The suspected vampire was in all probability a man named John Barber who had tuberculosis, the Washington Post writes.
Researchers have analyzed the DNA and remains of a man who lived in the 1800s in New England whose coffin was found at a gravel quarry, it adds. The man, whose initials 'JB' were inscribed on his coffin, had been exhumed a few years after his burial, which the Post says sometimes occurred when family members wanted to check for signs of vampirism. This, it adds, happened in cases that were truly tuberculosis that had spread from the deceased to other family members, and this man's remains showed signs of a tuberculosis infection.
Through a combination of Y chromosome analysis and a surname prediction based on genealogical data found online, the researchers homed in on a last name for the man — Barber. Then by sifting through cemetery files and death notices, they came up with the name of a man who lived in the area at the right time, John Barber, as the Post reports