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The History and Haunting of Lizzie Borden
On August 4, 1892, the brutal murders of Andrew and Abby Borden were committed within the walls of their modest home, in broad daylight, on a busy street in Fall River, Massachusetts. It is today, 124 years later, still considered America's biggest unsolved murder mystery. Their youngest daughter, Lizzie, was accussed, and the bizarre case of how she did it, and why she did it, still baffles.
Now, for the first time, you will read there were actually two murder plots orchestrated for the death of the wealthy Borden couple. Here, for the first time, we offer new evidence, photos, and the identity of mysterious key players in the tragedy--two men the police and attorneys searched for, but never found. Who were they? And how did they figure into this surreal murder case? We also offer photographic evidence of how the murderer broke the famous hatchet, and in only seconds.
In The History and Haunting of Lizzie Borden you will finally see the side of the unstable mind that would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. The strange happenings went far beyond 92 Second Street, and into her mansion on "the Hill," Maplecroft.
Rebecca F. Pittman is known for her comprehensive books on some of the most-haunted and mysterious places in America, such as The History and Haunting of the Stanley Hotel, The History and Haunting of the Myrtles Plantation, and the History and Haunting of Lemp Mansion. She has been featured on Fox News, Coast to Coast AM with George Noorey, Jim Harold's Campfire, and countless TV, radio and magazine interviews. She is a TV talk show host, and muralist, with a love for all things unsolved.
Come, look through the keyhole of Lizzie's home on Second Street, and her mansion on "the Hill" with never before seen photos of the interiors. Also, new reports of the paranormal activity occuring inside the Lizzie B&B, showing why it is one of America's most-haunted venues. It's all here. If you think you know what happened on August 4th, 1892, and the days, weeks and months leading up to it...think again. There is so much more to the story of Lizzie Borden: "A woman with her face pressed up against the window of a world she could not enter."
Now, for the first time, you will read there were actually two murder plots orchestrated for the death of the wealthy Borden couple. Here, for the first time, we offer new evidence, photos, and the identity of mysterious key players in the tragedy--two men the police and attorneys searched for, but never found. Who were they? And how did they figure into this surreal murder case? We also offer photographic evidence of how the murderer broke the famous hatchet, and in only seconds.
In The History and Haunting of Lizzie Borden you will finally see the side of the unstable mind that would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. The strange happenings went far beyond 92 Second Street, and into her mansion on "the Hill," Maplecroft.
Rebecca F. Pittman is known for her comprehensive books on some of the most-haunted and mysterious places in America, such as The History and Haunting of the Stanley Hotel, The History and Haunting of the Myrtles Plantation, and the History and Haunting of Lemp Mansion. She has been featured on Fox News, Coast to Coast AM with George Noorey, Jim Harold's Campfire, and countless TV, radio and magazine interviews. She is a TV talk show host, and muralist, with a love for all things unsolved.
Come, look through the keyhole of Lizzie's home on Second Street, and her mansion on "the Hill" with never before seen photos of the interiors. Also, new reports of the paranormal activity occuring inside the Lizzie B&B, showing why it is one of America's most-haunted venues. It's all here. If you think you know what happened on August 4th, 1892, and the days, weeks and months leading up to it...think again. There is so much more to the story of Lizzie Borden: "A woman with her face pressed up against the window of a world she could not enter."
- GenresNonfictionTrue Crime
Kindle Edition
Published November 16, 2016
53 people are currently reading
151 people want to read
About the author
Rebecca F. Pittman
21 books12 followersRebecca Pittman grew up literally on a runway. Her mother was teaching fashion modeling before she was born.
Rebecca took to the catwalk at the age of 5 and was teaching modeling by the young age of 16. From there she began designing stage sets for fashion shows, upscale weddings and special events, along with pursuing her love of art and journalism.
She created Wonderland Productions and has been painting wall murals around the country for the past 33 years. In that time she published four books and has no intention of slowing down. Her first book, "How to Start a Faux Painting or Mural Business" went into a 2nd edition October, 2010. "Scrapbooking for Profit" was published in 2005.
