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The New England Vampire Folk Belief: The Archaeological Record
In New England, beginning in the latter part of the 18th century, and continuing through the 19th century, scores of corpses were exhumed and mutilated, sometimes partially consumed, in a desperate attempt to stop the onslaught of consumption, as pulmonary tuberculosis was then called. Cases of pulmonary tuberculosis increased dramatically during the 1700s; by 1800, almost 25 percent of all adult deaths in the Northeastern United States were blamed on consumption. A dramatic discovery was made during the archaeological excavation of thirty burials in a late-18th- and early 19th-century family burial ground in eastern Connecticut. The excavation yielded the rearranged skeletal remains of an adult male (Burial 4A) with the initials and age of death stamped onto the lid of the coffin (“J.B. 55”). Re-arrangement consisted of decapitation and the uprooting of the femurs from their anatomical position to a crossing of the long bones over the lower thorax area of the chest. The appearance of rib lesions on the upper left ribs indicates probable pulmonary infection from tuberculosis. The former state archaeologist will present on the archaeological excavations, research into American literature, folklore and forensic studies that lead to an understanding of “vampire” folk belief in Connecticut.
About Dr. Nick Bellantoni
Dr. Nicholas F. Bellantoni serves as the state archaeologist emeritus with the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History at the University of Connecticut. He received his doctorate in anthropology from UConn in 1987 and was shortly thereafter appointed state archaeologist. His duties primarily included the preservation of archaeological sites in the state. He is also a former Associate Research Professor in the Department of Anthropology at UConn and past president of the Archaeological Society of Connecticut and the National Association of State Archeologists.
His research background includes the forensic archaeology and faunal analysis from eastern North America. Nick is the author a number of books written for the general public: The Long Journeys Home: The Repatriation of Henry Opukaha’ia and Albert Afraid of Hawk, “And So The Tomb Remained”: Exploring Archaeology and Forensic Science Within Connecticut’s Historical Family Mausolea, Archaeology Without Digging: Connecticut History Uncovered By Ground-Penetrating Radar, and Hiking Ruins of Southern New England: A Guide to 40 Sites in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. His latest book, Vampires and Gallstones: Bioarchaeology and Forensic Science of Connecticut’s Historic Burial Grounds, will be available in November 2026.