Monster: Lizzie Borden and its most outlandish scene on Netflix
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story doesn't just reconstruct one of America's most famous crimes. The Netflix series turns the case into a provocative period fantasy featuring romance, violence, time jumps, and even a peculiar Victorian-inspired sex device that has become one of its most talked-about scenes.The fourth installment of the
Monster anthology, created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, stars
Ella Beatty as Lizzie Borden and
Vicky Krieps as Bridget "Maggie" Sullivan.The production is based on the real-life murders of Andrew and Abby Borden that took place in 1892, but it quickly departs from documentary territory to build its own version of events.And that's the key to understanding it:
what appears on screen should not be mistaken for a historical reconstruction of the Borden case.
The strange scene in Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story
One of the moments that draws the most attention occurs when Bridget Sullivan hands Lizzie a strange, mechanical-looking sex device.The contraption looks like a cross between the Victorian era and steampunk aesthetics: tubes, mechanisms and a deliberately extravagant design.The scene fits with the tone Ryan Murphy uses throughout much of the season.Rather than trying to faithfully represent everyday life in 1892, the production exaggerates certain elements to build a visually provocative story.Libertad Digital refers to the object as a
"steam-powered dildo", precisely because of its peculiar appearance and function within the fiction.
Did vibrators really exist in Lizzie Borden’s time?
Here the story gets considerably more interesting.Mechanical vibrating devices
did exist in the late 19th century, although their history is quite different from what's often repeated in films, series and articles about the Victorian era.There are documents from the 1890s about devices called "vibrators" used mainly for massage and medical treatments. The Wellcome Collection, for instance, holds documentation of a device patented in 1890 and described in a publication from 1891.Mechanical and electrical devices designed to generate therapeutic vibrations were also developed.
The myth of vibrators and "female hysteria"
For years, the story that Victorian doctors used vibrators to induce orgasms in women diagnosed with "hysteria" became widely popularized.However, this historical interpretation is disputed.The Wellcome Collection notes that later researchers have seriously questioned that version, explaining that while vibrating devices were indeed used in medicine,
there is no solid historical basis for claiming that doctors routinely used them to produce orgasms as a treatment for hysteria.Therefore, the peculiar machine that appears in
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story may be loosely inspired by real late-19th-century technologies, but its sexual use belongs mainly to the realm of fiction and television provocation.
Ryan Murphy isn’t trying to make a documentary
That detail helps explain the season's overall approach.The series uses historical figures and real events, but builds invented situations, unproven relationships and connections to other criminal cases around them.Ella Beatty herself has explained that she worked with a
heavily fictionalized version of Lizzie created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, using historical facts as a starting point rather than a strict boundary for the script.That's why viewers will find authentic elements mixed with major narrative liberties.
Lizzie Borden was never convicted of the murders
This is the most important historical fact to keep in mind when discussing the series.On August 4, 1892,
Andrew Borden and his wife Abby Borden were found brutally murdered in the family home in Fall River, Massachusetts.Lizzie Borden became the prime suspect.She was arrested, put on trial and ultimately
acquitted in 1893.She was never tried again for the crimes.More than 130 years later, there is still no definitive judicial answer as to who killed Andrew and Abby.Netflix, by contrast, takes a far less ambiguous stance for its fiction, presenting a version in which Lizzie is directly involved in the murders.
Were Lizzie Borden and Bridget Sullivan lovers?
The series turns the relationship between
Lizzie and Bridget "Maggie" Sullivan into one of its main dramatic drivers.Vicky Krieps portrays Bridget as a figure who awakens Lizzie emotionally and sexually, ending up deeply bonded with her.Historically, Bridget Sullivan did exist.She was an Irish immigrant who worked as a domestic servant for the Borden family and was in the house on the day of the murders.She also testified during the trial and was an important witness.What has not been established is that she had a romantic relationship with Lizzie.
There is no solid historical evidence that the two were lovers or that Bridget was involved in the murders.The romantic interpretation belongs mainly to the fiction built around the case.
The chemistry between Ella Beatty and Vicky Krieps carries the story
Although many of the situations are invented, the relationship between the two characters works as one of the season's narrative pillars.Ella Beatty presents Lizzie as a young woman trapped by the social, family and sexual norms of the late 19th century.Vicky Krieps, meanwhile, portrays Bridget as a disruptive presence who introduces Lizzie to a completely different world.The series uses that relationship to develop one of its main themes:
female repression and the way violence can be turned into a fantasy of liberation.It's not a historical thesis about Lizzie Borden.It's the interpretation Murphy and Brennan have built for
Monster.
Ella Beatty plays Lizzie Borden
One of the season's great discoveries is
Ella Beatty, who takes on the lead role.
The actress was born on April 8, 2000, and is the daughter of
Warren Beatty and Annette Bening.She trained at Juilliard and had previously appeared in
Feud: Capote vs. The Swans before taking on the role of Lizzie Borden.In
Monster, her performance moves between vulnerability, desire, frustration and violence.The actress herself acknowledges that the historical case allows for numerous interpretations, and that her job mainly consisted of developing the character imagined by the series' creators.
Sarah Paulson appears as Aileen Wuornos
Another of the season's big surprises is the appearance of
Sarah Paulson as Aileen Wuornos.Wuornos was an American serial killer convicted of murders committed between 1989 and 1990 and executed in Florida in 2002.The series directly connects her story to Lizzie Borden's, despite the two having lived in completely different eras.
Was Aileen Wuornos obsessed with Lizzie Borden?
