The story of New England’s vampires begins with a scourge whose tragic trail is visible in cemeteries throughout the region. Incredible as it may seem to contemporary Americans, vampires preyed upon their not-so-distant ancestors. Vampire attacks increased dramatically during the eighteenth century and remained the leading cause of death in New England throughout the nineteenth century. But this unseen killer did not resemble the clever Count Dracula of Bram Stoker’s imagination. . .