Haunted History Tour... Lizzie Borden Home

"Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks.
When she realized what she done, she gave her father forty-one."

Remember that little saying? I certainly do! I used to repeat that diddy all of the time as a child. I never knew the truth and history behind the poem. But now that I am an adult and have watched documentaries, as well as have read the history behind the condemnation, I have "seen the light" as to why and how the rhyme came about.

Lizzie Andrew Borden was born in New England on July 19, 1860. A "spinster" of sorts, who later on in her adult years would be pegged as the prime suspect in the double homicide of her mother and her father. They were killed on August 4, 1892. This would have placed Lizzie to be age forty-two at the time. Plenty old enough to "know better", if you get my drift.

When all was said and done, Lizzie Borden was acquitted of the heinous murders. And no other people were ever brought forth for the crimes. To this day, the murders are unsolved.

What led to the murders of Andrew Borden and his wife, Abby? Could have been very well over the fact that arguments often ensued over property and possessions that were to be divided amongst her and Lizzie's sister, Emma, BEFORE their father's demise? Or could it be that they were mad that Mr. Borden planned on having the the homestead sold to their stepmother's (Abby) relatives, and were afraid that they would literally be left out in the cold?

Whatever the true intention was for the killings, the stage had apparently long been set. Between anger, jealousy and the "not knowing" of what will happen after their Daddy keeled over, it made a perfect recipe for murder.

On August 4, 1892, Andrew left the house and went in to town, in to Fall River, Massachusetts to the bank. And then the old boy went to the post office. Which all were of his normal activities. Mr. Borden returned home at approximately 10:45 that morning, only to have Lizzie "find" her father dead upon the couch.

During the court trial for Lizzie, it was told, by the family's maid, Bridget Sullivan that she was laying in bed, within the confines of her room at around eleven, she heard Lizzie call up to her and stated that someone had killed her father.

Not long after the doctor and some neighbors had come to the home to help Lizzie, the gruesome discovery of her stepmother, Abby was made by the unsuspecting maid. Abby had died in the geust bedroom upstairs.

Abby and Andrew both had suffered a very brutal end to their lives. Both of them had skull-crushing blows to the head with a hatchet. Mr. Borden's left eyeball was literally split in two.

It came to light later, that not too long before the murders, all in the home became ill. Knowing her husband was a tight-fisted, not too well liked man, she feared that someone was out to seek revenge upon her husband, and take his entire family with him. They suspected poisoned  milk. After the murders, right there in the home, the autopsies were performed. With it, the stomachs of the couple were removed and set on the table to seek out their contents. The contents were then sent for "tox screenings" over at Harvard Medical School.

Lizzie Borden was arrested for the double killing. She was placed in a cell on August twelfth. With her stories determined to be inconsistent through various interviews, she became the town's prime suspect.

On November 7, 1892, a Grand Jury trial was under way. A Bill of Indictment came down on her on December second, almost a month after her arrest. The trial its self didn't start in New Bedford, Massachusetts until June of 1893!

Lizzie's Defending Attorneys were Governor George D. Robinson and Andrew V. Jennings. One "rising star" Prosecutor at the trial happened to be William H. Moody, who would later become a United States Attorney General and Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

During the investigation, a hatchet was found within the basement, and assumed to have been the murder weapon. It was clean, but the handle had gone missing. Later in the trial, by word of the Forensics Specialist, there was no time to have cleaned the hatchet after the murders had taken place.

Also on Lizzie's side was the fact that no blood-stained clothing was ever found. Although, there was a blue dress that was torn apart and thrown in to the stove. Lizzie claimed that the dress had fresh paint that was smeared on it, after she accidentally brushed up against a baseboard.

Lizzie was finally acquitted for the crimes on June 20, 1893, after deliberations by the jury that took them a mere hour and a half of their time.

After the dust had settled, Lizzie and her sister Emma had moved and named their new home "Maplecroft".  It is located on French Street , which at that time, was within a posh neighborhood of Fall River. The home included all of the (then) latest amenities a home of it's stature could have. Including indoor plumbing.

Later on though, Emma and Lizzie began to develop a strained relationship. Their lifestyles did not mesh and were apparently like night and day. Complete opposites. So, twelve years after hell had reined upon them, the sisters had parted ways. Emma moved from the home in June of 1905.

On June 1, 1927, Lizzie Andrew Borden had passed away. She required gallbladder removal surgery and she was pretty sick for the last year of her life. She had died basically alone, with only her staff as her 'comfort' in those final hours. Her cause of death was Pneumonia.

The details of her funeral were never brought to light to the public, and only a handful of people attended the services for her. Lizzie is buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Fall River.

Nine days later, Emma too passed. She contracted Nephritis.