There's no evidence of that.Netflix itself acknowledges that
there is no proof that Wuornos was obsessed with the Borden murders.The connection is a narrative choice made by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan.Within the fiction, Wuornos functions as a kind of symbolic heir to Lizzie.The creators use both cases to explore female violence, trauma, punishment and the way certain women accused or convicted of murder end up becoming figures of popular culture.
Aileen Wuornos never visited the Borden house as the series shows
The production even goes so far as to portray Wuornos as directly connected to the house where the murders took place.That, too, is not historically documented.There is no evidence that Aileen Wuornos ever visited the house or had any particular fascination with Lizzie Borden.Moreover, the house began operating as a tourist lodging in
1996, by which time Wuornos had already spent years in prison.It's another clear example of how
Monster sacrifices historical chronology in favor of a thematic connection.
Nance O’Neil is also altered by the fiction
The season likewise takes significant liberties with
Nance O'Neil, an American actress who really did become friends with Lizzie Borden.In the series, Nance appears connected to events surrounding the trial.But there's a significant chronological problem.Lizzie was acquitted in
1893, while her friendship with O'Neil began around
1904, more than a decade later.So her involvement in earlier events belongs to the dramatization.
Why does the series change the real story so much?
Because Ryan Murphy's true goal seems to go beyond solving the Borden case.The series uses Lizzie as a cultural symbol.The real murder becomes the starting point for exploring:
- sexual repression;
- social expectations placed on women;
- family relationships;
- violence;
- criminal fame;
- public perception of women accused of murder;
- the construction of true-crime myths.
Director Max Winkler told Reuters that one of the season's interests was exploring the constraints placed on women in the 1890s and the idea of what's known as "female rage."
The real Lizzie Borden versus Netflix’s character
The fundamental difference can be summed up as follows.
In the real story
Lizzie Borden was accused of murdering her father and stepmother.She was put on trial.She was acquitted.It was never proven in court that she was responsible.
In the series
Netflix imagines what could have happened and presents a much more concrete dramatic answer.It builds psychological motivations.It adds sexual and romantic relationships.It links Lizzie to other murders.
It introduces Aileen Wuornos.It alters chronologies.And it turns Bridget Sullivan into a key piece of the events.That contrast is precisely what makes the series so talked about.
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story has 8 episodes
The season consists of
eight episodes and has been available on Netflix since
September 17, 2026.This is the fourth story in the
Monster anthology, following the seasons devoted to Jeffrey Dahmer, the Menendez brothers and Ed Gein.This is also the franchise's first installment centered on a woman.
Is Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story historically accurate?
Not entirely.And it probably doesn't intend to be.The production uses real events as a basic framework but transforms them into a story of psychological horror, melodrama, romance and satire.That's why scenes as outlandish as the alleged Victorian sex device shouldn't be analyzed as evidence of how Lizzie Borden actually lived.They function mainly as part of the stylized universe Ryan Murphy has built around the character.The production itself acknowledges that it's working with an imagined and highly fictionalized version of Lizzie.
Frequently asked questions about Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story
Did the "steam-powered dildo" scene with Lizzie Borden really happen?
There is no evidence that an episode like the one shown in the series ever actually took place between Lizzie Borden and Bridget Sullivan. Mechanical vibrating devices did exist in the late 19th century, but the Netflix scene is a dramatization.
Did vibrators exist in 1892?
Yes, mechanical devices used to produce vibrations and therapeutic massage did exist. There is historical documentation of these kinds of devices from the late 19th century. However, the well-known story that Victorian doctors routinely used them to induce orgasms as a treatment for "hysteria" is heavily disputed by historians.
Was Lizzie Borden really a murderer?
Lizzie Borden was accused of murdering Andrew and Abby Borden, but she was
acquitted in 1893. She was never convicted, and the crime remains without a definitive judicial resolution.
Were Lizzie Borden and Bridget Sullivan lovers?
There is no solid historical evidence of a romantic relationship between them. The relationship shown by Netflix belongs mainly to fiction.
Did Bridget Sullivan really exist?
Yes. Bridget Sullivan was the Borden family's domestic servant and was in the house when the murders occurred. She also testified during Lizzie's trial.
Did Aileen Wuornos know Lizzie Borden?
No. Lizzie Borden died in 1927, and Aileen Wuornos was born in 1956. There is also no evidence that Wuornos was particularly obsessed with the Borden case. Their connection in the series is fictional.
Who plays Lizzie Borden?
Ella Beatty plays Lizzie Borden in the Netflix series.
How old is Ella Beatty?
Ella Beatty was born on
April 8, 2000, making her
26 years old as of September 2026.
How old was Lizzie Borden at the time of the murders?
Lizzie Borden was born in 1860 and was
32 years old when Andrew and Abby Borden were murdered in August 1892.
Who plays Bridget Sullivan?
Luxembourgish-German actress
Vicky Krieps plays Bridget "Maggie" Sullivan.
Who plays Aileen Wuornos?
Sarah Paulson plays Aileen Wuornos, whose story is fictionally connected to Lizzie Borden's in the series.
How many episodes does Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story have?
The season has
eight episodes.
Monster turns Lizzie Borden’s story into a provocative fantasy
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story becomes more interesting once viewers understand they are not watching a judicial reconstruction of the 1892 crime.Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan use the case as raw material to build something entirely different.The relationship with Bridget, the Victorian sex device, the appearance of Aileen Wuornos and the chronological changes are all part of that strategy.Some ideas are rooted in real figures or technologies.Others are entirely invented.The line between the two is deliberately blurred.And perhaps that's exactly why, more than 130 years after the Fall River murders,
Lizzie Borden continues to generate new stories, new theories, and now also one of Netflix's most outlandish tales.
Sources consulted
