Mondo Lizzie Borden

According to JeffreyJustice.com, the website of a psychic medium, Everyday Paranormal will be broadcasting from the Lizzie Borden House on September 25. Along with Liz Souza, Justice will be doing the live broadcast at 8pm EST.

“Everyday Paranormal, hosted by Jeffrey Justice and Liz Souza, airs live each and every Thursday at 8 EST and may be heard online through the ask1 radio network.”

For information on streaming the show on your computer, visit the ASK1 site.

About Jeffrey Justice:

Jeffrey Justice is a well-known psychic and medium from Salem, Massachusetts. He is licensed to work as such by that city and has been a visible presence as a reader on the psychic fair circuit, at shops offering psychic readings, and at many psychic parties for over a decade. Due to his accuracy and inimitable style and approach to his work, public interest in this psychic has rapidly increased. He has performed readings for professional athletes and recording artists. Based only on word-of-mouth advertising he has attracted several high profile clients.

Justice was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts in 1974. He is a native New Englander whose ancestors first arrived at Plymouth Plantation after crossing the Atlantic aboard the Mayflower in 1620. Other Justice ancestors were the first settlers of several communities in Massachusetts, including Newbury, the town in which he was raised, in 1635 and the City of Salem in 1626. Jeffrey is also a direct descendant of Roger Conant, the founder of Salem, Massachusetts and its first “Royal Governor.” This term describes early colonial Governors appointed by the King of England. Conant was born in Devonshire, England in 1592 and died in Beverly, Massachusetts (another town he helped found) in 1679. There is a large statue of Conant which looms above the street by Salem’s city Common.

Jeffrey’s family has had a long association and relationship with the paranormal which began over a century ago, when some of its members began attending Spiritualist meetings and séances in the 1890’s. Since that time, the family—for the most part— maintained an affiliation with Spiritualism. For generations, there have been psychics in his family. Few, however, discussed this with people outside the family. Jeffrey Justice is a fourth generation psychic and spirit medium.

His own psychic abilities were recognized by a grandmother while he was quite young. She encouraged him to pursue studying Mediumship as well as various forms of divination. His study of the Tarot began before he was a teenager. He is skilled at reading palms and Tarot cards, and with many other methods for predicting future events.

Justice was frequently ill as a child, a trait which he shares with some of the best known psychics. Though already regarded as a child with psychic ability by family, his talent increased after recovering from encephalitis at age nine. Subsequent to his recovery, he was able to see, or sense, people’s true motives and to know many details of their lives which were kept secret. He also became aware of his Spirit Guide, and following that his ability to communicate with the dead developed quickly.

Jeffrey Justice had worked as a professional psychic intermittently since he was twenty two. His decision to work only as a psychic and medium was made more recently, and was based in part on enthusiastic reaction from clients. Other factors which influenced his choice were more personal, but center mainly around his inability to find satisfaction professionally in any other career. He felt, and continues to feel as though working at any other occupation would betray what he understands to be his true calling. His life’s work concerns more than simply earning a living; it has as much to do with educating people about what he does— and what his message means to them.

In addition to working as a psychic consultant and medium, he is also a workshop instructor. In that capacity he teaches students how they may heighten their own innate psychic abilities. He also lectures on topics such as the history of Modern American Spiritualism and its relationship to major movements in our history; such as the movement to abolish slavery and the proto-feminist movement. Jeffrey holds a bachelor’s degree in English, and is currently working on materials for publication.

An ABC Family series called Scariest Places, hosted by Linda Blair, and featuring the narration of the woman who was the psychic on Poltergeist (Zelda Rubenstein). They send a family to a supposed haunted location, armed with cameras, to experience the place. Mostly what they get are a lot of scared people screaming as they think they see and hear things.

Enjoy!

The late great Ed McBain had a theory about the Lizzie Borden case and he detailed it on a show called Case Reopened. Here is his idea of who did what to whom and why.

The next meeting of the Fall River History Club will be on Wednesday, September 17, 2008, at the Fall River Public Library at 6:30PM.

The speaker will be Bob Kitchen who will speak about the early entertainments in Fall River, focusing on the circus and wild west shows. It will be fun!

Come one, come all! This is a free event.

GardenBay Films has collected in one place all of their Lizzie Mini Movies.

