Dissecting the truths, half-truths, and complete fiction in Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story
It’s hard for followers of true crime to be unbiased when watching Ryan Murphy’s Monster series on Netflix. Those of us who are fascinated with what are basically TRUE horror stories are pretty well-versed when it comes to subjects such as Jeffrey Dahmer, Ed Gein, and Lizzie Borden.
But Monster takes a lot of liberties with what are already horrific tales. I felt like the Jeffrey Dahmer season was mostly true to the actual facts, but the Monster take on the Menendez brothers gave me the ick (way too much time was spent on speculating that Lyle and Erik had a sexual relationship), and the Ed Gein season added murders that were not really attributed to him, along with some other fairly drastic side roads.
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is a mixed bag for me. I went into it expecting to have the same “meh” feelings that Ed Gein gave me, and it took me a couple of episodes to get into the groove of the story. But I ended up liking it overall, and I thought the cast was stellar.
How much of Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is true?
So, let’s dig into some of the truths, half-truths, and full-on fiction that are introduced into this version of Lizzie Borden’s story. *Please note that there are spoilers in the remainder of this article.
· The ages of the Borden family members are not at all accurate. In reality, Andrew Borden was 70 years old, Abby Borden was 64, and Lizzie herself was 32 at the time of the murders. Obviously, the series aged down the characters to make them more attractive, particularly Lizzie.
· In the series, Abby butchers the doves that Lizzie has set up a dovecote for. In reality, there were pigeons in the Borden barn, and Andrew killed them, believing they carried germs. Some speculated that Lizzie thought of the pigeons as pets, but that is likely myth.
· One of the most over-the-top gross-out moments in the series happens when Maggie purposely serves the Bordens oysters, knowing they are bad during that time of year. Andrew and Abby become violently ill, spewing gallons of vomit on the table and floor. In truth, the entire family did become ill, likely due to eating mutton that had been sitting out too long.
· In Monster, Lizzie and Maggie murder Bertha Manchester in retaliation for her beating Maggie while she was working for her. This is utter fiction – while Bertha Manchester was indeed murdered with an axe in her home, the murder took place only five days before Lizzie’s trial, while she was in jail. Bertha was also not elderly as portrayed in Monster, she was only 22 years old when she was killed.
· Despite the well-known children’s rhyme, Andrew and Abby did not receive 40-41 blows with an axe. Both were killed with a hatchet, and Abby was 18 or 19 times, while Andrew was hit 10 or 11 times. It is believed that Andrew was sleeping when he was attacked.
· Serial killer Aileen Wuornos is portrayed as being obsessed with Lizzie Borden, and at one point, she and her girlfriend Tyria visit the Borden home, now a bed and breakfast. This is fiction, Wuornos is not known to have followed Lizzie’s story, nor did she ever stay at the home in Fall River, Massachusetts.
· In Monster, Lizzie and Maggie are romantically involved. While that has never been proven, this has been speculated by many people over the years. It has also been speculated that Lizzie may have suffered severely painful periods, or might have had endometriosis.
In the series, Andrew Borden sells coffins, and often chops the legs of corpses in order to fit them in a coffin they are too tall for. In reality, Borden did sell furniture and coffins, but there have never been allegations of him desecrating dead bodies.
And for the biggest question of them all: Did Lizzie Borden actually murder her parents? That is something we will most likely never know for sure. She was actually acquitted of the charges against her, but remains the most likely suspect.
Comments