The Haunting of the Lizzie Borden House: Murder, Mystery and Ghosts of Fall River

The Haunting of the Lizzie Borden House: Murder, Mystery and Ghosts of Fall River

In the quiet town of Fall River, Massachusetts, one humid summer morning in 1892, two brutal

murders shocked the community. The prime suspect? A Sunday school teacher and daughter of

the victims.

Background

Lizzie Borden lived with her wealthy father Andrew Borden, a stern and frugal man. He

remarried a few years after Lizzie’s mother passed away from an illness when she was 2, to a

woman named Abby. Lizze and her older sister Emma resented Abby. Tensions were rising

within the household because Lizzie and her sister disagreed with their father’s frugality and his

dedication to Abby and her family.

Morning of the Murders

On the morning of the murders, Andrew left to go run errands and Emma had been staying in

Fairhaven. Bridget, the family’s maid, was ordered to clean the windows despite expressing that

she didn’t feel well and wanted to lie down. Abby was cleaning the guest room (second floor)

after a family member who stayed the night had departed. Once Bridget was done cleaning the

windows, she went up to the third floor where she stayed, to rest. Abby was attacked in the

guest bedroom, she was struck in her head 18 times with a hatchet. A while later Andrew came

home from his errands and collapsed on the couch for a nap in the sitting room on the first floor.

Approximately 90 minutes into his nap he was attacked and bludgeoned in the face and head 11

times with a hatchet.

Lizzie found Andrew’s body and immediately began screaming for Bridget who was still on the

third floor resting.

“Come quick! Father is dead! Someone's killed him!” Lizzie yelled to her.

Bridget came down and they called the authorities.

Investigation

During the initial investigation the authorities quickly became suspicious of Lizzie. Despite her

having no blood on her clothing at the time they got to the home, Lizzie was seen by her friend

Alice, who claimed Lizzie was burning a blue dress. When Lizzie was questioned about this she

simply stated “there were paint stains on it”

. Authorities also picked up on Lizzie’s inconsistent

story. Sometimes she said she was upstairs, other times she said she was in the barn when it

happened.

Police also discovered an assortment of axes and hatchets in the basement of the home, but

only one hatchet stood out to them because it was missing its handle and the blade appeared to

have ash on it but they could not see any blood. Investigators questioned Bridget and neighbors

but there were no witnesses and they all stated they didn’t hear anything suspicious at the time

of the murders. One detail stood out though, Bridget was directly above the guest room when

Abby was murdered and she didn’t hear that but later told police she heard Lizzie laughing at

the top of the stairs (same level as the guest bedroom) after Abby was murdered. This raises achilling question, How did she know Abby had already been murdered when she heard

laughter? And why laughter so soon after such brutality?

Lizzie was officially charged for the murders of Abby and Andrew on August 11, 1892.

During the trial

The persecution had little to go on as forensics was not as advanced as it is today, no

fingerprints, no DNA, and not even a special light to see blood stains. All they had to go on was

that Lizzie had motive, resentment of stepmom and a desire for her father’s inheritance. Other

evidence included Lizzie’s shifting story and a witness testimony that Lizze was burning a dress

a few days later but they still couldn’t tie that particular dress to the crime. Bridget had stated

she saw Lizzie in a blue dress earlier on August 4th but couldn’t recall which blue dress, as

Lizzie had many. Perhaps the most damning account was that, only a few days before the

murders, Lizzie went to a local pharmacy and tried to buy prussic acid but the pharmacist

wouldn’t sell it to her because it's a poison. Lizzie claimed she needed it to clean a cape.

The defense argued that there was no direct evidence linking Lizzie to this crime. There was

no blood found on her or her clothing at the scene of the crime, and they painted Lizzie to be the

innocent, church going citizen. She was acquitted on June 20, 1893 after the jury deliberated for

about an hour.

After the Trial

Following her acquittal, Lizzie inherited part of her father’s estate along with her sister Emma

who always defended Lizzie and believed she was innocent. Emma and Lizzie moved into a

mansion in Fall River which Lizzie named Maplecroft. They lived together for over a decade until

1905. Lizzie was shunned from the Fallriver Elite and most of the community but still hosted

lavish parties and entertained frequently with a small circle of friends.

Emma abruptly left the home in 1905 and the sisters never spoke again. The community

speculated that Emma learned something troubling about Lizzie and the murders, others

believed it was Lizzie’s lifestyle that she didn’t accept. Emma lived out the rest of her days

quietly in New Hampshire.

Paranormal Legacy

Today, the Borden House operates as a museum and bed-and-breakfast. Visitors and

investigators report chilling experiences, including:

●

Mysterious footsteps

●

Whispers in empty rooms

●

Eerie laughter that echoes down the stairwell

●

Cold spots in Lizzie’s room

●

Shadows near the couch where Andres died

Conclusion

Whether Lizzie Borden was guilty or not, the mystery and perhaps the spirits still linger in

FallRiver. Lizze’s name will forever be tied to whispers of blood, mystery and restless spirits. In

Fall River, the axe may have fallen more than a century ago, but its echoes still linger.