In the History of Tolland County, Connecticut, written in 1888, J.R. Cole describes an exhumation based on an unusual superstition that the people of West Stafford were inclined to believe. Dr. Michael Bell faithfully retells the report in his 2001 book, Food for the Dead. According to the account, there were six sisters, and five of them died in rapid succession from galloping consumption, a fast-moving form of the disease. In order to save the sixth sister, the people of the town adhered to a strange notion: “The old superstition in such cases is that the vital organs of the dead still retain a flicker of vitality and by some strange process absorb the vital forces of the living.”
They had heard of instances where the heart and lungs had stayed healthy while the rest of the body decomposed. These organs, upon burning, would cause the living relative to recover from his illness. A strange twist is added here, however: the deed must be carried out by a lone adventurer, and only at night, for the cure to have an effect. Again, the word “vampire” is not mentioned, but the word “superstition” seems to show up regularly in contemporary writings. As for the outcome of this narrative, it remains a matter of conjecture, as nothing further is said about what may have transpired in an attempt to cure the final sister.