The Horrifying True Story Behind Ryan Murphy’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story

by

Ryan Murphy’s newest crime drama, Monster: The Ed Gein Story, premieres on Netflix October 3rd. It’s inspired by the true story of Ed Gein, a notorious serial killer who frightened people in his Wisconsin hometown of Plainfield during the 1950s.

This isn’t the first time Ed Gein’s life has been depicted in a Hollywood movie. Psycho (1960), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), and The Silence of the Lambs (1991) were all inspired by his story. Murphy’s previous Monster series have also featured killers like Jeffrey Dahmer and the Menendez brothers.

Here’s what to know about the murderer who inspired Murphy’s latest Netflix series.

Troubled upbringing

A 1957 article in TIME magazine explored Gein’s unusual upbringing. He grew up on a farm in Plainfield, Wisc., without modern conveniences like electricity or plumbing. His mother instilled in him a strong dislike for women. She would often read the story of Noah’s Ark during storms, telling her children that another flood was coming to punish women’s wrongdoings. This created a deeply disturbing environment and likely contributed to his later actions. The story highlights the profound impact of early childhood experiences.

Because of her strong impact on him, Gein steered clear of romantic relationships with women, instead choosing to dedicate his time to studying anatomy books. He was deeply saddened when his mother passed away in 1945.

Grave-robbing

In 1957, 51-year-old Gein became the focus of a particularly disturbing criminal case, as reported by TIME magazine. He was implicated in the murder of Bernice Worden, a sales clerk. Around the same time, Gein confessed to also killing Mary Hogan, a divorced tavern owner who had been missing for three years. TIME provided a description of what police discovered at Gein’s farmhouse:

Police discovered a truly horrifying scene. Bernice Worden’s body was hanging upside down by her feet in a summer kitchen. She had been brutally disemboweled and prepared like a hunted animal. Her head was found in a cardboard box, and her heart was in a plastic bag on the stove. A search of the house also revealed: ten human scalps, carefully removed from the skulls; various pieces of human skin, some tucked inside magazines, others fashioned into small belts, and some even used as upholstery for chairs (the largest piece, found rolled up on the floor, was the upper front section of a woman’s torso); and a box filled with noses.

TIME, 1957

Gein regularly checked the newspaper’s obituary column to identify recent burials in the local cemetery. He then robbed graves – even the one beside his mother’s – taking human remains such as skulls. On one occasion, he stole an entire female body. According to TIME, Gein wasn’t motivated by cannibalism or necrophilia, but rather preserved the remains simply to look at. He didn’t consume or engage in sexual acts with the bodies.

Gein stated he was disoriented when he committed murders and grave robberies. He was subsequently diagnosed with schizophrenia. According to TIME magazine, psychiatrists at the time theorized that he was dismembering women who resembled his late mother, both to recreate her presence and keep her with him forever, and to punish her for the pain he felt. He was essentially trying to both revive and destroy a symbolic representation of her.

Due to his mental health condition, Gein entered a plea of not guilty in both murder cases, claiming insanity. He was kept in mental institutions until he passed away in 1984 at the age of 77.

Read More

2025-10-03 16:06