Ed Gein, a name linked with horror, was an American murderer and body snatcher whose gruesome deeds shocked the nation. Born on August 27, 1906, in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Ed Gein’s early life appeared ordinary but would later reveal a dark and disturbing path.

He was born to George and Philip Gen and Augusta Wilhemine Gein. Gein also had an older brother named Henry. While living in La Crosse, Wisconsin George couldn’t keep down a job and was also a verbally abusive alcoholic. This leads Augusta to have a deep hatred of Geroge. Finally, Geroge sold the local grocery store he owned. He took the money from this and moved his family to Plainfield, Wisconsin. There Geroge bought a farm on 155 acres of land. With this, they sought to live in isolation and Augusta took full advantage of this. She would push away anyone trying to get close to the family. At some point during this time Gein started to obsess over his mother and idolize her. During this time Augusta who was a devout Lutheran would preach daily to the boys. She would talk about the sins of the world. Augusta also had a deep hatred for all women. During these preaching sessions, she would talk about how women are the instruments of the devil and promiscuous. During this time the boys only left home to go to school. It was said that Gein was a very shy and weird boy. However, he did well academically in school.

Things continued like this until April 1, 1940. On this day Geroge died of heart failure. Now that the sole provider had passed Ed and Henry had to take odd jobs around town to help provide for the family. Ed also took on babysitting for families in town. The townsfolk often said how reliable and honest the two boys were. Henry getting concerned with Ed’s obsession with their mother would usually talk bad about her. This always deeply hurt Ed. It was during this time Henry fell in love. He meets a divorced woman with two kids. Things would again change for Gein on May 16, 1944. While Gein was burning brush on the farm the fire got out of control. The fire department saw this and came to put out the fire which took all day. After the fire was put out Henry could not be found. Gein put in a missing persons report which started a search for Henry. Late that night they found Henry’s body face down. It appeared as if there may have been foul play involved. There were noticeable bruises on his head but no burn marks from the fire. Ultimately it would be decided that the death was due to asphyxiation and no foul play was involved.

Not long after Henry’s death, Augusta ended up having another stroke that paralyzed her. At this point, Gein devoted himself to taking care of her. Then on December 29, 1945, Augusta would pass. This was the start of drastic changes for Gein. Gein was truly alone in the world as he now had no one due to the family’s isolation. After the funeral, Ed would board off all the rooms his mother used. While every other room would be severely neglected. At this point, Gein started to gain an obsession with cannibals and Nazi atrocities. He would often read this in Pulp magazine. He specficly liked Ilse Koch would would make items out of the prisoner’s skin.

Gein mostly kept to himself during this time and went unnoticed. Then on November 16, 1957, Bernice Worden disappeared. She was last seen at the hardware store that she owned. Late in the evening when her son came by he found the cash register open and blood stains on the floor. Bernice’s son Frank told investigators that Gein was there the night before and said he would be back for antifreeze in the morning. During their search, they found a sales slip with Gein’s name from that morning. They went and arrested Gein in town. They then went and searched his property. They first searched his shed where they found Bernice. She was hung upside down by her legs and decapitated, while her torso had been dressed like a deer. She was found to have been shot with a .22 rifle. The nightmare would not stop there, however. When they searched his home they found many items made of humans. They found plenty of human bones, skulls on the bed posts, masks made from the skin of female heads, nine vulvae in a shoe box, a belt made of human nipples, a female human nipple doorbell, leggings made of human skin, and many other human-made objects.

When Gein was being questioned and told them between 1957 and 1952 he would go to local graveyards after there had been recent burials. He would then in the dark of night exhume the bodies. He also said that soon after his mother’s death he had started to make women’s suits, so he could become his mother. When asked if he has sex with the bodies he said no because of the smell. Gein was then considered for multiple missing persons cases. However, because of lie detector tests and his psychiatrist saying he only acted in violence toward women who looked like his mother these cases were dismissed. On November 21, 1957, Gein was arraigned for one count of first-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty due to insanity. He was then diagnosed with schizophrenia and that made him him unfit to stand for trial. After being found unfit to stand trial he was sent to a central state hospital for the criminally insane. Then in 1968, doctors determined that Gein was fit to stand trial. He was found guilty without a jury on November 14th, 1968. Later there was a second trial about his insanity. He was then found not guilty due to insanity. He was then sent back to Central State Hospital. During this time Gein’s property was set for auction. However, his home caught fire and burnt down. It was always thought to be arson but no evidence was ever found. Gein Died on July 26, 1984, at the age of 77. Throughout the years, pieces of his headstone were chipped off. Eventually, in 200, it was stolen and then recovered in 2001. It has since been in a storage unit with the Waushara County Sheriff. His grace has remained to unmark sense.

Ed Gein has left a haunting reminder of the darkness that can lurk within seemingly ordinary individuals. His gruesome crimes have inspired numerous works of fiction, including iconic horror films such as “Psycho” and “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.”