You can see them for yourself here.

Kudos to filmmaker Richard Behrens for the project and to all who participated in the movies. They are really fine works!

A Very Creepy Blog (yes, that is the name) posted on September 2 that a comic book called “Creepy” once published a Lizzie Borden story called “Reasonable Doubt.”

As far as I can tell, the issue was published July 1967. There are lots of copies out there on the Internets—so you are bound to be able to pick one up inexpensively.

Fourth is “A Reasonable Doubt” by Tony Williamsune (art) and Ron Parker (story). A man rescues a girl, Elizabeth, who is pursued by a mob. She tells him that they accused her of being a witch after her parent’s deaths. She tells him of her past and they head to a cabin in the woods. It is only there that he discovers the truth, that she’s Lizzie Borden, who quickly comes after him with a hatchet!

Tomorrow’s USA Today features a large article on the lawsuit between Fall River’s Lizzie Borden B&B/Museum and Salem’s True Story of Lizzie Borden. Penned by John Fritze, it is a study of a battle that is soon to play itself out in the courts.

Fritze contacted me and we spoke at length for the story. Its publication was held up by the two political conventions and the two hurricanes! (BTW, I didn’t give him the 90 minute timeframe. So don’t get all agitated about that one, ok? Plus I told him there was NO fingerprint evidence used by the police during that time. It got a tiny bit misconstrued, but not too bad, I think.)

Read it here!

I put together a short film that includes a bunch of different haunted/scary lizzie clips that have made it into video or TV. They are introduced before each clip. Some are funny, some sad, some scary. You decide which is which!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, there are soon to be several prominent stories to be published concerning the to-do between Fall River and Salem. The Fall River Herald News ran their piece on Tuesday and early this morning the Boston Globe posted online the piece that will run today.

There is still another big story out there, which should come to us this week.

Lawsuit hits new Borden attraction
Fall River house says trademark is violated
By John Laidler, Globe Correspondent | September 4, 2008

A new Salem attraction devoted to one of the state’s most enduring murder mysteries is itself the subject of controversy, including a federal lawsuit.

The True Story of Lizzie Borden features exhibits about the celebrated 1892 case in which Borden was accused of killing her father and stepmother with a hatchet in their Fall River home. A jury acquitted Borden.

Even before The True Story of Lizzie Borden opened its doors on the Essex Street pedestrian mall last month, the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast in Fall River filed suit in US District Court, contending that the Salem attraction was infringing on its federal trademark, Lizzie Borden Museum. Officials of The True Story of Lizzie Borden deny the charge.

Others in Fall River are unhappy about a Salem business focused on what they consider a Fall River story.

“It almost seems opportunistic that a city like Salem, with such a large and diverse series of attractions and museums, would actually do something like this,” said Peter Kortright, president and chief executive of the Fall River Area Chamber of Commerce. “What if Fall River or New Bedford decides to open a witch museum or build a House of Seven Gables? It sort of muddies the water.”

Kortright said he hopes the opening of the Salem attraction serves as a wake-up call for his city to do more to bolster its cultural economy.

But Leonard Pickel, manager and part owner of The True Story of Lizzie Borden, said he was simply acting on a business opportunity.

“Salem brings in 600,000-some odd people a year . . . to learn about the witchcraft hysteria in Salem,” he said. “Lizzie Borden is Massachusetts history and we are 15 minutes north of Boston. Fall River is 50 minutes south of Boston. So it seemed like a no-brainer to us for a long time.”

Referring to Fall River, he said, “I can understand their feeling that they own Lizzie Borden, but . . . it belongs to Massachusetts as much as Fall River.” He added that his attraction could even help Fall River by prominently mentioning the city in its exhibits.

Located in Borden’s former Fall River home where the murder took place, the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast offers lodging, tours, and a gift shop, according to its website. The business obtained a trademark for Lizzie Borden Museum in 2002, according to the lawsuit.

The suit alleges that the Salem business infringed on that trademark through its use of the names The True Story of Lizzie Borden Gift Shop and Museum and The True Story of Lizzie Borden, and its use of Lizzie Borden Museum in its website domain and e-mail.

Someone answering the phone at the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast said the business would have no comment. Jeremy Blackowicz, attorney for the bed and breakfast, said, “We do not comment on pending litigation.”

