Did Lizzie Borden kill her parents? Netflix’s Monster show shouldn’t be so sure.

Key Points:

• Netflix’s Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, created by Ryan Murphy, dramatizes the infamous 1892 murders with graphic violence and suggests a romantic partnership between Lizzie Borden and the maid Bridget in committing the crimes.
• Rachel McCarthy James, author of Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder, critiques the show for ignoring key historical details and notes that the actual murder weapon was likely not the ax featured in the series.
• James highlights that Lizzie Borden remains the most famous American ax murderer in popular culture, but she believes Lizzie was probably innocent, citing inconsistencies in the evidence and the failure to find the true murder weapon.
• The show takes creative liberties, including compressing timelines and mixing in other unrelated ax murders, while also portraying characters with altered ages and personalities for dramatic effect.
• The enduring fascination with Lizzie Borden’s case stems from its unresolved mystery, Victorian social context, and the mythologizing of the ax murderer trope, which has evolved into a campy cultural reference over time.