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*Warning: This article contains graphic details of murder that some readers may find distressing.*
Monster: The Ed Gein Story, the third instalment of Ryan Murphy's controversial anthology series, is upon us, delving into the life and crimes – which spanned robbing graves and skinning corpses – of the titular serial killer.
Much like the previous two instalments, the latest chapter has been met with much criticism for its blurring of fact and fiction, with Murphy having included several inaccuracies in regards to the series' depiction of Gein's (Charlie Hunnam) connection with Ted Bundy, his relationship to Adeline Watkins, the show's portrayal of Evelyn Hartley and Ilse Koch's influences over Gein.
Defending the show's divisive portrayal of the titular serial killer, Hunnam previously told The Hollywood Reporter: "I never felt like we were sensationalizing it," he said. "I never felt on set that we did anything gratuitous or for shock impact. It was all in order to try to tell this story as honestly as we could."
The actor went on to question whether Gein is the real monster of the series, or whether it’s the audience for watching.
"Is it Ed Gein who was abused and left in isolation and suffering from undiagnosed mental illness and went and that manifested in some pretty horrendous ways? Or was the monster the legion of filmmakers that took inspiration from his life and sensationalised it to make entertainment and darken the American psyche in the process?" he asked.
He continued: "Is Ed Gein the monster of this show, or is Hitchcock the monster of the show? Or are we the monster of the show because we’re watching it?"
So, how accurate is the series and what does it get right about the real-life Ed Gein? Read on for the true story of the titular serial killer, as well as what other Hollywood roles his chilling cases have inspired.
Monster season 3 true story: Who was the real Ed Gein?
Born in 1906 as Edward Theodore Gein in Wisconsin, Ed grew up alongside elder brother Henry and was the son of George, who struggled with alcoholism, and Augusta, who was deeply religious.
The household was a puritanical one, led by the teachings of Augusta, who Ed soon became devoted to despite her being verbally abusive and domineering. In approximately 1915, Augusta was said to have moved the family from La Crosse to Plainfield, still in Wisconsin, but to a farm. Ed rarely left the farm itself, only to go to school and in 1940, his father passed away,
Ed's mother Augusta died one year later in 1945, which led to him becoming a complete hermit with the house descending into mess but Augusta's room being preserved as a shrine of sorts. In the wake of her death, Ed earned a living by working as a handyman (and an occasional babysitter) but also developed an interest in books about anatomy.
In 1957, a 58-year-old hardware store owner named Bernice Worden was reported missing in Plainfield and, having been seen with her a short time before her disappearance, police went to visit Ed at his home. It was there that they discovered her decapitated body, while her head was later found in a box and her heart was found in a plastic bag.
On further inspection of Ed's home, the police found that Ed had collected numerous body parts, used to make masks and clothing which he was said to have worn around his home. Household items such as bowls were also found, which were made from human skulls.
The police discovered that Ed had regularly robbed graves in order to collect human remains. They also discovered the head of another missing woman, 54-year-old tavern owner Mary Hogan, at Ed's property, who had disappeared in 1954.
Ed went on to admit to killing the two women (who were said to resemble his late mother) but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. In 1958, he was deemed unfit for trial after being diagnosed with schizophrenia and was held in numerous psychiatric institutions.
In 1968, Ed was deemed fit for trial and was subsequently found guilty of Worden's murder. It was said that due to financial reasons, prosecutors only tried one murder case, and so Ed wasn't tried for Hogan's murder.
Despite the police trying to tie him to other murders and disappearances, no definitive evidence or conclusions were drawn.
Gein was deemed insane at the time of his sentencing and was returned to a psychiatric institution where he remained until his death in 1984. He died of complications from lung cancer and respiratory illnesses, aged 77.
Did Ed Gein kill his brother Henry?
After the death of their father, the brothers took on more of a leading role in the duties of the farm.
It was in 1944 that Ed's brother Henry was found dead after a routine brush burning went wrong and the fire became uncontrollable. Circumstances were a mystery at the time, with Ed reporting Henry as missing to the police but eventually leading them to exactly where his body was. With Ed's later life events widely known, it has led to speculation that he was somehow involved in the death of his older brother.
But realistically, we will never know whether Ed did kill Henry.
As shown in Monster, there has been some speculation about how Ed's brother Henry died. In the series, it's shown that Ed gets increasingly annoyed at his brother after Henry condemns their mother and religion, with Henry telling Ed that he needs to leave.
