Lizzie Borden Society Forum

Bridget told the police the Lizzie was at the top of the stairs, and she laughed. Does any one have clue as to why lizzie laughed. Maybe she was laughing at the murderer in his/her disguise?

I don't think anyone has come up with an explanation for why Lizzie giggled or laughed at the top of the stairs. Bridget was opening the front door for Andrew at the time and she was perhaps fumbling with it somewhat, uttering "Oh, pshaw!" at some time while doing so. Those may or may not have been her exact words, but if Bridget was in the habit of cautioning others about not stepping in the horsepshaw when crossing the street, perhaps we can accept them verbatim. Lizzie may have been amused by what might have appeared to be a struggle for the door, or maybe the expression under the circumstances made her laugh. On the other hand, the sight of a six and a half foot, three hundred pound, knuckle dragging, drooling accomplice in a bunny suit might have appeared comical, too!

Maybe someone should have told Lizzies "little" helper to dress down a bit for the event! lol That's too funny, Yooper! Was Lizzie a nervous giggler, I wonder? Honestly, had she just a while before, and not but a few feet away, butchered her step-mother, I can't for the life of me think of anything that would have her uttering a carefree giggle! But if Bridget heard the laugh or giggle, one thing is certain, it wasn't Abby!

It was either the bunny suit or a ballerina costume, so maybe the right choice was made after all. Can you imagine Lizzie's reaction if Abby actually had giggled at that moment?!

Yooper wrote:It was either the bunny suit or a ballerina costume, so maybe the right choice was made after all. Can you imagine Lizzie's reaction if Abby actually had giggled at that moment?!

I'm not sure about Lizzies reaction, but I know what mine would have been! Andrew would have been felled by the door coming down on him as I blew through it on my way out of there!!! lol

I wonder if Lizzie could have blamed Andrew's death on Abby under those circumstances?

Well, I was going to say he'd still be alive if Abby hadn't giggled, but that's not exactly the case is it? She might use the temperarily insane plea, cuz if she wasn't to start with she'd probably qualify after hearing Abby giggle!

It would have been an ignominious end for Andrew, trampled to death by a recently goosed daughter. Lizzie would still have to explain what had goosed her, though.

Well, she could say she'd just discovered the body, and it wasn't a giggle Bridget heard but just a quiet version of the screaming me me's!! And if Bridget didn't move fast enough, the whole giggle thing would be a mote point anyway. cuz she'd be laying face first on the door which Andrew was under!

Maybe this all occurred to Lizzie at the top of the stairs, a simple solution to her dilemma, and that's what she was giggling about! Take out Andrew and Bridget in one mad dash and blame it on Abby!

I like that sceniro Yooper. Blame the wicked stepmother!

She was hiding her lover up there and he said somethig to her as she was leaving the area? Nevermind. Sorry.

It seems that she laughed at Bridget when she had to unlock all three locks. Earlier she told Bridget to be sure to lock the door if she went out because Mrs. Borden was not home, so that made me think that during times someone was at home they didn't seem as concerned about locking doors.

Yooper wrote:Maybe this all occurred to Lizzie at the top of the stairs, a simple solution to her dilemma, and that's what she was giggling about! Take out Andrew and Bridget in one mad dash and blame it on Abby!

Well, it wouldn't have been as hard to fathom as what she did tell them!! lol I still have a really hard time with Lizzie standing up there laughing, it just doesn't fit some how.

Well, I got the impression that cussing was a big "no no" in those days, and I picture Bridget wrestling with the locks, and saying "oh sh*t" under her breath, but Lizzie was about to come downstairs, and laughed at her because no one could scold "maggie" and it would seem normal to laugh had Lizzie and Bridget ever discussed cussing at some time in the past. Maybe they made fun of the older people who thought one cuss word sent you to hell. I doubt Andrew heard the cuss through the door.

That makes sense, until you remember that Abby is laying up there dead and presumably Lizzie did it. How then can she giggle or laugh about anything, I mean under those circumstances? You'd think she'd be grave, very grave.

shakiboo wrote:That makes sense, until you remember that Abby is laying up there dead and presumably Lizzie did it. How then can she giggle or laugh about anything, I mean under those circumstances? You'd think she'd be grave, very grave.

Maybe she was laughing because she felt Abby got what she deserved. But that is rather mean.

If she knew Abby was dead then it was probably an evil laugh, but if she didn't know Abby was dead then I still think she laughed at Bridget unless she had a friend up there or answered voices in her head. Did she say what she did upstairs ( I have to refresh), because Bridget said she heard her laugh but did not see her for about five or ten minutes later when she came through the front entry. That being so if I remember from the preliminary correctly.

