In the latest Netflix series, ‘Monster: The Ed Gein Story,’ the infamous American serial killer’s heinous acts are brought back to light. Ed Gein, also known as the ‘Butcher of Plainfield’ and the ‘Plainfield Ghoul,’ was convicted of murdering two women, Mary Hogan and Bernice Worden, in rural Wisconsin during the 1950s. Beyond the tragic killings, Gein gained global notoriety for his macabre hobby of exhuming corpses and crafting them into household items and a skin suit, exposing a dark and disturbing side of rural America that shattered romanticized perceptions.
Born on August 27, 1906, in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Gein grew up in a dysfunctional family environment. Raised by a strict Christian mother, Augusta, who held extreme views on sin and evil, and a violent alcoholic father, George, Gein and his brother Henry were isolated from the outside world. Following his mother’s death in 1945, Gein’s behavior took a dark turn towards violence and gruesome obsessions, eventually leading to the murder of two women and desecration of corpses.
After his mother’s passing, Gein lived as a recluse on the family farm for over a decade, maintaining her bedroom as a shrine. The gruesome discovery in 1957, when Bernice Worden went missing and police found evidence linking Gein to her disappearance, revealed the extent of his depravity. Inside his home, authorities found human skin furniture, skull bowls, and other disturbing items made from human body parts, providing a glimpse into Gein’s disturbed mind.
Gein’s crimes shocked the world, with media reports detailing the horrors found in his home and his gruesome activities. Dubbed the “Plainfield Ghoul” and the “Mad Butcher” by reporters, Gein’s actions tainted the town’s reputation and led to a decline in its population. Diagnosed with schizophrenia and psychosis, Gein was declared legally insane, avoiding a regular trial and spending the remainder of his life in mental health institutions until his death in 1984.
His twisted deeds and unsettling obsessions inspired iconic Hollywood villains like Norman Bates in Psycho, Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs. In the upcoming season of ‘Monster’ on Netflix, British actor Charlie Hunnam portrays the chilling role of Ed Gein, immortalizing the legacy of one of America’s most infamous killers.