Ed has enough of what Henry is saying and hits him round the head with one of the wooden logs he's been chopping that morning. While Ed walks away from the barn, Henry seems to get up fine and apologise, saying that he's going to speak to their mother later on. It turns out that Ed was merely imagining Henry waking up and the day after, finds Henry's body in the barn.
He manufactures a fire, with Augusta calling the police who uncover Henry's body. Although the police and coroner see that Henry is completely stiff – intimating an earlier time of death – they do rule it as caused by asphyxiation from the bush fire smoke.
Were Ed Gein and Adeline Watkins in a romantic relationship?
In the series, it's shown that Ed and Adeline have known each other for some time and feel like the outsiders in their town, which leads them to bond. However, Augusta is very against Ed getting involved with Adeline. Once Augusta dies, Ed takes the chance to further his relationship with Adeline and proposes to her.
It's shown that because Ed has been told by his mother to fear having children, he doesn't feel comfortable having sex with Adeline. In a bid to make him more comfortable around children, Adeline introduces Ed to the world of babysitting, taking the position in a family household usually held by Evelyn Hartley.
Having contracted polio and being in hospital, Ed takes Evelyn's place babysitting the children but when he scares them wearing a 'mask' made out of a corpse's face, he's fired. He blames Evelyn for his firing and we see him attack her.
As for whether Ed and Adeline were together, there are conflicting reports. A Wisconsin State Journal article in 1957 claimed Adeline and Ed nearly married and bonded over books and cinema. However, Adeline later went back on the claims in the initial report, saying it “was blown up out of proportion to its importance and containing untrue statements”.
Did Ed Gein kill Evelyn Hartley?
Episode 3 of Monster suggests that Ed kidnapped and killed Evelyn Hartley over a dispute about him losing his babysitting job.
In reality, Evelyn was employed to babysit the 20-month-old daughter of a professor at La Crosse State College. Whilst the child was found asleep and unharmed, Evelyn's father had been trying to call the household and hadn't been able to locate Evelyn.
When he went to the house, he found Evelyn's shoes in different rooms, her broken glasses and signs of a struggle.
Evelyn mysteriously disappeared aged 14 in 1953, prompting a search involving 2000 people, one of the biggest in Wisconsin history. It remains an unsolved case but many at the time believed that Gein was involved. However, after two lie detector tests and no trace of evidence in his home, Gein was cleared of any connection to Evelyn's disappearance.
Did Ed Gein's crimes inspire Hollywood?
The new Netflix series digs into how Ed Gein has shaped numerous Hollywood stories and characters. But how did his gruesome crimes inspire these directors and filmmakers?
Tom Hollander (The Night Manager) and Olivia Williams (The Crown) play Psycho director Alfred Hitchcock and his wife, screenwriter Alma Reville. Similarly, Will Brill (The OA) is starring as Texas Chain Saw Massacre director Tobe Hooper.
It's a well-known fact that Hooper credits Ed Gein as the influence for Texas Chain Saw Massacre's Leatherface, the well-known horror movie character that mutilated bodies and wore the skin of others.
Gein was also said to have inspired Hitchcock's Psycho, namely the character of Norman Bates, who was played in the 1960 film by Anthony Perkins. The film centres on Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) who is on the run from her employer after pocketing $40,000. Checking into the Bates Motel, she meets owner Norman, who is shy, awkward and seems to be under the influence of his domineering mother.
The film was based on Robert Bloch's novel Psycho, which was released in 1959 and in turn, is inspired by Gein's story. Both Gein and Bates had mothers who shared similar personality traits and had rooms preserved as shrines to them.
The third clear film that has been inspired by Gein is 1991's Silence of the Lambs, which stars Sir Anthony Hopkins and was directed by Jonathan Demme. One of the characters in the film, Jame Gumb (known as Buffalo Bill) is a serial killer who targets and kidnaps women to make a suit out of their skin. Gein's crimes inspired the character of Buffalo Bill, with the similarities between their crimes quite stark.
Created by writer Thomas Harris, other influences for Buffalo Bill included prolific serial killers Ted Bundy and Gary M Heidnik.
Speaking about Gein, Murphy told Tudum: “[Gein] is probably one of the most influential people of the 20th century, and yet people don’t know that much about him.
“He influenced some of the biggest serial killers of the 20th century – which is another thing that I think people did not and do not know about him – Ted Bundy, and on and on and on.”
Monster: The Ed Gein Story is now streaming on Netflix – sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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