The spot where Andrew Borden was murdered.

And the spot where Abby Borden was murdered, complete with crime scene photos on the wall and dresser.

Punxsutawney Phil was spot-on with his February 2nd prediction of six more weeks of winter. Since Groundhog Day, we’ve been slammed with snowstorm after snowstorm, resulting in dangerous driving conditions and plenty of muscle pain from shoveling so much. New England has been hit with so much snow recently that we’re running out of places to pile it up. As I type this, there is a snow bank next to my car that comes up to the middle of my passenger’s side window because there is simply no where else to throw it.

And although unexpected days off from work can be fun every once in a great while- there is only so much Netflix a person can watch before they begin to go a little stir crazy.

Yesterday, the cabin fever was too much for me to bear, and I braved another incoming snowstorm to go for a drive while the roads were clearer than they have been in days, and just do something for an afternoon that didn’t involve marathoning TV shows for hours on end. I ended up in Fall River, and, more specifically- the Lizzie Borden house- where Abby and Andrew Borden met their demise via a hatchet to their heads in 1892. The house, which now serves as a fully-functioning bed & breakfast, also gives hourly tours. I couldn’t resist, and took said tour of the home with another small group of people in the area who I assume were also combating cabin fever.

Our tour guide was friendly, funny, and informative- and let us linger in the rooms to examine photographs and snap pictures of our own- and the house itself was beautiful and cozy. If you can overlook the fact that two gruesome, violent unsolved murders took place there, and the rumors of it being haunted- then it’d be a lovely place to spend a weekend (I’m actually looking into it since I ain’t afraid of no ghosts…)

When the tour was over, it was doing more than just flurrying outside- but I wasn’t done. I headed down the street from the Borden house to Oak Grove Cemetery to see the Borden Family burial site. Thankfully, a family that had been in my tour group also had the same idea, which made locating the plot a little easier since the cemetery is huge. Lizzie was right alongside Andrew, Abby, and her sister Emma’s graves, but hers was the only one that had flowers placed near it (and what looked like a piece of candy.)

When I was done taking pictures, and apologizing out loud to the inhabitants of the graves I was tromping and slipping over to get back to my car, I headed home- which took me 2 1/2 hours longer than it should have because of the severity of this most recent snow/ice storm. Overall, though- it was an interesting afternoon. If you’re ever in Fall River, I highly recommend checking the Borden house out. The tour isn’t expensive and it’s a unique (if not slightly morbid,) way to spend an hour.

I didn’t leave empty handed, either. There’s a tiny gift shop in a converted barn out behind the house, and ever a fan of unique jewelry, I picked up one of these Lizzie Borden cameo necklaces- complete with a hatchet trinket by the clasp- that I’ll undoubtedly wear around Halloween.