“We’d be happy to have you!”

read the email from US Ghost Adventures, but having received a formal invitation, I have to admit I got cold feet.

“If we pull up and I feel any kind of bad juju or something, we’re bailing!” I informed my husband, as I reluctantly followed him out to the car. I knew right away that my visit to 92 Second Street in Fall River, Massachusetts would be far different from any other historical home I’d ever visited.

“You’re touring an old house,” he pointed out as if this was supposed to serve as some sort of consolation. “You’ve done this a million times!” he exaggerated with a chuckle. “This one,” he found himself pausing for a moment, “just happens to have more of a detailed past than you’re used to…”

Having parked a few streets over, I had more time to contemplate the matter as we walked the path that would eventually lead me to the old number 92. I decided to study the people I passed along the way, the people that had been placed amid this neighborhood that held such an iconic yet disturbing history.

A young man exited his car, momentarily running into a nearby house before returning possibly to retrieve what he had previously forgotten. He smiled at me in the midst of his rush.

A lady wearing a blazer and skirt passed us on the sidewalk as if she might be late for a meeting in her downtown office. Readjusting the laptop bag that was slowly sliding off her shoulder, she glanced back, giving us a hospitable smile.  

A lady walked a dog.

A black and white cat meowed while it sat by a white picket fence.  

An older gentleman with a coffee cup in hand enjoyed all the morning traffic from his front porch. “Good morning!” he greeted us as we passed, holding up his mug in a cheers-like fashion.

As we rounded the corner and started to make our way down Second Street, a church bell chimed signaling the ten o’clock hour had arrived.

 It was an ordinary neighborhood with seemingly friendly and happy people. The sun was shining, and the skies were blue. But it wasn’t until I noticed the elderly gentleman walking ahead of us that my mind transported me back one hundred and twenty-nine years before. I thought I caught a glimpse of that famed August morning, right before tragedy struck this city of Fall River so very long ago.

In my mind, the cars passing by were replaced with horse-drawn carriages. I suddenly became genuinely concerned for the elderly man walking in front of us. Was he returning home after finishing up a busy morning of running errands? Maybe he was even entertaining the possibility of a rejuvenating late morning nap on his couch once he got there. My pace quickened behind him as we descended down Second Street. I watched as the old man walked closer and closer towards the entrance to number 92, but passed it by. Today, number 92 Second Street is my stop.

Phil introduced himself as the guide who would lead us through the house and grounds of number 92 Second Street, otherwise known as The Historic Lizzie Borden House.

“No matter where you come to us from in your Lizzie Borden journey, I’m going to try to enlighten you today and maybe unpack some of the myth that you’ve been fed by pop culture over the years, through no fault of your own.”

As we waited to enter the house, I, again, envisioned that Thursday morning of August 4th, 1892. A frantic young Irish housemaid bursts through the front door (right past Phil) as she rushes across the street to fetch the local doctor. Next door, a curious and watchful old woman approaches her vacant-looking thirty-two-year-old neighbor, who stands at the home’s side door.

“Lizzie!” she calls out, “What happened? What’s the matter?”

“Oh, Mrs. Churchill,” the woman responds, “Do come over. Someone has killed Father.”

I pondered on this, probably more than I should have. This house, this very structure, saw it all. Chills rushed through me.

“And without further ado!”

The sound of Phil’s voice rescued me from my mind’s vivid dramatization, to which I was very grateful. 

Walking inside, I didn’t feel any bad juju, it was more a sort of sadness.

The house was charming, and although I am well aware the structure is nothing more than an inanimate object, I felt sorry for it. My heart broke for what its walls had seen.

The History

Back in the Victorian Era, Fall River was a wealthy city, primarily because of cotton manufacturing. Charles Trafton, being successful in the industry, had the Greek Revival house built in 1845, living on the first floor and renting out the second.

In 1872 Andrew Jackson Borden bought the house, moving his family, his daughters Emma and Lizzie and his wife Abby, from a neighboring street. Being a successful self-made businessman, he chose the house for its proximity to his business, as well as the city’s stores, laundry, and restaurants.

Mr. Borden renovated the house, setting up bedrooms on the second floor and converting it to a single-family residence. Today, the exact layout of Mr. Borden’s reconstruction remains; no walls have been added or taken down. The doors, doorframes, and hinges are all original, as well as some of the windows. The radiators are the same ones Mr. Borden himself installed upon moving into the house.