Today, the home in which the murders had occurred is now a Bed And Breakfast. As far as the hauntings go, there have been reports of a woman's voice softly crying, seeing ghostly shoes appear, and even an older woman in period dress for Lizzie's time show.

Also, it seems that video equipment messes up, lights have been known to flicker on and off, and Andrew and Abby supposedly wander the home.

Links...

Haunted Hamilton 

History of Lizzie Borden

Haunted History Tour...New Mexico State Penitentiary

For our next stop (and possibly our final, depending on how this post does for viewership), we once again will travel to a prison. And this prison was the gruesome scene of one of the worst riots ever recorded, where prisons are concerned.

New Mexico State Penitentiary sits about 15 miles from Santa Fe, New Mexico. The prison opened in 1956, and closed it's doors for good in 1998. But not before a severely violent riot had occurred in 1980.

The riot had taken place between February 2 and February 3 of that year. Now mind you, this is a maximum security prison. So extreme force and security measures are used daily. During the two-day riot, thirty-three prisoners had died. And more than two-hundred inmates had to be treated for injuries. None of the security staff were killed during the ordeal, but seven of them had to be treated for their injuries and for rapes.

NMSP was overcrowded, to say the least. The treatment from guards were not always "kind". The night that the riots started, there were 1,136 inmates placed on a cell block made to house only 900. Also they were not separated properly, as to help with any possible violent possibilities.

Another cause, they say for what transpired to be the worst riot in prison history, was the fact that programs such as educational, recreational and other rehabilitative programs were cut off, that had been started in 1970, but ended in 1975. In those five years, violence and mayhem was at a minimum.

There was also a severe shortage of Security Staff. So, those that were "fortunate" to work there, made a game with some of the prisoners called "The Snitch Game". This is where the inmates that were chosen would go and tell the guards of fellow inmates that were "uncooperative".

Those named would receive abusive treatment. And the abusive treatment came in the form of being from their fellow inmates. In the end though, this "game" was an epic fail, seeing as most of the information passed along was pretty inaccurate and minimal at best.

On the morning of February 2nd, it started. Hostages began to be taken by those that felt that enough was enough. Two prisoners in the South-side Dormitory E-2 had grabbed an officer who had been caught by them drinking a homemade liquor. Minutes later, four more officers were taken hostage.

Not too long after E-2 Block was under the control and leadership of the prisoners. And things were soon to become much, MUCH worse.

Before noon, the violence started to escalate to extreme proportions. And the "snitches" were beginning to be gathered up, along with the prison security staff members.

Within twenty-four hours after the riot began, Negotiators were starting to try and get demands of the prisoners and talk them down from their so-called power trip. At one point, eleven demands were made clear. Including, but not limited to inmate discipline, educational services and improving food. They also demanded to be able to speak with the media.

After the inmates were able to speak with the reporters, the officers that were taken as hostages were let go. Not all of them got out unscathed unfortunately. Some were severely beaten. Others had been raped. Seven of the guards had suffered severe injuries, but did live to tell of their ordeal.

There were also eighty prison inmates that had fled, seeing as they wanted no part in the riot, or wanted no further part in it. They had ran to the baseball fields to get away. Sunday morning, even more came out and fled the prison.

During the ordeal, thirty-three prisoners perished. Some were raped and beaten. And in all honesty, that was the EASIEST of the deaths that had occurred during the stand off. Some had their genitals burned off wit blowtorches. Some had their eyes gouged out, or even scooped out. While they were still very well alive, mind you. Also, some of the prisoners that had died were found to have overdosed on drugs as well.

Within thirty-six hours, on Sunday, February 3rd, things were finally calming down and coming to a stand-still. State Police officers and National Guard servicemen entered the charred remains of the prison.

Even after order was restored within the prison walls, gang fights, racial tensions, and fights had continued. But of a much smaller scale.

As I had earlier stated, the prison was formally closed in 1998. But since then, it has been opened as a Tourist Attraction, as well as used in the making of the 2005 remake of "Longest Yard" (featuring Adam Sandler, Chris Rock and the original film's Burt Reynolds).

Former employees of the prison and cast/crews from film have themselves reported to have heard disembodied voices, cell doors opening and/or closing of their own volition, sightings of apparitions.

If there was ever a haunted prison in the United States, New Mexico State Penitentiary has wonderful potential to be a hotbed of supernatural activity for obvious reasons. Violence, violent deaths, anger, resentment, unfinished stories of the inmates killed, seeking of justice and of justification.

Links...

Ghost Tour of Old Albuquerque

New Mexico State Penitentiary

History of the Riot that took place




The next video that I had wanted to show you was disabled to embed, so please CLICK HERE to view PART 1, and then click on the following parts to view the entire episode.