“Lizzie Borden took an axe, and gave her mother 40 whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father 41.”
That rhyme has been passed down through the generations to describe the horror that took place at the Borden household in 1892. While it’s not entirely accurate, the rhyme does reflect the ongoing fascination some people have with the double murder in Fall River, Massachusetts, as they line up to take a tour or even stay overnight at the crime scene now known as Lizzie Borden House.
October has long been considered the spookiest month, and as Halloween approaches, many tourists find it the ideal time to visit a home with a gruesome past or descend into a darkened basement clutching a lantern. While there is no scientific evidence that homes can be haunted or ghosts exist, polls indicate that one-third or more of Americans believe in such phenomena. For many others, the tours represent nothing more than a bit of spine-tingling fun.
And there are plenty of savvy business owners who know how to capitalize on the fear, mystery and wonder that has surrounded death since the dawn of humankind.
“I believe Lizzie did this,” tour guide Richard Sheridan tells a group of spellbound tourists as he shows them a mannequin on a bedroom floor spattered in fake blood, placed there to represent Borden’s slain stepmother.
In fact, Borden was tried and acquitted of killing her father, a wealthy investor, and her stepmother, despite the strong evidence against her. That left the murders officially unsolved, and the outcome only added to people’s fascination with the case.
Sheridan said he thinks the murders left behind an eeriness that remains today.
“I firmly believe they imprinted on the house. I think it’s what you would call a haunting,” he said.
On the other side of the U.S. in Portland, Oregon, tourists walk down steep steps into a cavernous basement in Old Town Chinatown. Once the site of a hotel, these days it’s home to a pizzeria and brewery. The tourists are promised a lesson in Portland’s dark history and to hear tales about Nina, who supposedly is the resident underground ghost.
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