Summary
Overview
Aaron Manke, creator of the award-winning podcast Lore, joins Morbid to discuss his new book Exhumed, which explores the Mercy Brown vampire panic case and the cultural context that made such beliefs possible in 19th century New England. The conversation covers folklore, historical medical practices, witch trials, and the human tendency to create explanations for the unknown. Manke shares insights from over a decade of researching dark history and folklore, discussing everything from corpse medicine to the origins of Lore itself.
Introduction and Book Overview
Aaron Manke introduces his latest book Exhumed, releasing August 4th, which examines the Mercy Brown vampire panic case in deep detail. The book expands beyond the brief treatment given in the first Lore episode, exploring the 80% of context and related stories that explain why people in 19th century Rhode Island thought exhuming and burning a corpse's heart was reasonable. Manke describes his conversational writing style and how the book functions like an extended season of his storytelling podcast.
- Exhumed releases August 4th and reads like 20 Lore episodes with extensive context
- The book examines why the Mercy Brown exhumation seemed acceptable to the community
- Manke's writing style is conversational and accessible, avoiding technical bogging down
- The book begins and ends with Mercy Brown, with 80% devoted to explaining the cultural context
" When you put the 3D glasses on, all of a sudden, like things are moving at you and you really get a sense for what's going on. That's what context does to a story. "
Understanding the Vampire Panic
The conversation explores what the 19th century New England vampire panic reveals about human nature and disease understanding. Manke explains that communities weren't necessarily using the word "vampire" but believed an invisible force was draining life from the living. Tuberculosis was devastating communities, and the scientific explanation—an invisible bacterium—sounded remarkably similar to the supernatural explanation people already believed.
- Tuberculosis was having devastating effects in late 19th century New England
- Scientific discovery of TB's cause happened in Europe but hadn't reached rural Rhode Island
- Both scientific and supernatural explanations involved an invisible force taking life
- The word 'vampire' was often used as a metaphor rather than a literal description
" Even if you explain it to them, what they were being told is there's this invisible thing that is making you sick. And at the end of the day, that's... But it also sounds a lot like what they thought a vampire was doing or the supernatural force. "
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