Netflix’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story — The Horrific Crimes That Inspired Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Silence of the Lambs

Netflix’s chilling series Monster revisits the gruesome crimes of Ed Gein, one of America’s most infamous serial killers and grave robbers. Gein’s 1957 trial captivated the nation and inspired iconic fictional killers like Norman Bates in Robert Bloch’s Psycho (and Alfred Hitchcock’s film), Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs.

Gein confessed to murdering two women and desecrating nine graves, but authorities suspected he may have been responsible for additional unsolved murders in Wisconsin. Here’s a look into the shocking details of his crimes.

What Did Ed Gein Do?

Ed Gein was convicted of murdering Bernice Worden, a 58-year-old hardware store cashier in Plainfield, Wisconsin. On November 16, 1957, after Worden was reported missing, her son, Deputy Sheriff Frank Worden, pointed police toward Gein, who had visited the store the previous day. At Gein’s farmhouse, authorities uncovered a horrifying scene: Worden’s body and various mutilated human remains, some fashioned into grotesque items like masks and suits made of human skin.

Ed Gein’s farmhouse in Plainfield, Wisconsin, 1957. © Bettmann Archive

During questioning, Gein admitted to killing Worden and Mary Hogan, a 54-year-old tavern owner who had vanished three years earlier. Although charged with both murders, Gein’s schizophrenia diagnosis in 1957 deemed him mentally unfit for trial. He was sent to the Central State Hospital for the Criminally Insane and was not tried until 1968.

Why Was Ed Gein Only Convicted of One Murder?

Ed Gein in Wautoma court. © Bettmann Archive

Despite confessing to two murders, Gein was only convicted of Worden’s killing. In his 1968 trial, he was found guilty but declared not guilty by reason of insanity, avoiding conviction for Hogan’s murder or his grave-robbing activities (via USA Today).

Ed Gein’s Obsession with His Mother

Gein’s disturbing bond with his mother, Augusta Wilhelmine Gein, shaped much of his psyche. Augusta, a domineering and deeply religious figure, ruled the household, which included Gein’s alcoholic father, George, and older brother, Henry, who died under mysterious circumstances in 1944. After George’s death in 1940 and Augusta’s passing from a stroke in 1945, Gein lived alone in the family farmhouse. He preserved parts of the home as a shrine to his mother, sealing off rooms she had used.

Ed Gein, reportedly obsessed with his mother. © Bettmann Archive

Gein’s fixation on Augusta reportedly drove his desire to “become” a woman, leading him to exhume corpses and create items from their skin. He allegedly told police that Bernice Worden reminded him of his mother.

What Happened to Ed Gein?

Ed Gein with attorney William Belter. © Bettmann Archive

After his trial, Gein was committed to the Mendota Mental Health Institute in Wisconsin, where he remained until his death. Diagnosed with lung cancer, Gein died of respiratory failure on July 26, 1984, at age 77.