The true story behind Monster's vile Lizzie Borden dinner scene is horrifying

21 September 2026, 16:42 | Updated: 23 September 2026, 11:56

The true story behind Monster's vile Lizzie Borden dinner scene is shocking. Picture: Netflix

By Sam Prance

Did Lizzie Borden try to poison her family? Here's how the disgusting dinner scene in Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story was filmed and what actually happened.

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A lot of the scenes in Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story were devised for TV but the revolting dinner scene happened.

Just like its predecessors, Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is gory from start to finish. Over the course of eight wild episodes, the controversial show includes everything from gruesome mass murders to actual blood bathing. Not to mention, it depicts the killings of Lizzie's father and stepmother, Andrew and Abby Borden, in explicit detail.

One scene that everyone is talking about is the stomach-turning dinner scene in episode 2 and the true story is wild.

Read more: Did Aileen Wuornos visit Lizzie Borden's house? Monster boss explains fake story
Read more: Was Lizzie Borden gay? The truth behind her lesbian relationship in Monster

Did Lizzie Borden try to poison her family? Picture: Netflix

Did the dinner scene in Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story happen?

As shocking as it may seem, the dinner scene in Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story does take inspiration from real life. In the show, Lizzie and Borden housemaid, Bridget Sullivan, attempt to poison Andrew and Abby with deadly oysters and it ends, very graphically, with both Andrew and Abby projectile vomiting and having explosive diarrhoea.

Just two days before Andrew and Abby died in real life, they did both suffer from a violent illness along with Andrew’s brother-in-law, John V. Morse, and Bridget. Abby was so shaken by what happened that she told a doctor the next morning that she was concerned that someone had tried to poison the entire family.

While it's unclear if Andrew and Abby had the exact same side effects as they do in Monster, it's true that the dinner had a serious impact on both of them.

Did Lizzie Borden try to poison her family?

Investigators later deduced that the illness was brought on, not by oysters, but by a swordfish and mutton broth that wasn't stored correctly. During Lizzie's trial, people questioned if she tried to poison her family as she was not ill.

Before the incident, a pharmacist claimed that Lizzie had tried to buy prussic acid from his store before the murders. Lizzie told him that it was to clean a seal-skin cape and the claims was dismissed as irrelevant in her trial.

While it's unlikely that Lizzie conspired with Bridget to poison her family, some people believe that Lizzie did try to poison her family by herself. If so, their violent illness could have been a murder attempt by Lizzie.

Did the dinner scene in Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story happen? Picture: Netflix

How was the dinner scene in Monster episode 2 filmed?

In the scene, both Rebecca Hall (Abby) and Charlie Hunnam (Andrew) have to act out vomiting in gruesome detail. In an interview with The Wrap, director Max Winkler stated: "Rebecca has a very hard time being around vomiting and said very early that she is inclined to vomit if she’s around it. So that was my biggest fear, protecting Rebecca."

He then added: "Charlie was a champion for me. Charlie ate the oysters that were canned because we needed them to be super big. Charlie was a hero that day, but so was Rebecca."

They did a dry rehearsal at first before filming with the fake vomit. Max ended by saying: "That was a very messy, difficult day, but I am very pleased with how it turned out."