ArchiveFM

Lore

Lore Alive 2: In Dreams

Duration
23m
Broadcast on
09 Oct 2026
Audio Format
other

Welcome to Lore Alive, a special Halloween bonus series that brings dark tales from history to life with immersive sound design and voice actors. Today's tale puts us in the middle of the first known New England vampire exhumation, and the terrifying dream that plagued a heartbroken father.

Lore Alive was created by Aaron Mahnke, with writing and direction by Nicolas Tecosky, audio production and sound design by Brandon Grugle. This week's episode starred J. Garrett Mitchell as Stukeley, Sarah Palm as Sarah, and Amanda Cucher as Elizabeth.

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Lore Resources:

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Series Sponsor:

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©2026 Aaron Mahnke. All rights reserved.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Every Friday this October, we're bringing one story from history to life, with immersive sound design and talented actors to create an atmosphere that fits the tale. It's the style you know from other shows I've made, like 13 Days of Halloween, applied to true tales from history's darkest corners. This is lore alive. By the way, this entire Halloween bonus series was made possible by the generous support of Warby Parker, my absolute favorite maker of prescription glasses. I've been a loyal customer of theirs for over a decade, and it means so much to have their support. More on that after the show. Now, today's story needs a little bit of an introduction and a bit of context. As most of you know, I recently published a book that's about a particular event from New England history. If you've never heard of Mercy Brown, a great introduction to her story would be to listen to the very first episode of lore. And then, if you want to go deeper, get a copy of my book exhumed and really revel in the weirdness of that moment. And it turns out that Mercy was the last of more than 80 documented cases that span a full century, all bundled up by historians as something we call the New England vampire panic. Mercy Brown, by the way, was from Exeter Road Island. And it turns out that the first known instance of these weird vampire exhumations also took place in Exeter. Just a century earlier. And that's where the Tilling Est family experienced a very similar outbreak and took equally drastic measures. In our retelling of Sarah Tilling Est's story today, we take a few liberties with some of the more dramatic moments, but just remember that these were real people living hard lives in a very real world, which makes what they did all the more terrifying. So if you're ready, let's begin. (birds chirping) - It started with the dream. The dream stuck Lee's nightmare. That is what started it all, even if it was not his fault. - I was in the orchard, but it was different somehow.
As if this one corner was somehow mine, mine alone to tend and it seemed,

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