Halloween in Miniature continues with a different take on a real life event...
The Lizzie Borden murders...
They say that ghosts of the past continue to linger in certain places, especially when something awful like a murder happens. That's why sites like the original Lizzie Borden home in Fall River, Mass., where Lizzie supposedly axed her father and stepmother to death in 1892, is said to be haunted. The home is now the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast.
Let's go back into the parlor... Oh don't worry about the dog... he won't bite....
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Wait! Don't go in there! Something terrible has happened!
While many real life crimes find their way into movies, books, and even miniatures, no other crime continues to be as fascinating as the shocking axe murders supposedly committed by spinster Sunday school teacher Lizzie Borden in Fall River, Mass. in 1892.
I'm sure you remember this famous rope skipping rhyme:
Lizzie Borden took an axe,
And gave her mother forty whacks.
When she saw what she had done
She gave her father forty-one.
While the numbers are exaggerated when compared with the actual autopsy records, the crime is no less horrific. Then, as now, it seems hard to believe that on August 4, 1892, 31-year-old Lizzie Borden took an axe and brutally murdered her stepfather, Andrew Borden, and her stepmother, Abby Durfee Borden. Lizzie Borden was acquitted of the murders on June 20, 1893.
* We've all seen the photo of Lizzie Borden above. But here's an interesting new look at her, hand-sculpted in miniature of bees putty by artisan Sharon Cariola. Amazing... and eerie, isn't she? Click photos for full size. (See other figures on Sharon's Facebook page.)
The crime is, of course, awful and hard-to-fathom. And while the photos have always been in black-and-white, it's been easier to stomach, I suppose. If you're of a stronger mind, you can see other actual autopsy photos here, including a more graphic post mortem photo of Mr. Borden.
I will spare you the color version in miniature, but suffice it to say that the miniature version is pretty close to the layout, though it doesn't use the actual color and patterns of the furnishings and clothing as in the real life crime scene photos. But this is an incredible recreation. (I'd been planning to do a mini Borden parlor scene, too, before I saw this though I still hesitate to ruin a miniature couch. ha! Still deciding on how to plan it. I have a cool cabinet I'd been saving for this and just got a beautiful Victorian furniture set. Even have the wallpaper picked out!)
Miniature photos and scenes by Debra Hinton. (If you like dark miniatures, check out her Darkside Miniatures group on FB.)
As the crime is now over 126 years old, the horrific tale of Lizzie Borden continues to live on in various forms. Lizzie Borden lives on in infamy, and is also often part of Halloween lore.
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👀 Mrs. Skellie's Reading List:
If you like to read, there are a number of books available on Lizzie Borden. My books have a more Halloween, ghoulish twist.
Reading the autopsy reports and looking at the crime scene photos made me think--what if there was another reason the victims were brutally killed in such a manner? The book is based on the real-life records and includes accounts of the actual events.
One hot August morning in 1892, Lizzie Borden picked up an axe and murdered her father and stepmother. Newspapers claim she did it for the oldest of reasons: family conflicts, jealousy and greed. But what if her parents were already dead? What if Lizzie slaughtered them because they’d become… zombies? (See my website for more details on the book.)
I also give another take on the story via the viewpoint of Dr. Seabury Bowen, Lizzie Borden's neighbor and doctor, who was one of the first professionals at the scene. This book centers mostly on how the murder, and the town's bloody history might have affected him. It's a little spooky and sad with a bittersweet love story...
A ghostly, love story and mystery -
Gruesome deaths haunt the industrial city of Fall River, Massachusetts.
Dr. Seabury Bowen—physician to the infamous Lizzie Borden—swears he’s being stalked by spirits, though his beloved wife thinks it’s merely his imagination. But the retired doctor insists that neither greed nor anger provoked the recent sensational axe murders in Fall River. Rather, he believes the city is poisoned by bad blood and a thirst for revenge dating back to the Indian and Colonial wars.
Now, two years after the Borden murders, Dr. Bowen is determined to uncover the mysteries stirring up the city’s ancient, bloodthirsty specters. Can he discover who, or what, is shattering the peace before Fall River runs red? Or will he be the next victim?
Part mystery, part love story, The Haunting of Dr. Bowen reveals the eerie side of Fall River as witnessed by the first doctor on the scene of the legendary Borden murders.
Dr. Seabury Bowen—physician to the infamous Lizzie Borden—swears he’s being stalked by spirits, though his beloved wife thinks it’s merely his imagination. But the retired doctor insists that neither greed nor anger provoked the recent sensational axe murders in Fall River. Rather, he believes the city is poisoned by bad blood and a thirst for revenge dating back to the Indian and Colonial wars.
Now, two years after the Borden murders, Dr. Bowen is determined to uncover the mysteries stirring up the city’s ancient, bloodthirsty specters. Can he discover who, or what, is shattering the peace before Fall River runs red? Or will he be the next victim?
Part mystery, part love story, The Haunting of Dr. Bowen reveals the eerie side of Fall River as witnessed by the first doctor on the scene of the legendary Borden murders.