Traveler swings by Exeter, Rhode Island, with a nice post about Mercy and the many literary explorations of New England’s vampire tradition.
Nope, I wasn’t the only one…
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The Vampire’s Disease
If you’ve read Mercy, you’ll know that tuberculosis was tightly linked to the vampire tradition as it existed in New England. Understandable. In this age of antibiotics, it’s hard to understand how frightening this illness must have been to witness. Imagine watching somebody wasting away, sometimes lingering for years, but almost never recovering. Imagine doctors (if they were honest) telling you that nothing could be done. Wouldn’t you be tempted to look for some sort of explanation, even if it was–supernatural?
To the right is a photograph of a young woman named Charlotte Bronson. It was taken around 1850. She could have been about Mercy’s age.
And below is a photo of Charlotte six years later, a few months before her death. She probably had tuberculosis. Easy enough to see how someone desperate for an explanation could think of her as a vampire’s victim.
Mercy on YouTube
Fabulous book trailer for Mercy here, created by Aurora Dolman (Doesn’t that marvelous name sound like a character in a vampire novel? Hey, Aurora, do you mind if I name a character after you?). Shared by Melissa Orth of the Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick. Thanks to you both!
Read MoreSarah L. Thomson
A children’s book author publishing award-winning nonfiction, poetry, picture books and novels including…
“Readers will treasure the blossoming friendship between opposites in this whimsically illustrated tale. Short chapters and plenty of action make for an accessible and appealing reading experience. . . . Touching and inspiring.”
—Kirkus Reviews