I don't think Lizzie was evil, I believe what she did was though, and that's still with an IF she truly did it. There really are innocent people in prison, and I hate to even think it, but I'm sure there are innocent people who have paid a price with their lives, for something they did not do. Yes, it sure looks like she did it, but still, there's just too many things we can't know, and will probably never know. Tha's why this is so addicting and so fascinating!

Even if Lizzie didn't do it, she was certainly aware it had been done, and that was an odd place to let go with a laugh or giggle. If Bridget came to the conclusion that Lizzie was the culprit the day of the murders and she remembered Lizzie's laugh, it might go a long way to explain why she was in such a hurry to get away from the Borden house. Anyone who could stand mere steps away from Abby and find something funny enough to laugh out loud about, then go on to murder her father, might not be too tightly wrapped!

shakiboo wrote:... I'm sure there are innocent people who have paid a price with their lives, for something they did not do. ...

That's very true, Pam. Leo Frank is a good example.

Yooper wrote:Even if Lizzie didn't do it, she was certainly aware it had been done, and that was an odd place to let go with a laugh or giggle. If Bridget came to the conclusion that Lizzie was the culprit the day of the murders and she remembered Lizzie's laugh, it might go a long way to explain why she was in such a hurry to get away from the Borden house. Anyone who could stand mere steps away from Abby and find something funny enough to laugh out loud about, then go on to murder her father, might not be too tightly wrapped!

I agree. I have always thought that if Lizzie didn't kill Abby and Andrew, she knew who did. Her laugh at that particular time and place was not only evil, but inappropriate. I have always felt that Bridget put two and two together fairly quickly, and wanted out of there as fast as possible.

Thanks Judy! My point there, was that everyone believed those people to be quilty, and all the evidence, and in some cases, eye-witnesses pointed to their quilt, and yet......... And Yooper that might be true, but once again, if I'd been Bridget, there's no way I'd want to spend a single night in that house. I couldn't believe that anyone would, Lizzie and Emma included. Years ago someone broke into my house while I was out of town and when I got back and saw that a stranger had been in my home, going through my things, the house took on a whole different feeling for me. Gone was the sense of home and well being, and in it's place was dread and a feeling of being threatend. That was just having a stranger in the house going through my things, how much worse would it have been to have two family members hacked to death by an unknown person? If you see what I mean?

shakiboo wrote:Thanks Judy! My point there, was that everyone believed those people to be quilty, and all the evidence, and in some cases, eye-witnesses pointed to their quilt, and yet......... …

You're welcome, Pam. I was sure that your point was what your posted, and that is why Leo Frank came to mind.

Sometimes people laugh in tense situations to relieve stress that the body has built up. There would be no more suitable time for Lizzie to laugh - her step-mother was dead and her father was walking through the door. She could not predict his movements in the house. Would he find the body? Would the story about the note from the sick friend work? Could she actually go through with killing her father, if she in fact did it? Stress!

See that you just joined BedfordCord. Weclome to the forum.

snokkums wrote:

shakiboo wrote:That makes sense, until you remember that Abby is laying up there dead and presumably Lizzie did it. How then can she giggle or laugh about anything, I mean under those circumstances? You'd think she'd be grave, very grave.

Maybe she was laughing because she felt Abby got what she deserved. But that is rather mean.

Good questions, Snokks. I have often wondered about this. Lizzie may have been laughing at the thought that her deed was just about over or that her "tyrant" father was about to breath his last breath. Lizzie may have been delighted at what she was doing. "One buzzard down, one buzzard to go." She could also have found Bridget's fumbling with the lock a bit funny. Bridget may have been saying more than just "Oh Pshaw."

-1bigsteve (o:

I personally think that her laugh was one of glee-like she was getting a kick out of what she had just done to her stepmother, and planned to do to her father soon.

I personally always thought she was detached enough from the murder she had just committed to get a chuckle out of Bridget's "swearing"!

I've always thought Lizzie was laughing at Bridget's annoyance about having to let Andrew in. Bridget may have expected that Andrew would be able to let himself in the front door, so maybe she was surprised that the door was triple locked at that time. If the rear screen door was hooked, Bridget was the last one in and she would have hooked it, so she would have been aware that Andrew couldn't get in the rear door. If Bridget had been aware the front door was triple locked she would have had to let Andrew in one way or the other, and she would not likely have expressed annoyance.

Bridget may have been having trouble with the locks, maybe Andrew was undoing from the outside what she was doing from the inside. Maybe Bridget expected Andrew to arrive a bit later and planned to unhook the rear door at that time. She might have been annoyed by the interruption to her work. For that matter, Bridget hadn't seen Abby since Bridget went outdoors, she might have thought it was Abby at the door if she knew Abby couldn't get in the rear door. Way too many possibilities!