Lizzie Borden took an ax,
And gave her mother forty whacks;
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.
Even if you don't know much about Lizzie Borden you've probably heard the rhyme. It is catchy but inaccurate.
On the morning of August 4, 1892 sometime between 9:00 AM and 11:10 AM, Abby and Andrew Borden were the victims of violent ax murders in the small town of Fall River, Massachusetts.
The police thought Andrew’s 32-year-old daughter, Lizzie, was the one who wielded the ax.
Lizzie's stepmother, Abby, was brutally hit 18 times with an ax, and Andrew, Lizzie's dad, was hit 11 times.
Lizzie stood trial but she was acquitted.
If she didn't kill them who did?
Take the tour and you'll hear quite a bit about the murders, evidence, and other family members. The evidence presented on the tour might have you pointing fingers at someone other than Lizzie.
To this day the murder of Lizzie's father and stepmother is one of the most well-known unsolved murders of all time. There are many theories that have been made into books and movies- some fictionalizing the story others stay somewhat true to the original timeline.
We'll never know what really happened.
The house, now a Bed and Breakfast, is Fall River's most haunted location.
So it was the first stop on our haunted road trip.
We hit Fall River on our way into Salem. Fall River is a beautiful though quiet seaside town. We were there on a Sunday and pretty much everything was closed other than the Lizzie Borden House and a Subway.
These days the house is a bed and breakfast and they offer tours daily. Choose from an informational tour or a ghost hunt.
No ghosts were encountered on the tour but it was interesting to hear the history and see the house. We got to see graphic crime scene photos from the murder and see the places where everything happened and hear a little about the hauntings that occur in the house.
Grew up in Fall River, and used to wait for the bus at the station that used to be right across the street from the Borden house. Used to be a printing business attached, as well, that was removed when this was transformed back into the house and became a B-n-B. Never heard of any hauntings or ghosts there until it became that B-n-B. I get that it helps drive interest and get visitors. Just funny to me how it has changed over the years to a curiosity into a focal point. Glad you had a nice visit. And awesome pics!
ReplyDeleteYears ago the haunted travel business wasn't a thing. Even if there was spooky activity no one talked about it. Now people pay good money to visit "haunted" places. Either they use the experiences that were once kept hush hush or they make things up to drive in business. Who knows? I am a history buff and love visiting historical sites, ghost stories or not. Just for this trip we focused on historical locations with ghost stories.
DeleteI didn't mean to disparage it, or the business, I would love a trip like that myself! I love just wandering old towns here in New England, and I hope to get back to Salem myself, soon.
DeleteOh no, I didn't think you were. I was just commenting on how things have changed. I do research about haunted locations, write books about them, and just in the past couple years I have seen places flip from saying "no we don't have any ghosts" to "OMG this place is so haunted!" once they see that the ghosts bring people in.
DeleteWhat a super trip! Someday I hope to get there.
ReplyDelete