Sarah Ellen Roberts was accused of being a vampire woman in the late 19 century. Her neighbors carried her horrible sentence.
But before being murdered, she cursed the town and promised to return from the grave. Because of the curse, she was only buried overseas.
The legend of Sarah Ellen Roberts, The Bride of Dracula
Born on March 6, 1872, Sarah Ellen Roberts married John Pryce Roberts in St. John’s Church, Blackburn, England, in 1892.
The couple lived at 25 Isherwood Street Blackburn and had two children, William and Franke.
Sarah Ellen’s life changed at the beginning of June 1913, when Sarah, at 41 years old, with her two sisters, was accused of murder and witchcraft.
Sarah, Andrea, and Erica were convicted and sentenced to death in the trial that took place in Blackburn.
On June 9, 1913, the people of Blackburn chained and sealed Sarah Ellen and her two sisters alive inside a lined casket of lead.
On her way to the casket, Sarah Ellen cursed the townspeople.
“When 100 years go, I will rise from the grave to avenge the descendants of my assassins.”
Buring a vampire
For the people of that small England town, Sarah Ellen Roberts was obsessed with witchcraft, black magic practices, devil worship, and a follower of Vampirism in the figure of Count Dracula.
Her last sentence only confirmed for them the suspicion.
People from Blackburn and members of their own families didn’t want their remains to stay around, fearing they could come back to attack them.
When John tried to bury his wife’s body, the local authorities and the clergy denied him permission to bury his family on consecrated earth.
The remains of the two sisters, Andrea and Erica, were buried in Hungary and Panama.
Some sources mention Mexico as the last destination of one of the sisters, but it is hard to be confirmed.
The Bride of Dracula, Sarah Ellen Roberts crosses the Atlantic
John Pryce Roberts finally arrived in Pisco, Peru, and he bought a tomb for £5.00, and finally, he could bury Sarah Ellen Roberts in the local cemetery.
It is unclear if the townspeople knew about the curse at the time.
On her tomb, he asked to be written:
In Memory of Sarah Ellen,
Beloved wife Of J.P. Roberts of Blackburn, England.
Born March 6, 1872 and Died June 9 1913.
After burying Sarah, John Roberts returned to England.
Years later, the information about Sarah Ellen Roberts from England reached Pisco.
The people in the town of Pisco were fearful of the news. But nothing was done at the time, fearing the consequences of their acts.
The legend of the vampire woman is known throughout the country.
Sarah Ellen Roberts from Vampire to Saint
Many people around Pisco believed that Sarah would come back from the dead in the hundredth year of her death to avenge her murder.
From around the 80th anniversary of her death, June 9, 1993, people in the town, she turned to fear the revenant vampire.
Pregnant women fled, fearful that their spirit might try to reincarnate itself in their child.
When she failed to reappear in 2013, those who blessed the grave with holy water and prayed claimed they had kept her away.
Then on August 2007, a natural
catastrophe laid upon the people of Pisco, a massive earthquake, killing hundreds.
The tremor uncovered large numbers of tombs and coffins in the cemetery.
But to the population’s amazement, Sarah’s tomb was untouched.
From that time on, for Peruvians, Sarah Ellen Roberts was far from being a vampire. She went from being an evil witch to a good witch.
Sarah Ellen’s tomb was filled with flowers and thank-you cards for granted graces.