Episode 16Folklore
Vampires, Voodoo & New England Folklore with Dr. Michael Bell
Learn about the folklore of Vampires in New England on this Episode of Ghost City: The Podcast
November 20, 2025•57:54•Hosted by Tim Nealon
Learn about the folklore of Vampires in New England on this Episode of Ghost City: The Podcast
Are vampires real—or just misunderstood? In this Halloween special, Tim Nealon sits down with Dr. Michael Bell, retired Rhode Island state folklorist and author of Food for the Dead and The Vampire’s Grasp, to explore centuries of vampire lore, voodoo legends, and America’s obsession with the undead. From the chilling Mercy Brown exhumation in Rhode Island to modern “real” vampire communities in New Orleans, this episode uncovers the strange rituals, medical misconceptions, and cultural fears that created one of folklore’s most enduring legends.
Professor and Author
Author and folklorist Michael E. Bell spent twenty years pursuing stories of the vampire in New England. While writers like H. P. Lovecraft, Henry David Thoreau, and Amy Lowell drew on portions of these stories in their writings, Bell brings the actual practices to light for the first time.
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