The Lizzie Borden Story has brought one of America’s most notorious murder cases back into the spotlight, but some of the series’ most startling details, including an alleged imperforate hymen, a Veedee vibrator and a bizarre device called the Chattanooga, require a closer look at what is documented history and what is dramatic invention.
The fourth season of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s Monster premiered on Netflix on September 17, 2026, with Ella Beatty playing Lizzie Borden and Vicky Krieps portraying Bridget Sullivan, the Borden family’s Irish maid. The series takes substantial creative liberties with the 1892 murders of Andrew and Abby Borden. Reporting on the series found references suggesting that a Chattanooga device did exist, including a 1999 New York Times article describing a Chattanooga costing $200 plus freight in 1904.
In the Netflix series, Bridget tells Lizzie that she has an imperforate hymen and suggests that the condition is responsible for her menstrual problems. Bridget then obtains a device called a Chattanooga in an attempt to address the supposed condition. The plot appears to be part of the show’s broader fictionalized portrayal of Lizzie and her relationship with Bridget. But there is considerably less reliable documentation establishing the exact device depicted by Netflix or its supposed use in Lizzie’s treatment. The show’s version appears to draw partly from historical mechanical vibrators and partly from later stories and images whose provenance is uncertain.
