We continue our Sinister Saturday series with the story of Ed Gein, otherwise known as The Butcher of Plainfield. He was oddly obsessed with his mother, and his crimes inspired many popular culture films and characters…
Edward Gein / Picture Credit: Biographics on YouTube
Ed Gein and his repressive childhood
Edward Gein was born in 1906 in Wisconsin, USA.
His parents were Augusta and George Gein, and he had an older brother called Henry.
Gein did not have a horrendous childhood it seems, but he did become a recluse as a result of his mother’s controlling and highly religious ways of life.
Like many killers, an unusual or dispiriting childhood leads to behavioural issues later in life – this case seems no different.
Gein’s father George was hardly ever home, spending most of his time drinking after he finished work – his mother was very religious and forced her thoughts and practices upon the family.
Augusta, Gein’s mother, was said to always be preaching about sins and carnal desires to her sons.
Despite her odd ways, Gein absolutely adored his mother, perhaps a little too much.
In around 1915, Augusta moved her family to a farm outside Plainfield, a decent distance away from the nearest town or any other homes and families.
Gein was only really allowed to leave his mother and his home to go to school – he was not allowed to go anywhere else.
When Gein’s father George died in 1940, Ed and his brother Henry would pick up any job they could to support their family.
In 1944, however, Henry was found dead after the two brothers were said to be burning brush outside the family home, when the fire got out of control.
With what we come to know about Gein, it is more than likely that he killed his brother. Potentially, to have his mother all to himself after the deaths of his father and brother.
The Butcher begins
Since Gein was infatuated with his mother, he very rarely left the house or dated any women.
When Augusta died in 1945, Gein went more than off the rails…
In the months after hear death, Gein kept his mother’s room spotlessly clean – as if she were still alive. The rest of the house, however, was dirty and filled with rubbish.
Ed managed to ger menial jobs around town to support himself, he even did some jobs as a babysitter despite his very odd behaviour.
In 1957 a woman named Bernice Worden was reported missing from her hardware store in Plainfield (the town Gein would do jobs in).
When her store was looked at, the cash register was gone and a trail of blood could be seen leading out the back door.
A receipt was fortunately left on the counter, and there were no receipts after, meaning that since it was made out to Ed Gein he must have something to do with it…
Police discoveries
After the scene at Worden’s store, Police immediately set off to search Gein’s residence – what they found would be exceptionally hard to believe…
In an outhouse type pf building, the body of a woman hanging naked upside-down was found, with a huge cut going from her mouth/neck to her groin area and decapitated. The body would later be discovered as Bernice Worden.
Police then began to search the main home, and found things beyond belief, including organs, skin, and even skulls that were being used as soup bowls…
Police also found an upholstered chair – the upholstering was done with the use of human skin stretched across it. In addition to this, a lampshade was found, also made out of human skin, and most alarmingly – a belt made form the nipples of women.
Gein admitted later on that he killed two women, one being Worden, and the other being a woman named Mary who worked at a tavern in Plainfield which Gein frequented.
He also admitted to digging up dead bodies that he used in his ‘creations’, and even stated that he was making a ‘skin-suit’ involving leggings (made from human flesh) and a body suit; this was all because he wanted to wear this suit and pretend to be his mother…
Trial and death
Gein was arrested in 1957, the same year Police found the disturbing scenes in his home.
In 1958, Gein was deemed unfit to stand trial. However, 10 years later in 1968, Gein was finally fit to stand trial – he was found guilty of Worden’s murder but was also found insane.
After spending his life in Mendota Mental Health Institute, Gein died of cancer and respiratory illnesses.
This case has inspired popular culture…
The undoubtably gruesome story of Gein has inspired many films and characters over the years, including the 1960 classic Psycho, and 1991 classic movie The Silence of the Lambs, in which the character Buffalo Bill was inspired by Gein. Most notably however, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was based upon Gein’s story too, with the character of Leatherface haunting our screens.
Written by Melissa, who you can follow on Twitter @melissajournal
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Tagged in Murder True Crime