Lizzie Borden took an axe…
And gave her mother forty wacks (and her father 41) in her Fall River home, or so the nursery rhyme says, Lizzie was never found guilty for the double murder. But like Lizzie’s parents who had a rather short stay at the house, you can also stay the night at this eerie historic home which remains just as it was after the tragic events of 1892–They’ve cleaned up the bloodstains though, don’t worry.
Andrew Borden bought the austere dwelling in 1872 and quickly had it remodeled for his family to move in. Conveniently close to his business and other town attractions, the house was a great source of pride for him and his wife Abby, but his daughters Emma and Lizzie weren’t as fond of it or their parents. Family arguments and tension between the parents and the daughters are said to be the cause that lead up to their gruesome murder 20 years later in 1892. On the morning of August 4, Andrew and his second wife Abby were mercilessly hacked to death with a hatchet; she while cleaning the upstairs guest room, and him as he lay napping on the sitting room couch downstairs.
The murder was such a violent crime that their daughter Lizzie, who was the primary suspect in the trials, was acquitted even though the defense accused her of burning the dress she had been wearing that morning and having found prints on the murder weapon which had been concealed in the house’s basement. But fingerprint testing was considered too new and unreliable, and Lizzie looked so innocent and proper the jury couldn’t simply believe she could’ve done it, so she walked off rosy-cheeked and bushy-tailed out of her trial. Whether she was guilty or not remains for you to decide after spending the night at her house.
The Fall River B&B retains most of its original decor including the original hardware, doors and memorabilia from the time which adorns the shelves and mantle tops around the house. If you choose to stay the night, the accommodation offers six different rooms including Lizzie and Emma’s rooms and the guest room where Abby was murdered, now known as the John V. Morse room. But beware! overnight guests have often reported feeling a strange presence roaming the house. Visitors to the Lizzie Borden house have felt cold fingers tapping them on the shoulder and heard footsteps coming from empty rooms and a ghostly apparition of a woman in Victoria-era clothing has also been seen wandering around.
If you’re too scared to spend the night at the murder house, but are still curious to discover more about Lizzie and her family, the house also doubles as a museum that offers 50-minute tours. To prevent the spread of coronavirus, the tours are being kept at a 10-person limit and require a prior reservation.
For more information on staying the night at Lizzie Borden’s House Bed & Breakfast and house tours, you can visit their website here.
See also: Spend A Spooky Weekend Away At This Haunted Inn Just Two Hours Away From Boston
[Featured image: Lizzie Borden House Bed & Breakfast via Facebook]