The beginning of the 18th century in Eastern Europe had seen a spate of claimed Vampire killings, known as the 18th Century Vampire controversy, accusations of vampirism exploded and corpses were staked through the heart, or the heads were removed. A practice by the 18th century which was already ancient.
 
This practice and its folklore by the centuries end, had made its way from the old world into the new, and into rural New England.

The first victim was Abigail Staples who died from tubuculosis in February 1796, and was subsequently exhumed under the belief that from the grave she was causing other family memebers to become sick with the same (at the time) unknown wasting sickness. 
 

The tombstones are modelled on New England examples, and feature original illustrations, with the iconography based upon the accounts of the Rhode Island Vampire exhumations.