I Visited The Murder Room In The Lizzie Borden House: And Boy, Was It Scary?
Yes, I visited the Lizzie Borden house. In 1892, two people were brutally killed to death in this house, and to date, we are not over the whole story, so much so that I actually visited the house recently. And boy, was it scary!
Today, let’s go back in time and relive the horror of this building. By the end of this blog, if you are convinced, then you definitely have a new place to check out this winter! So brace yourselves – because this is about to get really creepy, real soon!
The Lizzie Borden House: The Real Story!
It should have never happened at the iconic Lizzie Borden house – in this raw-boned, simple building sitting quietly on 2nd street. It was strange that it actually happened in absolutely broad daylight and that too at the busiest time of the day, with street traffic, buggies, and horses only a few feet away from the building’s front door.
And it still did.
Two people – Abby and Andrew Borden, both at the time in their golden years were hacked to death mercilessly with the help of a hatchet while Abby was busy cleaning the guest room upstairs and Andrew as he was napping on the couch in the sitting room downstairs.
Nobody outside even heard a sound, but the building stained with blood witnessed everything.
The Background:
In 1872, Andrew Borden purchased the building before remodeling it from a simple two-tenant building into a home for his family. He chose that house specifically due to its practical location. Only a brief walking distance to the shops on the main street. The house literally sat in the midst of a makeshift restaurant, laundry, stores, horse stables, and other businesses.
Andrew’s wife, Abby, kept the house and was proud of it. The couple had two daughters – Lizzie and Emma. The two daughters would look at the house like a prison. The only other resident of the house was Bridget Sullivan, an Irish young maid.
The house did not have any hallways, with one exception – the landing upstairs. You will have to move through one room in order to reach another room.
As a result, the locks were abandoned – the same locks that would go on to play a crucial role in this scintillating murder mystery that ended up captivating the world post the fateful morning of 4th August 1892.
Currently, the house is exactly how it used to be. All the furnishings have managed to retain their rightful spot. The original doors and hardware are intact, and the décor has gone through some painstaking duplication. Memorabilia and artifacts from the murder case and that time person now line the manteltops and shelves.
Once you enter the house, you will be transported to the morning of 4th August 1892 when the perfect events culminated into not one, but two murders.
The Crime:
It is difficult to actually grasp the complex affairs of 4th August 1892, but here’s a stab! That fateful morning, Bridget Sullivan, the family’s maid, woke up from a nap when Lizzie kept calling her, saying, “Come down quick! Father’s dead; somebody came in and killed him!”
Later, Sullivan confirmed how Andrew was actually struck more than ten times. He was on the sofa, reclining, his face covered with a sea of red. Immediately, Lizzie sent Sullivan outside to call people, staying inside. Emma was not in town on that day and had actually left the day before to visit a relative.
Once locals started gathering at the murder scene, people wondered about the whereabouts of Abby. Lizzie spoke about how her stepmother (oh yes, Abby was her stepmother) was outside to see a sick friend (the sick friend was never found). She also mentioned how she might have heard Abby come inside.
On searching a little more, Sullivan, along with a neighbor, was able to find Abby’s body in the guest room upstairs. She had nineteen hatchet wounds. Forensics later discovered that she died an hour before her husband. And the attention slowly turned to Lizzie since Lizzie stood to benefit financially if Abby died.
On 11th August, Lizzy was arrested. After a complete year, she was acquitted after she was tried by a jury comprising of men who stayed sequestered for a whole hour, making it seem like they actually discussed the case in detail.
In Popular Culture:
What happened to Abby and Andrew Borden on that fateful day is perhaps one of the most popular true cases of crime after the 1888 Jack the Ripper’s horror stories. In fact, in the past three years, one witnessed television treatments, a feature film, and books chronicling the Lizzie Borden House and its brutal murders.
Moreover, a rock opera called Lizzie was performed in 2009 in more than sixty cities across six different countries since its debut. The opera now has around 10 upcoming productions. One version even has Emma singing something like “What the f—, Lizzie, what the f—!?”
Visit The Lizzie Borden House:
After Lizzie’s acquittal, she moved to the town’s fancy side. She purchased a huge mansion for herself and her sister, Emma. In 1905, Emma left abruptly, and the sisters strangely became estranged.
Lizzie loved entertaining theater crowds at her house, which she had named Maplecroft. In fact, carriages would often pause near her place, with tour guides proclaiming loudly the brutal crimes Lizzie was accused of all those years ago. She passed away at the age of 66 in 1927.
Both houses recently went up for sale in the housing market. While Lizzie’s Maplecroft is still unsold, the murder house (the Lizzie Borden House) has been a themed B&B since 2004. The murder house was sold to Lance Zaal, an entrepreneur, in the month of May for 2 million dollars.
Zaal wants to ‘paranormalize’ the location with a huge emphasis on the paranormal echoes of the former residents of the house. Apart from a preexisting house tour worth 90 minutes, Zaal has also added a ghost hunt worth two hours and a ghost tour worth ninety minutes.
Plans on launching virtual experiences, a podcast, themed dinners, and murder mystery nights are in progress. In this context, Zaal told Smithsonianmag, “We want to get the Lizzie Borden story into the hands of more people. We see the house as a wedding venue. And plan to refit the cellar to create a rentable bedroom to join the existing six. We especially want guests to video themselves reacting to paranormal phenomena in the house.”
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