Lizzie Borden Society Forum

The one aspect I always found most chilling about the events of that awful day was the laugh that Bridget heard from the landing while she was fumbling w/the locks to let Andrew in. It’s been presumed the laugh was from Lizzie. Was Lizzie ever asked about that laugh? Did she admit to it?

If Lizzie were guilty & she overheard Bridget’s expletive at the front door, would she really laugh – knowing she had just butchered a person? I can’t see having just killed someone & then finding something funny (even if it may have been funny under ordinary circumstances). Or was she so detached from reality at that point? That possibility is what really sends chills through me.

And one other question: What the heck is “pshaw?” Was that even a curse word at the time? I’ve never heard of it before. The only thing I could find on it was that it was an expression of disbelief - but nothing about being an expletive.

Pshaw is used instead of a 'bad' word like sh!t or dam. Little old ladies around here still use it, usually when frustrated, and I still giggle when I hear it.
I suspect that Bridget used a bad word (not pshaw) and it hit lizzie funny.

Agree...I've always thought that the nervous tension of killing her step-mother an hour and a half before, and the sound of Bridget cursing b/c she couldn't open the door caused Lizzie to involuntarily let out a laugh.