Lizzie Borden is the latest infamous figure to step into Netflix’s spotlight in Ryan Murphy’s Monster.
Lizzie Borden’s disturbing children’s rhyme might be entertaining but it is false.
Monster on Netflix is back following the global success of season three which told the horrific story of Ed Gein, starring Sons of Anarchy legend Charlie Hunnam.
This time around, all eyes are on Lizzie Borden who was accused of the brutal murder of her dad and step-mother in the late 19th Century before she was acquitted.
Despite Lizzie being set free, her reputation was never restored and for more than 100 years, a gruesome children’s rhyme has immortalised the crimes.
But even though this is why Lizzie Borden remains a familiar name in criminal history, the chant is far from factually correct.
Lizzie Borden rhyme explained
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Here is the Lizzie Borden rhyme in full: “Lizzie Borden took an axe, and gave her mother 40 whacks.
“When she saw what she had done, she gave her father 41.”
It states that Lizzie killed her mother and father but the woman was actually her step-mother Abby Borden as her biological mum died when she was just a child.
The rhyme goes on to detail that her parents were “whacked” 40 and 40 times but this is an exaggeration as Abby was killed by 18 or 19 strikes and father Andrew by 10 or 11.
In addition, the rhyme states that the murders were committed with an axe but police and experts believe the weapon was a hatchet, a far smaller and compact tool meant for lighter tasks in comparison to an axe.
There’s also the matter that the children’s song states that Lizzie Borden was the one to commit these crimes.
However, a jury acquitted Lizzie of their murders in 1893, so legally, she didn’t kill Abby and Andrew Jackson Borden.
Despite this verdict, public suspicion remained throughout her life and to this day, especially since it was an all-male jury that didn’t think an upper-class woman could commit such a “feral” crime.
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is available to watch on Netflix