Her journalistic interest took a sharp turn when she decided to write about the haunted location of The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, including the personal history of its ghosts. After living only 45 minutes away from the historical site for 33 years, her love of its history and her experiences there with things unexplained and paranormal led to her to write the book, The History and Haunting of the Stanley Hotel, released in July, 2011.
Ms. Pittman is currently researching The Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana. The plantation is touted as the most-haunted home in America. That book will be followed by The History and Haunting of the Tower of London and the paranormal goings-on in Salem. She is also working on a children's adventure book and a screenplay about Edgar A. Poe.
Rebecca makes her home in Loveland, Colorado where she indulges her love of golf, boating, the arts and travel. She is the proud mother of 4 sons and their extended families.
"Show me a good mystery and I will want to solve it. It's the puzzle that fascinates me ... the clues, and the answers that tumble into place like a combination lock giving up its hold."
Rebecca took to the catwalk at the age of 5 and was teaching modeling by the young age of 16. From there she began designing stage sets for fashion shows, upscale weddings and special events, along with pursuing her love of art and journalism.
She created Wonderland Productions and has been painting wall murals around the country for the past 33 years. In that time she published four books and has no intention of slowing down. Her first book, "How to Start a Faux Painting or Mural Business" went into a 2nd edition October, 2010. "Scrapbooking for Profit" was published in 2005.
Her journalistic interest took a sharp turn when she decided to write about the haunted location of The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, including the personal history of its ghosts. After living only 45 minutes away from the historical site for 33 years, her love of its history and her experiences there with things unexplained and paranormal led to her to write the book, The History and Haunting of the Stanley Hotel, released in July, 2011.
Ms. Pittman is currently researching The Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana. The plantation is touted as the most-haunted home in America. That book will be followed by The History and Haunting of the Tower of London and the paranormal goings-on in Salem. She is also working on a children's adventure book and a screenplay about Edgar A. Poe.
Rebecca makes her home in Loveland, Colorado where she indulges her love of golf, boating, the arts and travel. She is the proud mother of 4 sons and their extended families.
"Show me a good mystery and I will want to solve it. It's the puzzle that fascinates me ... the clues, and the answers that tumble into place like a combination lock giving up its hold."
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 27, 2018
This was such a disappointment! Having grown up in Massachusetts, I have always been fascinated by the story of Lizzie Borden and this looked like a promising book. It has many portions of the original transcripts of the trial and some never before seen photographs. I thought it would be an in depth look at the facts surrounding the case. Well, not so much.
What it turned out to be is the author's interpretation of the information that she had put together. She did an amazing amount of research, and apparently felt that she had to include every iota, every tidbit of information that she found, not matter how small or inconsequential. She didn't just present the facts that she found, she gave the protagonists' feelings and thoughts as well. How she knew these is beyond me. She also gave them dialogue, without citing sources. Basically she turned what was presented as a history of the Lizzie Borden case into historical fiction. Interjected along the way are her theories as to why and how the murders happened, again without citing sources, or fitting the facts she found to fit her theory. One theory I found particularly ludicrous is that Lizzie wore the bloodstained dress under another dress for 2-3 days in the August heat and no one knew it. Like she wouldn't have been a total sweat bomb with all those layers on and no AC and no one would have noticed? Please.
She also took, or arranged to have taken, an extraordinary amount of photographs and found an extensive array of drawings concerning the case and included every single one, no matter how irrelevant. Did we really need to see a photo of a wooden bucket? Or the sign above the newspaper building in Fall River? Or the hotel where Lizzie took a vacation in NYC? Really?
One plus is that you really get a good feel for Fall River during this time period. You get a real sense of what everyday life was like, how people lived, what their clothes were like, how they spent their days, what society was like. Lizzie Borden was the biggest scandal and people were enthralled by her trial, and after she was acquitted, her life was not as free as she had hoped. This part of the book was probably the most fascinating.
This is an 800 page book in desperate need of an editor! Supposedly it did have an editor, maybe for proofreading tasks, but even there the person failed miserably. There are inexcusable spelling errors: someone doesn't know the difference between affect and effect; curtsy and curtesy, just to name a couple of the more flagrant errors. At one point "Borden" is misspelled! Between the overuse of irrelevant photos and whole sections of the book that could have been edited down, this could easily been a 400-500 page book.
