New Lizzie Borden house owner has NC ties, and spooky changes await the attraction
A Charlotte ghost tour’s parent company recently added a notorious true crime murder tourist attraction to its list of spooky stories.
US Ghost Adventures, the Virginia-based company behind Queen City Ghosts that opened a walking tour in uptown Charlotte last fall, recently purchased the notorious Lizzie Borden home in Fall River, Massachusetts.
The 32-year-old woman was accused of the brutal ax murders of her father Andrew and stepmother Abby in 1892. She ultimately was acquitted, but the tale reverberates in a schoolyard chant about giving her parents 81 whacks. The case is considered one of the most infamous unsolved murders in U.S. history.
The home on 230 Second St., which has been a tourist attraction and operating as a vacation destination for several decades, was sold for $2 million to the ghost walking tour company in March.
Lance Zaal, who started US Ghost Adventures in 2018, said in a statement that “a healthy transition for the (Borden house) staff and preserving the historical site are our top priorities.”
The company is celebrating its acquisition with a sweepstakes, offering transportation and a complimentary two-night stay at the Lizzie Borden House.
“It was a really big get for us and we’re excited to be a part of the story,” company spokeswoman Azure Hall told the Observer.
The home’s sale garnered national media attention and came in for some ribbing on “Saturday Night Live.”
Plans for the house
The green-and-gray home has been a bed and breakfast and museum since the 1990s. Photo copies of the slayings and reproductions of the Bordens’ crushed skulls are displayed there.
There are six bedrooms. The second floor guest room, the John V. Morse, where Borden’s stepmother was killed, is the most popular. Abby Borden was killed while making up the bedroom after Lizzie’s uncle stayed overnight, according to the home website.
US Ghost Adventures plans to expand on overnight stays by offering multiple day and night tours. “This way the only option isn’t overnight,” Hall said.
New attractions, Hall said, will include themed dinners and a homage to the crime: ax throwing.
Plus, a live stream camera will allow people to virtually look for any paranormal happenings.
How popular is it?
The Borden house is the creepiest place to visit in Massachusetts and is on the world’s 13 creepiest haunted hotels, according to Thrillist, a travel and entertainment media website.
Battleship Cove, home to the world’s largest collection of retired warships, draws tourists to the city about 50 miles south of Boston. But it’s the Borden home that casts worldwide attention on the city of about 89,000 people, according to the Fall River Historical Society Museum & Library website.
The Lizzie Borden house attracts about 50 to 300 visitors a day on average, Robert Mellion with the Fall River Chamber of Commerce told the Seattle Times in 2015. “On average they anticipate about 54,000 visitors annually. Consequently, its economic impact is tangible.”
Officials with the historical society and chamber did not respond for comment.
About US Ghost Adventures
The Borden home is US Ghost Adventures’ first property. The company offers ghost tours in 33 cities across the country, including in Charlotte. In the Carolinas, the company also offers tours in Asheville and Charleston.
While some of the tours talk about witness accounts of ghostly activity, Hall said, “we’re drawn to history, authenticity and the opportunity to do live storytelling.”
Hall said the tours let the past tell the story, but old cities like Charlotte often lend themselves to people seeking paranormal investigations and ghost hunting.
“We just lay out the history and share reports of what people experience,” Hall said. “We’re not going to prove if ghosts are real or not.
“You really get out of the tour what you go into it for.”
This story was originally published May 7, 2021 at 10:08 AM with the headline "New Lizzie Borden house owner has NC ties, and spooky changes await the attraction."