Eggs, toast, crispy bacon — with a side of murder history?
The supposedly haunted former home of Lizzie Borden, where both her parents were found axed to death in 1892, has been sold for $2 million and its new owner will keep it as an operational bed-and-breakfast for brave tourists.
The infamous residence in Fall River, Massachusetts, hit the market in January and was available for viewing during open house tours.
One particular ghost-loving individual, Lance Zaal, liked what he saw during the tour and placed an offer.
Zaal is now expected to be the new owner of the ghostly house in the coming months.
“It’s not official yet. We still have to go through closing,” Zaal told Realtor. “It’s certainly a process. We’re buying the property as well as the business.”
The B&B, which caters to brave guests and ghost story lovers alike, has been operating since the late 1990s, both for overnight stays and tours. But Zaal explained how he will be changing things up a bit.
“We’ll be adding several different events for both visitors and locals. We want this to be a place where people can kind of come in just to have a good time as well,” Zaal said of the home where Borden, who was 32 when she was accused of killing her parents with an ax, lived.
“We really want to give more people a reason to go there — so more activities and more events,” he added.
The events, Zaal explained, would incorporate some of the home’s murderous history into the mix. One such activity? Ax-throwing.
“Just a couple of ax-throwing lanes, which would be a lot of fun,” Zaal said. “We’re going to look at producing an official Lizzie Borden ax — that we will provide for ax-throwing, and also to sell to guests.”
The suite where Lizzie’s father Andrew Borden was found murdered is on the second floor. It has its own private bathroom and is the most requested room at the inn — despite reports of ghosts and other unexplained phenomena that have caused guests to jump out of their beds during the night.
The other suite is the one that Lizzie and her sister, Emma, shared. It’s also on the second floor and shares a bathroom with another room.
Zaal explained his own scary experience staying the night in the home.
“I did hear voices and I heard footsteps,” he said. “I was alone in the house on the second night, so I definitely had some things happen there, but I slept like a baby.”
Zaal noted that he has been interested in ghosts from a young age.
“I mean, I think I’ve always been interested in it,” he said. “I had an experience when I was a kid, both alone and then with my mom, that was pretty crazy. I’ve kind of been aware that there are weird, unexplained things.”
Although there wasn’t enough evidence to convict Lizzie of the murders of her dad and her stepmother, many believe that she committed the crimes because she stood to benefit the most financially.
Following her acquittal, Lizzie and her sister moved into a Venetian home, known as Maplecroft, which is on the market today for $890,000.
“I was really impressed with the staff at the house,” Zaal added. “A lot of the staff has been there for a long time. They’re very dedicated and they have a lot of passion for the house, and they really care about it. I am really excited to take it into the next decade.”
Zaal says his goal is to entertain people, while honoring the legend of Lizzie Borden.
“We’re not a haunted house. We don’t jump out and scare people,” he said. “This is legitimate, real history. Things happened here.”
