'Emetophobia' triggering scene in Ryan Murphy's new Lizzie Borden Monster series is actually based on a real-life event
True crime fans have been loving sinking their teeth into Ryan Murphy's latest Monster instalment, this time all about Lizzie Borden.
Titled Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, the eight-part series boasts a star-studded cast including the likes of Ella Beatty as Lizzie Borden alongside Sarah Paulson as Aileen Wuornos, Charlie Hunnam as Andrew Borden and Billie Lourd as Emma Borden.
The series in question is a loose interpretation of the 1892 axe murders murder of Lizzie's father and stepmother, Andrew and Abby. Still, Netflix viewers have been instructed to take much of the content with a whole gallon of salt.
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However, amidst all the speculation over what's based on real life or what's simply a matter of artistic fabrication, there's one particularly stomach-churning scene that absolutely did take place all those years ago.
Check out the official trailer here:
Blamed for triggering 'emetophobia' in viewers, the scene in question lands in the second episode.
Lizzie and her maid, Bridget 'Maggie' Sullivan (Vicky Krieps), plot to kill Lizzie's parents with poisoned oysters.
However, much to their dismay, their cunning plan instead ends with a horrific amount of projectile vomiting and diarrhoea.
Now, for anyone not clued up on their medical lingo, emetophobia is a specific phobia involving an intense, overwhelming fear of vomiting or witnessing others throw up.
Obviously, no one particularly enjoys watching someone puke their guts out, but emetophobia sufferers may experience severe panic and anxiety and will go to great lengths to try to avoid any contact with vomit in their daily lives.
After watching the scene, one Reddit user dubbed it 'an emetophobe’s nightmare'.
Another viewer replied: "I held my ears and covered my head and said 'let me know when it’s [expletive] over'.. Other than that scene? love the show."
Someone else joked: "If you think about it positively, it could be used as exposure therapy!"
And a final social media user echoed: "I watched the episode last night and would have loved to have seen this warning prior. I also hate vomiting and vomit. I have overcome a lot of it as I have aged. But that episode made me so sick watching it."
As we say, the show takes a bunch of creative liberties when it comes to Lizzie Borden’s case, which has since remained unsolved even after all these years, but this particular plot line is far from fantasy.
The real Borden family did suffer a mysterious illness shortly before Andrew and Abby Borden were murdered, but there is no established evidence that Lizzie deliberately poisoned them. Netflix’s Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story takes considerably more dramatic liberties with the episode.
On 2 August 1892, Andrew and Abby became violently ill with vomiting and stomach problems, while the family maid, Bridget Sullivan, also reported feeling unwell. Abby was concerned enough to see the family doctor the following morning, fearing the household had been poisoned.
The food was also different from the show’s version. Contemporary testimony pointed to leftover swordfish, mutton and mutton broth, with spoiled or improperly stored food later suggested as a possible cause, per the Historic Lizzie Borden House.
However, the exact cause of the illness was never established.
Because Lizzie appeared less affected than the others, and the illness occurred roughly 36 hours before the murders, suspicions of deliberate poisoning later became part of the case.
But there is no conclusive evidence that Lizzie caused the illness.
Lizzie was acquitted of murdering Andrew and Abby in 1893. No one was ever convicted, leaving the murders officially unresolved.
Monsters: The Lizzie Borden Story is currently available to stream on Netflix.
Topics: TV And Film, Netflix, True Crime, Real Life
Rhiannon Ingle