Seances, ghosts, and parties: The legacy of Lizzie Borden’s last resting place, Maplecroft Mansion

In the final episode of Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, the titular character moves into Maplecroft Mansion with her sister, Emma. 

In Netflix’s new show, after managing to evade prison for the murders of her father and stepmother, Lizzie Borden retired to the lavish Maplecroft Mansion with hundreds of animals and her Laudanum-addicted sister. 

When asked why she didn’t move to another area, real-life Lizzie replied: “When the truth comes out about this murder, I want to be living in Fall River so I can walk downtown and meet those of my friends who have been cutting me down all these years.”

The property is real and situated in Fall River, Massachusetts, and Lizzie spent the rest of her life there. Though she died in 1927, she left a legacy of eerie hauntings, parties, and secrets. 

Credit: Netflix

The mansion itself is rather lavish 

The Victorian home was built in 1887 with three stories, 4,000 square feet of room, seven bedrooms, three-and-a-half bathrooms, six fireplaces, a sunroom, and a wraparound porch. The interior is just as spectacular, boasting stained glass windows, ornate mouldings, and even carved inscriptions that some claimed were secret messages from Lizzie. This fact was never confirmed, so it’s surprising that Ryan Murphy didn’t use it. 

“Upon the summit of one of the loftiest of these hills is the present home of the Bordens. It is situated on French Street, four houses from the electric car tracks on Winter Street, and in an excellent neighborhood,” reads a 1894 advert in The Boston Daily Advertiser.

“About them are the dwellings of well-to-do people. They are not the lordly mansions of the wealthy, but people who are evidently of the upper middle class. The house is built in the modern style and shingled upon the outside. The lower story is painted a dull bronze green and the upper story a buff color.”

There’s a long history of alleged hauntings at Maplecroft Manor 

Over the years, many a would-be paranormal investigator has ventured to the property to find “evidence” of hauntings. 

During a 2018 investigation of Maplecroft, psychic Glenn Teza claimed to have seen orbs of light floating in the parlour that looked like snow, the official website for the Lizzie Borden house stated. She even claimed to have witnessed a psychic vision that sent her back in time to an Easter party. 

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At said party, Glenn Teza reportedly saw kids on an Easter egg hunt, someone playing piano in the parlour, and guests bustling about the mansion. She even met Emma Borden, two of Lizzie’s dogs, and even Lizzie herself.  Emma was rude, but Lizzie, dressed in a purple silk gown, was friendly. 

Upstairs, she reportedly found a room where Lizzie would host séances. Two psychics were present, a man and a woman. 

Apparently, four ghosts haunt the premises: Lizzie Borden, a friendly but frustrated ghost; the unfriendly Emma Borden; a man claiming to be Lizzie’s boyfriend; and the male and female psychics mentioned earlier. 

“It seems like it’s Lizzie, and possibly Emma and somebody that keeps coming through as saying that he’s Lizzie’s boyfriend,” the mansion’s real estate agent said. “Some people have said that they have been pushed. I got poked in the eye.”

The home changed hands a lot over the years 

Credit: Netflix

Lizzie Borden and her sister Emma moved into the property three months after she was aquitted of double murder, but Emma moved out in 1905. The sisters never spoke again. 

Lizzie died from pneumonia on June 1, 1927, and Maplecroft Mansion changed owners a number of times over the years. In 2018, it was purchased for $600,000 by the former owners of the original Lizzie Borden house with the intention of turning it into a bed and breakfast. They were unable to do so because of the pandemic, leaving the house empty for those paranormal investigators I mentioned above. 

In 2022, Maplecroft was sold to an artist and professor named Brooke Mullins Doherty, who lives in the mansion with her husband and young children. 

“The house is like stepping back in time but with modern amenities,” listing agent Suzanne St. John said a few years ago. “It’s three floors and restored in high Victorian style. The fireplaces are very ornate and original. Some of the wallpaper has been uncovered and is original, dating back to Lizzie and Emma.”

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Featured image credit: Netflix