The Bordens lived together in the house for twenty years, until the gruesome murder of Mr. Borden and his wife.

The house is one of the chamber-style, meaning to get from one end to the other, one must pass through the rooms. No hallways are in the house, with the exception of a small landing on the second floor.

The front parlor is where the Borden house tour begins as this, Phil explains, is where the family welcomed guests and entertained. Sadly, the front parlor was also where the funeral of Mr. and Mrs. Borden’s was held. The two modest caskets lay side by side, open, per the family’s request, (this is documented) for their mourners to say their goodbyes. This same front parlor would also be the setting where Lizzie would learn she was the prime suspect in the murders of her father and stepmother.

Although not original to the Borden house, the antique furnishings assume the same positions as the Borden’s similar pieces did while living there. With the help of crime scene photos and written documentation of how things were when the Bordens resided there, the entire inside décor has been painstakingly replicated. From the carpets to the floral wall coverings, even to the framed print that hangs above the couch where Mr. Borden would take his last mid-morning nap, the Borden house appears shockingly identical when compared to the actual murder scene photographs.

The house itself, one of rather plain looking Victorian architecture, might very well be hidden among its neighboring counterparts, but still, its residence is known throughout the world. The catastrophic deaths of Mr. Andrew Borden and his wife Addy who were killed by multiple blows with an axe, riveted the world in 1892 and really never stopped. Some one hundred and twenty-nine years later, numerous people flock from all over the globe to visit this museum house. The curious come to explore the scene and hear the details of perhaps the most famous unsolved murder case in American history.

The deaths themselves were that of sheer horror, but what made it even more unsettling was that Mr. Borden’s youngest daughter Lizzie was accused of the August 4^th crimes. She would be tried and eventually acquitted a year later.

So, you say you’ve read up on the Lizzie Borden murders and know all there is to know?

Think again!

When Phil says he hopes to enlighten you on the case, he certainly does! There are many twists and turns of this multi-layered murder case. During this very detailed (perhaps too detailed for some) 90 minute tour, I can almost guarantee you will walk away from it with something new, or perhaps a change of heart.

Did she do it?

Given her conflicting alibis, a dress she insisted on burning, her apathetic demeanor, an attempt to purchase a lethal acid from a local pharmacy, and her swooning spell during the hearing that many claim was only a dramatic display to win over her all-male jury, some say yes, she was guilty. In the end, there is only one Judge and only He can know for sure.

I, personally, like to think the best of people. Throw in the fact that her deceased maternal mother’s brother showed up unexpected and unannounced with no luggage asking to stay the night before the murders and an Irish housemaid that was also on the property the whole time causes me to wonder… (And obviously, I’m not the only one.)

Now, I will warn you, this tour does offer up crime scene photos, evidence of the murders that still remain in the house, as well as references to the coroner’s and autopsy reports and other audio and visuals that may not be for the faint of heart, but your guide will give you a head’s up, allowing you to look or listen as much (or as little) as you like.

But don’t take my word for it. Tour the house for yourself!

Adding wit and humor but maintaining the utmost respect for all that happened during this tragic event, Phil was a most exceptional and knowledgeable tour guide, making my visit to The Historic Lizzie Borden Museum House one I’ll never forget.

If touring the house isn’t enough, you may also want to experience the ghostly side of things (there are tours for that too!).

Oh! And did I mention the house is also a bed and breakfast? That’s right, if a slumber party in the old Borden house is your cup of tea, you can reserve a night’s stay (or more) in one of the many Borden suites while waking up to a hearty breakfast that includes a mixed menu of items the Bordens ate on that very summer morning in 1892.

Once acquitted, Lizzie took her sizeable inheritance and purchased a beautiful Victorian Mansion in the prestigious area known as “The Hill,” a place where she longed for the family to live, much to the objection of her miser father. Lizzie adored the house that she called “Maplecroft” and lived there for nearly thirty-five years.  

And finally, if after a few nights’ stay at the Borden house still doesn’t satisfy your Lizzie palate, it just so happens that “Maplecroft” is currently on the real estate market and is a steal at $890,000!

https://www.zillow.com/homes/306-French-St-Fall-River,-MA-02720_rb/55984161_zpid/

To schedule a tour or reserve a night’s stay at The Historic Lizzie Borden House

CLICK HERE