Maybe Lizzie is just a common mass-murderer name, because in addition to Lizzie Borden (she of “40 whacks” fame), there’s Lizzie Alberti. The mother of eight used poison to kill four of her children in 1894. After being declared insane (ah, yeah), she was sent to an asylum, where she died of a morphine overdose. You’ll see Mamma Alberti’s grave — right next to those of her children — during today’s Haunted Cemetery Tour of Galveston’s Broadway Cemetery. Formerly inhabited by Karankawa Indians (believed to have been cannibals) and the pirate Jean Lafitte and his murderous crew, Galveston Island has seen yellow fever and malaria epidemics, war, organized crime, the Great Storm of 1900 (with 6,000 people lost), and most recently Hurricane Ike, with a slew of storms in between, including 1961’s Carla. “Many, many people have lived and died by these waters,” says Dwayne Jones, executive director of the Galveston Historical Foundation, “and perhaps some of the dead still reside here. Listen to the stories, and decide for yourself. But you don’t have to believe in ghosts to know that the dead are a presence on this island.” 6:30 and 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. 40th Street and Avenue K, Galveston Island. For information, call 409-765-7834 or visit www.galvestonhistory.org. $12.
Fridays, Saturdays, 6:30 & 8 p.m. Starts: Oct. 30. Continues through Oct. 31, 2009