public

Heavily Investigated

The morning of August 4th, 1892 never really ended at 230 Second Street. Visitors who spend the night here describe a hollow, watching quality to the air — a stillness that isn't peaceful. People report lights guttering on their own, equipment flickering without cause, and the unmistakable sense of being followed room to room by something that doesn't show itself. Stand in the parlor where Andrew Borden was found and the temperature seems to drop a degree for no reason anyone can name. Whatever is left behind here, it does not feel residual. It feels attentive.

Built in 1845 as a two-family dwelling, the house on Second Street was purchased by Andrew Borden — a self-made banker of considerable means and apparently considerable frugality — because it sat conveniently near his business interests. On the sweltering morning of August 4, 1892, Andrew and his wife Abby were axed to death inside. Their daughter Lizzie was tried, acquitted, and never quite forgiven by public opinion. The house has since cycled through private owners and now operates as a bed and breakfast and museum — because of course it does.