Lizzie Borden was acquitted of the 1892 murder of her father and stepmother in their Fall River, Massachusetts, home. Folklore, however, has judged her guilty. Who can forget the nasty schoolyard jingle the case inspired? Lizzie Borden took an ax
Gave her mother forty whacks
When she saw what she had done
She gave her father forty-one
These days folks are no longer hesitant to cash in on things morbid and macabre, and Lizzie Borden has become Fall River’s chief tourist attraction. There are tours that visit Lizzie’s grave and the courthouse where she stood trial. Gift shops sell Lizzie Borden bobblehead dolls. As for the Borden house, it is now a homey bed and breakfast, where you can spend the night in the room where Lizzie’s stepmother got the Big Chop, or sit on a sofa similar to the one on which her father’s body was found. Fall River is not the only locality cashing in on bloodshed. So-called “dark tourism” is booming. Across the country, and around the world, folks are lining up to visit the sites of executions, ax murders, gun fights, and mob wackings. If you would like to see some homicide scenes yourself, here is a list of ten gore-splattered destinations.
-Listverse
