Lizzie Borden: Warps and Wefts

With Halloween fast approaching, a few fearless souls are looking for a frightful weekend getaway at a spooky location.  The Travel Channel had placed the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast in the top 10 spookiest destinations 8 years ago at #1, even above the Winchester Mystery House.  Lizzie’s place is still on the top ten list, at #1 along with #2. The Bell Witch Cave in Tennesee, #3 The Villisca Axe Murder House in Iowa, #4 The Stanley Hotel in Colorado, #5  Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Kentucky, #6 Sorrel Weed House, Savannah, Georgia, #7 Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California, #8 Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia, Pa., #9 The Myrtles, Louisiana, #10 Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery, Chicago.  http://www.toptenz.net/10-creepy-places-in-america.php  This Saturday 12 intrepid people will attempt to stay the night at Lizzie’s house.  Rooms have been booked for months.  October is second only to the murder anniversary month, August. Will the annual Halloween seance turn up any new clues?

Got Ghost in the parlor?

There were some interesting online comments today as a result of an article posted in the Fall River Herald News- article and comments at this link http://www.heraldnews.com/news/x536357278/Medium-Lizzie-did-it

The popular Lizzie series at BCC featured a Canadian psychic last night, Kim Dennis, who claims to have channeled Lizzie in her livingroom.  Nothing is hotter than the paranormal at the moment-both at the Borden Bed and Breakfast and as a popular culture phenomenon.  TV is full of it, magazines and best-sellers are doing a brisk trade, and mediums, ghostbusters and psychics are riding the wave.

Ms. Dennis reveals nothing which others have not thought of before.  Nearly every possible scenario has been well-imagined over the years since the famous murders: motive, method, weapon, accomplices, etc.  There is an abundance of information online and in print about every detail of the crime scene and the principal players as well as a goodly number of who-dunnit theory books.  Messages from the Great Beyond have been leaking through the ether since 1893 when a Ouija board was employed to seek out the answers to the Borden mystery.

What is interesting to read are the comments following the article.  Is the public saturated with Lizzie Borden- or is it just Fall Riverites?  It has surely been a Lizzie summer and autumn, with no end in sight.  Whether a believer in the paranormal, or an avid scholar of the case, there’s no getting away from the fact that Lizzie will not be going away anytime soon-a haunting of sorts.

Blood Relations seems to be opening everywhere these days.  Lizzie B is a hot topic. To read more about this newest production and to read the interview with Sharon Pollack follow this link below.

On the issue of who Ms. Pollack thinks did the deed- http://communities.canada.com/calgaryherald/blogs/bladerunner/archive/2009/09/25/lizzie-borden-is-hot-stuff.aspx

“I think that Lizzie did it and Bridget (Bridget Sullivan, Lizzie’s Irish servant, who was the only other person in the Borden house when the murders took place) knew that Lizzie did it,” Pollock says, pointing out that both maid and mistress were likely in collusion when it came to their testimony at the trial.

It’s been a very busy Lizzie Summer and Autumn with plays, lectures, re-enactments, house tours, cemetery tours, and much anticipation about the upcoming Parallel Lives.  Warps & Wefts will be on vacation until October 18th in Victorian Cape May- a place where Lizzie would feel right at home.  Victorian week is an annual Cape May attraction and is rated in the top 100 American events not to miss.  http://www.capemaymac.org/content/subpage_main.aspx?id=820

W&W will return on the 18th with photos of all the Victorian fun, fashions and amazing Painted Ladies!

Blood Relations written by Sharon Pollack and directed by Stephen Kay opens November 12th.  The play runs November 12-22 at the Your Theatre Playhouse at 136 River Street, New Bedford.

The play within a play structure in which, ten years after her acquittal, Lizzie Borden’s actress friend, Nance O’Neil acts out the crucial scenes, lends a fascinating sense of ambiguity to a familiar story.  For reservations call 508-993-0772.

For more about the play read http://www.enotes.com/blood-relations

Today’s South Coast Today puts Lizzie in the Press again with coverage of last night’s “Mock Trial”. Read the story at http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090925/NEWS/909250337

The Herald coverage in today’s edition of last night’s Lizzie lecture at BCC revealed a particularly interesting tidbit- Lizzie had a lady companion named Trudy.  http://www.heraldnews.com/town_info/history/x1789521502/New-Lizzie-Borden-book-teased-at-lecture

It was a common custom of the time for wealthy ladies to have a younger companion to accompany them on trips out of town, shopping excursions and the like. Miss Trudy apparently lived at Maplecroft and enjoyed the elegant  library and hearthside of Miss Borden before going off to give matrimony a whirl.  How nice to know Lizzie did not lead quite such a reclusive and lonely life as many have thought.

Other snippets read at the lecture included diary entries by a schoolchum named “Lulie” which added a bit more color as to the many moods of Lizzie as a school girl.

The popular lecture series continues through November and is stirring up great interest in the launch of the historical society publication Parallel Lives which will go on sale before Christmas and is probably on every Lizziephile’s Wishlist.

• Sept 28, Annette Holba, Ph.D., author, “Lizzie Borden as Conscious Pariah: A Discussion About Private Life.”
• Oct. 5, Cara Robertson, legal scholar, “What the Jury Heard: Evidence in the Trial of Lizzie Borden.”
• Oct. 19, Kim Dennis, psychic medium, “Lizzie Borden: Her Side of the Story.”
• Oct. 26, Jill Dalton, award-winning actress, “Lizzie Borden Live: From Page to Stage.”
• Nov. 2, Ricardo Rebelo, filmmaker, “The Myth and Media of Lizzie Borden.”
• For information about the lectures or “Parallel Lives,” or to reserve a copy of the book, call 508-679-1071 or visit www.lizzieborden.org.

The 1893 Lizzie Borden trial re-enactment at Bristol County courthouse is the must-see event for September.  The courtroom where it all happened in June of 1893 is much today as it was on the day when Lizzie sat on the hard wooden bench and hid her enigmatic face behind her fan.  Even the Victorian wooden Defense and Prosecution tables where Robinson and Knowlton held forth are still in place.  A large oil portrait of Attorney Knowlton hangs on the wall today.  A large turnout is expected and tickets will soon be a hot commodity in the area. An open house will be held the night of the re-enactment from 6 – 7 p.m. when the “trial” begins.

The free program is open to the public, with limited seating.

 Mail a self-addressed stamped envelope to “Lizzie, Redux Request”, care of Clerk Magistrate Marc J. Santos, Bristol Count Clerk of Courts, 441 County St., New Bedford, MA 02740 for tickets. There will be two tickets issued per request. Tickets will be honored until 20 minutes before the performance, after which there will be a general admission as room is available.

Introducing Lorraine Gregoire as Lizzie 2009