Edward Gein went from being known for being a sweet and innocent boy who would not hurt a fly to a murderer and a necrophiliac. Edward lived on a 195-acre farm in Plainfield, Wisconsin, with his parents Augusta and George Gain, and his older brother Henry. Gein’s actions caused him to be known as “The Butcher of Plainfield.”1 Edward’s father was an alcoholic and very abusive. Thus Edward grew up being extremely close to his mother. When his father passed away in 1940, Edward was not significantly affected by the loss, due to the lack of connection he had with his father. Four years later, his brother Henry passed due to a fire near their home; police suspected that Edward had had something to do with his death because he led them directly to his brother’s burnt body.2 The following year his mother Augusta also passed away, leaving Edward all alone on a big farm. After Augusta’s passing, Edward blocked off rooms in the house where his mother had spent most of her time, creating something of a shrine for her. With Edward being all alone it is said that this is what drove him into having psychopathic behavior.3
Edward’s first known victim was Bernice Worden in 1957. Worden worked in a hardware store in town. Edward went to the store as he usually did on Friday’s right before closing time, and asked Mrs. Worden to fill up his jug with antifreeze. Edward had recently started to question Mrs. Worden on whether or not she would like to go roller-skating or “try out the floor” in his words. When she declined, he left, and then he quickly returned to ask about a rifle she had on the wall. When Mrs. Worden handed Edward the rifle he desired, she proceeded to look out the window. While she had her back turned, Edward loaded the rifle with the .22 shells he had in his overall pockets. The next morning Bernard Muschinski, Sr. found something strange with Mrs. Worden’s store. It had seemed that the store had been closed for the weekend, but she had left the lights on, which was something she usually didn’t do.4
When police were tipped off by Mrs. Worden’s son that Edward was the one that had kidnapped and killed his mother, the police took off to find him. While Edward Gein was in custody, police officers went to explore his land to try and find Bernice Worden’s body. While examining the house for any signs of Mrs. Worden’s body, the two officers made their way into the summer kitchen and started making their way to the other side. Officer Schley stepped back and felt something rub against his jacket. When he beamed his light towards what was rubbing against him there, in the beam of light hung a large corpse. While looking at the body that was in front of them, they noticed that it was attached by its feet and was split open and decapitated the way a deer would be. Before running out from the sight of it, Schley had managed to get out a couple of words, “My God, there she is.” They had finally found the missing body of Bernice Worden. After other officers were called, they began exploring the central part of Gein’s house. While they were looking around the house, the officers found many ghoulish things, from a human skull to things like lampshades, wastebaskets, bracelets, and even a belt made from human body parts. Officers on the scene also found a chair upholstered from human flesh along with many other gruesome things. While being interrogated Gein was asked many questions regarding the strange things in his house, which he answered in a calm, truthful manner. When he was asked whether or not he would put on the skin face mask that was found in his home, Gein responded that he did without hesitation.5
With Gein admitting to the crimes and the evidence in his home, it was easy for the officers to charge him with murder. At the time of his trial, he was considered unfit to stand trial and was admitted to the Central State Hospital for the Criminally Insane in Wisconsin on January 6, 1958. After a decade of being charged with first-degree murder, Gein was finally considered to be fit to stand trial; he was then found not guilty because of insanity and went back to the State Hospital. Edward Gein’s crimes have subsequently become the basis for many Hollywood horror movies, including Psycho (1960), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), and Silence of the Lambs (1991).6
- Harold Schechter, Deviant: the shocking true story of the original “psycho” (New York, NY: Pocket Books, 1998), 61. ↵
- Encyclopædia Britannica, 2018, s.v. “Ed Gein,” by John Philip Jenkins. ↵
- Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, 2016, s.v. “Ed Gein,” by Charles Avinger. ↵
- Harold Schechter, Deviant: the shocking true story of the original “psycho” (New York, NY: Pocket Books, 1998), 67. ↵
- Harold Schechter, Deviant: the shocking true story of the original “psycho” (New York, NY: Pocket Books, 1998), 122, 124. ↵
- Salem Press EncyclopediaResearch Starters, EBSCOhost, 2013, s.v. “Serial killer,” by Kathy Warnes. ↵
84 comments
Daniel Linstead
I never heard of Edward Gein until reading this article. I was drawn in by the articles title. I find it interesting the whole mindset behind the trial for Edward Gein. How does one that commit these crimes get trialed as not guilty? I think back in the olden days people were trialed unfairly due to corruption in the police forces. I feel these families were never able to have closure due to the fact that justice was never served.
