FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — “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 evid.