If the author wants to be taken seriously as an historian, then she has to cite her sources, preferably by chapter. I am used to reading works by David McCullough and Doris Kearns Goodwin and they have voluminous and detailed indexes at the end of their works. This author lists some books that the reader might want to read and some websites that looked a bit dubious. (But apparently she has her followers, so to each their own.)
As far as the "Haunting" of Lizzie Borden, that chapter consisted of some visitors to the Lizzie Borden House telling of some paranormal activity that they experienced.
Full disclosure: I visited the Lizzie Borden House in 2016 with my husband and some friends and didn't experience anything weird. Rats! Or whew!
So, this book does have some interesting aspects, such as the trial transcripts and some of the photographs, but overall it is a hot mess. Some trial transcripts are presented out of order, in the beginning of the book for reasons I could not understand; the story is told more like historical fiction than fact, though the author seems to think her theories are fact; the constant interruption of text with irrelevant photos became annoying.
If you really want to learn about Lizzie Borden, find a book written by a true historian, not by a wannabe. There are much better books out there on this subject.
What it turned out to be is the author's interpretation of the information that she had put together. She did an amazing amount of research, and apparently felt that she had to include every iota, every tidbit of information that she found, not matter how small or inconsequential. She didn't just present the facts that she found, she gave the protagonists' feelings and thoughts as well. How she knew these is beyond me. She also gave them dialogue, without citing sources. Basically she turned what was presented as a history of the Lizzie Borden case into historical fiction. Interjected along the way are her theories as to why and how the murders happened, again without citing sources, or fitting the facts she found to fit her theory. One theory I found particularly ludicrous is that Lizzie wore the bloodstained dress under another dress for 2-3 days in the August heat and no one knew it. Like she wouldn't have been a total sweat bomb with all those layers on and no AC and no one would have noticed? Please.
She also took, or arranged to have taken, an extraordinary amount of photographs and found an extensive array of drawings concerning the case and included every single one, no matter how irrelevant. Did we really need to see a photo of a wooden bucket? Or the sign above the newspaper building in Fall River? Or the hotel where Lizzie took a vacation in NYC? Really?
One plus is that you really get a good feel for Fall River during this time period. You get a real sense of what everyday life was like, how people lived, what their clothes were like, how they spent their days, what society was like. Lizzie Borden was the biggest scandal and people were enthralled by her trial, and after she was acquitted, her life was not as free as she had hoped. This part of the book was probably the most fascinating.
This is an 800 page book in desperate need of an editor! Supposedly it did have an editor, maybe for proofreading tasks, but even there the person failed miserably. There are inexcusable spelling errors: someone doesn't know the difference between affect and effect; curtsy and curtesy, just to name a couple of the more flagrant errors. At one point "Borden" is misspelled! Between the overuse of irrelevant photos and whole sections of the book that could have been edited down, this could easily been a 400-500 page book.
If the author wants to be taken seriously as an historian, then she has to cite her sources, preferably by chapter. I am used to reading works by David McCullough and Doris Kearns Goodwin and they have voluminous and detailed indexes at the end of their works. This author lists some books that the reader might want to read and some websites that looked a bit dubious. (But apparently she has her followers, so to each their own.)
As far as the "Haunting" of Lizzie Borden, that chapter consisted of some visitors to the Lizzie Borden House telling of some paranormal activity that they experienced.
Full disclosure: I visited the Lizzie Borden House in 2016 with my husband and some friends and didn't experience anything weird. Rats! Or whew!
So, this book does have some interesting aspects, such as the trial transcripts and some of the photographs, but overall it is a hot mess. Some trial transcripts are presented out of order, in the beginning of the book for reasons I could not understand; the story is told more like historical fiction than fact, though the author seems to think her theories are fact; the constant interruption of text with irrelevant photos became annoying.
If you really want to learn about Lizzie Borden, find a book written by a true historian, not by a wannabe. There are much better books out there on this subject.
