A Spooky House Tour To Take With Your Boo This Halloween

In search of local adventure and thrills this Halloween season, my friend found herself on a tour of the home of one of the most notorious figures in New England history. Here’s what she has to say about it…

Imagine being so well known people still talk about you 133 years later… being so notorious that crowds flock to where you once lived just to ogle…being at the center of an event so shocking it has become the stuff of myth and legend? Can you even fathom that anything of this magnitude was possible before hi-def color photos, before televised news, before the internet?

Well, you don’t even have to imagine or go very far to learn about someone with that kind of prominence. Such is the infamy of Lizzie Borden! A name so readily recognized because it has been popularized in movies, countless books and even a rhyme recited by children to this very day. (I bet you just sang it to yourself!) You can explore the site of the notorious crime scene first-hand. You can even stay overnight if you’d like at the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast Museum in Fall River, Massachusetts.

Photo Courtesy Of Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Facebook Page

During our recent tour of the Borden homestead, we learned about the dynamics of the Borden family, the extent of the family’s business interests and theories about the motives. We witnessed both crime scenes, even experiencing how one of the victims was discovered. The home is well-preserved and meticulously staged as it would have been on August 4, 1892.  

Our super-knowledgeable tour guide walked us through the events that unfolded on that day and filled us in about the family and significant people involved. She told us about the trial that followed and about Lizzie Borden’s life after the acquittal. (That’s right, acquittal!) We were able to take photos in each room we toured and learned that this was the first crime scene in the USA where photography was part of the criminal investigation.

Those of us who participated in the tour developed our own assumptions about the ghastly crimes at 230 Second Street, Fall River. You can tour, stay, or even partake in a paranormal event.

For more info, go to lizzie-borden.com.

About The Author

Christina is a life-long Rhode Islander who has been dedicated to mission-driven human services work. A mother of two, she recycles, composts, and runs her household with solar energy. An animal lover and a world traveler, this bon vivant has jumped out of a plane, bungee jumped (twice!), run over the Newport Bridge, swum across Narragansett Bay, and penguin plunged.