The Lizzie Borden House, where the unsolved murders of Lizzie’s father and stepmother occurred in broad daylight on August 4th, 1892, in Fall River, MA, has operated as a bed and breakfast & museum since 1996.
Three types of tours are offered daily at The Lizzie Borden House: a house tour, ghost tour and ghost hunt. Recently, on YurView’s Simply Southern New England show, Jared Robinson, Manager of the Lizzie Borden House, took us on a private tour where we were transported to that fateful morning of the famous double murder. Watch the show segment above. Or, read the full video transcription below (lightly edited for clarity).
- Front Parlor & Sitting Room
- Dining & Guest Rooms
- Lizzie Borden’s Bedroom
- Andrew & Abby Borden’s Bedroom
- Third Floor of the Lizzie Borden House
Front Parlor & Sitting Room
Jared Robinson, Manager, Lizzie Borden House – Hi, I’m Jared Robinson with the Lizzie Borden House and US Ghost Adventures. We’re here at the famous Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, Massachusetts. Let’s go take a look inside.
(00:23) – Welcome to the front parlor of the Lizzie Borden House. This room has some significance here. Number one, it’s where Lizzie is sat down when she finds out that she is the prime suspect in this case. And number two, it’s where the bodies are waked, and it was open casket.
(00:40) – So we’re standing here in the sitting room, where Andrew Borden would come in for his last nap, and unfortunately, would be murdered in this room. They’re thinking about 10 to 11 blows to the head with what we think is a hatchet. We don’t actually really know what the murder weapon is, believe it or not.
Dining & Guest Rooms
JR (00:59) – So we’re in the dining room. This is actually where Abby’s autopsy was performed. And I know that sounds kind of weird by today’s standards. But it was a common practice at the time. We actually do feature photos of the autopsies here at the house. They are pretty grisly as well, but they tell a tale in their own way.
(01:20) – We’re standing here in the guest room where Uncle John Morse stayed the night before the murders on August 3rd. This is the room where Abby Borden would go up to tidy up on the morning of August 4th. And unfortunately, an unknown assailant would come here with what we think is a hatchet and deliver about 19 blows to the back of the head. It makes you think crime of passion. That’s what’s captured the attention of audiences for over a century. A lot of folks who come through the house think Uncle John had something to do with it. But we never will know.
Lizzie Borden’s Bedroom
JR (01:59) – This is Lizzie’s room. It’s a nice bedroom by today’s standards. But let’s think of it this way. She’s an adult woman. She’s sharing a bedroom with her adult sister. Their father and stepmother are in the door just on the other side of the room. And they don’t have running water. They don’t have toilets, and they don’t have electricity in here. For what Lizzie was enduring as a woman of wealth, they were living well below their means.
Andrew & Abby Borden’s Bedroom
JR (02:28) – This was Andrew and Abby Borden’s bedroom. So, this is a comfortable room for guests to stay overnight. And it’s not uncommon for guests to leave change behind. Andrew had kind of developed a reputation of being cheap, frugal, so our guests who stay overnight to please his spirit will leave change for him. But it’s the brave guests who will take the change that may have some strange experiences that follow them afterwards.
Third Floor of the Lizzie Borden House
JR (02:57) – So we’re here on the third floor of the house, which has been renovated. It’s a comfortable stay for most of our guests. It’s often referred to as one of the most haunted places in the house. But let’s talk about who really lived up here in the 1890’s. That would have been Bridget Sullivan. She was an Irish Catholic immigrant who worked as a maid for the Borden family. She actually testifies on behalf of Mr. And Mrs. Borden against Lizzie. But Bridget herself was home on August 4, 1892. She’s not really a suspect in this case for very long, but I definitely have some questions.
(03:34) – You might be asking yourself… Why are we still talking about this? Why did this capture the nation’s attention? And why do people from around the world still come to this house? I think this has to do with the unsolved nature of it. We still don’t know what happened 130 years later. We’re still asking those questions. We still want to know who did this.
For more information on the Lizzie Borden House, visit lizzie-borden.com.
To watch more videos from Simply Southern New England, check out SSNE on YouTube. The show airs on YurView New England – Saturdays at 2pm & 9:30pm, Sundays at 7:30pm and Wednesdays at 9:30pm on Ch. 4 (Providence, RI), Ch. 128 (Hartford, CT) and Ch. 2 (Holland, MA).