February 25, 2019
Truly the most massive book you could read on the subject of the Borden murders and it is great for that. A plethora of information and photos and if you let it, you can certainly soak yourself into the thing like a hot bath. But the rub is, you need to get past a certain amount of terrible editing and some awkward first person fictional narrative in the first 100 pages or so, as well as the occasional dip into the oddly written passage. This is not a professional book. Is it interesting? Yes. Is it well researched? Mostly. Is there new evidence? Maybe. The speculation is pretty convincing for the most part as well. And I just skipped the "haunting" part at the very end entirely. So, overall, if you prefer your Borden reads to be adept and well footnoted, you might want to go elsewhere. But if you want to submerge in this massive and somewhat entertaining read, then give it a shot.
Read
August 19, 2025DNF
January 1, 2019
If you're intrigued by the Lizzie Borden case, as I am, you will learn much from reading this book. The author has definitely done her research. It also contains pictures and diagrams that I had not seen before. At times it was a bit long winded, but overall worth the read.
May 7, 2017
This was an incredible read. The work and research done by the author leaves me speechless.
August 27, 2019
This was a well researched project, and the writing was very readable. However, the complete bias of the author was presented as established fact. She finds Lizzie guilty, tells the story from completely that viewpoint, and does not quibble with any side views. I found that to be something that the author should have acknowledged, rather than throwing this out as fact. Since the crime is still unsolved, she may have a point, but it is my belief that she should state that she is not presenting actual, proven facts; merely her take on what occured. Then, after the trial, there is a large portion of the book dedicated to architecture. The houses involved become key players for several pages, and I did not find that exactly riveting. The ghost portion at the end seems tacked on, and not in the style of the rest. This book was interesting, readable, but not outstanding in my opinion.
January 6, 2025
Yes, I read all 828 pages! Sometimes a fast read and other times a repeated story but told by someone else.
The author wrote this on the pretense that Lizzie was guilty. Although she says she was not convinced either way her writing read otherwise.
I did enjoy the book and I have toured her town, & been on tour at the home the murders took place. Since, i was interested in the murders, the book was fun to read.
Happy Reading :)
The author wrote this on the pretense that Lizzie was guilty. Although she says she was not convinced either way her writing read otherwise.
I did enjoy the book and I have toured her town, & been on tour at the home the murders took place. Since, i was interested in the murders, the book was fun to read.
Happy Reading :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 15, 2025
I read this for my 2025 Reading Challenge and the prompt wasa book featuring an activity on your bucket list. The title made me think half the book would be about the crime then the other half would be about ghosts. They did not bring up the ghosts till 95% into the book.
April 1, 2021
100% amazing.
October 19, 2024
Lizzie Borden warts and all
This is a very detailed account of the murders and the aftermath. Highly compelling and hard to put down. Best to read it quickly.
This is a very detailed account of the murders and the aftermath. Highly compelling and hard to put down. Best to read it quickly.
February 5, 2017
Terrific! Lots of photos
I really enjoyed this book. I don't agree with the author's solution, but I'm totally impressed with the research done. There are lots and lots of photos, showing the people and places involved with the murders. I appreciate the photos showing everyday life back then, helps give context to what's going on.
The hauntings section is interesting even though I'm not too in to that. After reading some of the stories, I'm not sure if I'd stay in the murder house B&B! I love the pictures of Maplecroft. Lizzie sure chose a wonderful upgrade for her lifestyle.
For the record, I like William Masterson's "Lizzie Didn't Do It." He was a scientist and respected professor, which gives his theory credibility. He writes well too. Though I have to say, the Kindle version of his book isn't nearly as well formatted and presented as this one is. I think they work well together, Masterson for the science and facts, Pittman for context.
I really enjoyed this book. I don't agree with the author's solution, but I'm totally impressed with the research done. There are lots and lots of photos, showing the people and places involved with the murders. I appreciate the photos showing everyday life back then, helps give context to what's going on.
The hauntings section is interesting even though I'm not too in to that. After reading some of the stories, I'm not sure if I'd stay in the murder house B&B! I love the pictures of Maplecroft. Lizzie sure chose a wonderful upgrade for her lifestyle.
For the record, I like William Masterson's "Lizzie Didn't Do It." He was a scientist and respected professor, which gives his theory credibility. He writes well too. Though I have to say, the Kindle version of his book isn't nearly as well formatted and presented as this one is. I think they work well together, Masterson for the science and facts, Pittman for context.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews