Monster: The Ed Gein Story is arguably the most disturbing release on Netflix this year (if not, ever), and for good reason. The new series, which follows on from the highly successful Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, tells the true-life story of the ‘Butcher of Plainfield.’ He killed and desecrated the bodies of multiple women in the 1950s and inspired numerous horror films for decades to come, including The Silence of the Lambs, Psycho, and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
As gruesome as Monster: The Ed Gein Story is proving to be, viewers (that includes us) quite literally can't look away from the gripping series. But, although a lot is covered across the eight episodes, the show has still raised plenty of unanswered questions about Ed Gein and his crimes, like how many victims did killer Ed Gein have? Keep scrolling to find out.
Who was Ed Gein, and what did he do?
To briefly summarize: Ed Gein was a killer and notorious grave robber operating in the 50s. He collected human organs and body parts (including skin, nipples, and fingers), with which he crafted clothing and accessories.
Gein—who rarely left home and lived alone in the Plainfield home he once shared with his family—was able to get away with his crimes for several years before the disappearance of a local woman in 1957 prompted police officers to suspect him. Upon visiting and inspecting Gein's home as part of their investigation, police officers uncovered an array of horrors and ultimately arrested him.
How many victims did Ed Gein have?
Following his eventual arrest, Ed Gein admitted to killing two women—54-year-old Mary Hogan and 58-year-old Bernice Worden. Hogan, who ran a nearby tavern that Gein frequented, had gone missing in December 1954, while Worden was reported missing from her hardware store in Plainfield three years later. Both are described as having resembled Gein's mother.
Under questioning, Gein—who was 51 at the time—confessed to killing both women, who had been shot. While authorities tried to connect Gein to other recent murders and disappearances in the area, they were unable to draw any definitive conclusions, and Gein did not admit to any further killings. That being said, he did admit to digging up numerous corpses to practice necrophilia and harvest body parts.
Aside from the murders of Hogan and Worden, there has been suspicion that Gein played a part in the death of his older brother, although this has never been proven. Following their father's death in 1940, Gein and his brother, Henry Gein, picked up odd jobs to support the family. During one job, the brothers were burning brush on their property when the fire raged out of control. Henry was later found dead and although it was initially thought to be the result of the fire, there has been conjecture that Ed Gein may have been responsible.
Was Ed Gein convicted of killing any of his victims?
Despite Gein's admission of murdering Hogan and Worden, his lawyer entered a plea of “not guilty by reason of insanity.” As a result, and following a schizophrenia diagnosis, in January 1958 Gein was found unfit to stand trial.
After spending nearly a decade in a hospital, Gein was eventually deemed fit to stand trial in 1968. During that trial, he was found guilty of Worden's murder—but was found to have been insane at the time of the murder and, as such, was recommitted to the hospital. He was institutionalized in Central State Hospital in Waupun, Wisconsin, until the late-1970s, after which he was transferred to the Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison, Wisconsin, where he lived until he passed away from lung cancer complications in 1984.
Stream all episodes of Monster: The Ed Gein Story on Netflix now.