A federal judge on Aug. 22 granted The True Story of Lizzie Borden an extension until Sept. 10 to respond to the lawsuit and a preliminary injunction sought by the Fall River bed and breakfast. A hearing is set for Sept. 25.

Pickel said, “We wouldn’t have opened the business if we felt it was in violation of their trademark.”

He said his business had used the words gift shop and museum for descriptive reasons, and has voluntarily dropped them from its materials. Pickel said he has no plans to drop the Web domain, which he said was registered in 2001 - prior to the bed and breakfast receiving its trademark - and no plans to change the e-mail address.

It boasts no original artifacts, but Pickel said the Salem site offers period antiques; text; enlarged, reproduced photographs; artifact reproductions; and a mock-up of the courtroom where Borden was tried.

“The reason we call it The True Story of Lizzie Borden is not because it’s the only place you can learn about Lizzie Borden, but it’s a place you can cut through all the rumor and myths you’ve heard . . . to get to the truth of the story,” he said.

Salem Chamber of Commerce director Rinus Oosthoek said that a Lizzie Borden attraction is “not something I think that anybody else in this area would come up with as an idea to start in Salem.”

But “it’s a choice of the entrepreneur to do what he thinks best for his business. This owner thought Salem would make a good choice,” he said.

Fall River Mayor Robert Correia said he would prefer that the new Lizzie Borden attraction be located in his city. But he said if the location of a Lizzie Borden attraction in Salem “would add any economic benefit to our city, we would want to take advantage of it.”

The Fall River Historical Society has the largest collection of Borden trial exhibits and is the largest repository of material on the case and Borden’s life, according to its curator, Michael Martins.

He said his board at its meeting Sept. 10 will discuss a request by the Salem attraction for copies of some of its materials.

Pickel, meanwhile, said he sees a bright side to the controversy.

“Love me or hate me, it’s gotten Lizzie Borden on the front page,” he said.

Tuesday’s paper will feature a piece by Deborah Allard about the lawsuit filed by the Lizzie Borden B&B against The True Story of Lizzie Borden. It also nicely advertises the new exhibit and offers the reader photographs of the Salem museum, courtesy of moi.

Here is a link to the piece online tonight, before the paper hits the streets.

Thanks Deborah for the plug!

This is big if it proves to be true. Jack Tarrance. He may be a household word in a few weeks.

Read all about it here.

Watch the news here.

This clip is from the Discovery Channel’s 2004 documentary titled “Lizzie Borden Had an Axe.” In this short piece, Professor Thomas Mauriello and Detective Tom Lange (of OJ Simpson fame) examine the handleless hatchet and Abby’s scarf.

This video is meant as a tandem to the outstanding essay by Kat Koorey in the latest issue of The Hatchet. The article fully examines the history of Abby’s scarf and traces it from first mention to its current location. It is a remarkable piece of journalism and highly recommended! It is titled, “On the Trail of the Bloody Handkerchief.”

Hard copies (B&W or Color) and digital downloads of this issue are available here.

Two pretty big news pieces on the lawsuit between the Lizzie Borden B&B/Museum in Fall River and The True Story of Lizzie Borden in Salem are slated to run next week, one nationally. The Democratic Convention and the hurricane coming to the Gulf Coast have held them up. MondoLizzie will report them to you here when they hit the presses.

In Edmonds, Washington, the Driftwood Players will present a new play about Lizzie Borden entitled “A Memory of Lizzie” by David Foxton.

• 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 24-26, “A Memory of Lizzie.” Transport back to Victorian America and glimpse into Lizzie Borden’s childhood, the woman who allegedly took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks. Note special times for this production.

Show times are 7 p.m. Sundays, 8 p.m. Mondays at the Wade James Theatre, 950 Main Street, Edmonds. For tickets call 425-774-9600, or visit www.driftwoodplayers.com.

Link.

E.J. Dionne is a substantial journalist. He works for the Washington Post and appears frequently as a commentator on This Week with George Stephanopoulos and Meet the Press. He wrote a sweet piece about being from Fall River and Ted Kennedy that you might find interesting. It captures the spirit of Massachusetts very nicely.

Oh, and by the way, when Dionne appears on This Week it is like seeing double. George Stephanopoulos is also from Fall River!