Montserrat Moreno Ramirez
I’ve heard of this character before and as said in the article it’s true that it has inspired many hollywood movies. In high school we had a project about crime and raised the question, criminals are born or made? With this article I can say that they are made, since Gein’s childhood had a lot to do in his adulthood life. And led him to commit this terrible crimes.
Daniela Duran
This is terrifying! It is hard to believe that someone could do something so horrible, and remain so calm in admitting his actions. I agree with the idea that he has some sort of mental illness, for there must be something wrong going on for someone to make artefacts and chairs out of human body parts! It is astonishing to think that he used be considered the boy who wouldn’t hurt anyone or anything, but I guess it was all part of a physiological buildup of pain for so many losses that resulted in a huge change in his personality. Perhaps the idea of being lonely and his history with an abusive dad all contributed to forming his character. This was a very interesting but terrifying article!
Madeline Torres
I have never heard of Edward Gein and his actions and his story reminded me of something that comes out of a scary movie. I think it’s unfair that he was trialed not guilty when he took these poor peoples lives, and they deserve proper justice. It’s crazy to think that peoples upbringing really affects how someone is in their adult lives. The story of Edward Gein gives me chills down my back and leaves me surprised at just how poorly he was trialed.
Daniela Cardona
It’s funny that at the end the author mentioned those horror movies. As I was reading, all I could think about was how much it reminded me of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. In this case, the movie is even creepier. Edward Gein obviously had a lot of mental issues, but, in my opinion still does not justify his actions. He must have killed way more people than the two mentioned to have all of those human body part artifacts in his house. Edward Gein, although I had never heard of him, has definitely made an infamous impact on society, thanks to his actions and Hollywood.
Donte Joseph
Before reading this article, I had never heard the name Edward Gein, but after reading one thing for certain is that I won’t forget the name. Now a days you hear stories of boys who seemed innocent and then one day snapped but Edward Gein is essentially the first person to do it. My only question from this all is that had he been raised differently, would this whole story not have happened.
Sabrina Hsu
I was really shocked at what the police found when they entered Gein’s house. It’s so disturbing even thinking about the things he had in there. It also makes me wonder how many people he killed before Mrs. Worden since he had all that stuff made from body parts, and how he was never caught sooner. It’s really sad that people like this become this way because of something they experience in their childhood.
Alexandra Lujan
I have never heard of Edward Gein, and it is so interesting to read about someone that inspired a film. Makes me wonder if he killed his father since what he did to Mrs.Worden was so terrible I’m pretty sure it is possible. I do believe he grew up like that due to having an abusive father.
Sebastian Carnero
Before committed the murder, Gein had some difficult events passing by. I would expect that after having so many losses, he would be more considerate about life. I know loneliness can make people change and look other people differently, but if he had so much pain after his mother died, why didn’t he consider how her son would have felt? The way isolation can change people such as Gein is staggering. The things he did apart from murder were just horrible.
Antoinette Johnson
Edward Gein remind me of someone straight out of a horror film. I wonder if the abuse he sustained from his father over the years finally got to him and turned him into a psychopath. He took innocent live/lives and caused many families grief. Then using human parts to make mask and belts just showed he had no remorse. It is just like he became a monster and no one or nothing mattered to him, but the primal urge to kill.