Happy True Crime Thursday!
So keeping on the theme of last week, today I'm going to discuss a story that I'm not going to lie is downright disturbing.
This story inspired movies such as
"Psycho, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,"
and "The Silence of the Lambs,"
and "The Silence of the Lambs,"
Talking about Ed Gein, The Butcher of Plainfield!
Lets first dive into what Ed's upbringing was like.
Edward Theodore Gein was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin on August 27, 1906 to George and Augusta. His father was a timid alcoholic and his mother...well she was quite the character, she was domineering and fanatically religious. It was Ed alongside his brother Henry that would endure abuse along with constant preaching. She promoted the fear of carnal sin, which she stated existed all around them. She would tell them that women were vessels of sin and caused disease.
In 1914, Augusta moved the family away to a remote farm outside of a small town in Wisconsin in the hopes of sheltering her children from the sinful world. They had very little contact with the outside world, Ed had a very isolated childhood. They were allowed to go to school and that was it. Even then Ed's only interaction with other children was his brother.
On the farm they would slaughter the livestock they raised, Ed was told that he was not allowed to go into the slaughtering shed, but he did just that. One afternoon he snuck in and witnessed his parents butchering a pig while covered in blood. Is this where it all began for Ed?
By 8th grade Ed stopped attending school and worked around the farm.
In 1940 his father George died from heart failure due to his alcoholism. Ed and Henry then began to pick up odd jobs in order to support the family, mostly as handymen, but Ed even took babysitting jobs. In 1944, the brothers were burning some brush on the farm when the fire got out of control. Henry's body was found later on that day when Ed stated he was missing. It was said that the fire was the result of his death, asphyxiation. Later on down the road that initial conclusion would soon be challenged. Was his death truly just a tragic accident?
Now for those that have seen the movie Psycho, this is where they drew the inspiration. Ed was obsessively devoted to his mother, he rarely left home and shockingly never dated any women (insert sarcastic tone.) After Henry's death she had a paralyzing stroke and Ed was there for anything she needed. After a second stroke her health decline rapidly. Augusta passed away in late 1945. This put Ed into a downward spiral, he had lost the only woman he had ever loved. He was now all alone. He boarded up rooms that were used by his mother, leaving them untouched while the rest of the home turned into chaos. He soon took an interest in anatomy books and would get some ideas for interior decorating.
Let's fast forward to the morning of November 16, 1957. It was then that a hardware store owner by the name of Bernice Worden disappeared, there was a report that her truck had been driven out from the rear of the store around 9:30 that morning. Locals saw that the store was closed and figured it was because of deer hunting season. But it was when her son entered the store around 5:00 that evening that he discovered blood stains on the floor and saw the cash register was left wide open. Her son was also the Deputy Sheriff. He had stated to investigators that he was suspicious of a gentlemen by the name of Ed Gein, he had been to the store several times before and was very odd.
So they decided they would go and question Ed and take a look around in the hopes that they would find Bernice. When the authorities did their search of the farmhouse, they stumbled upon a grisly scene that no one could have imagined.
Along with Eds anatomy books he also became obsessed with the human experiments that were conducted in Nazi camps. He started to fantasize about sex and dismemberment. He told one of his only friends Gus about the experiments that he wanted to perform, but needed bodies. So the two of them began to rob graves, you know typical bonding activities between friends. They also went as far as robbing his mother Augusta's grave. Over the years his experiments with corpses became more bizarre and gruesome. He turned to cannibalism and necrophilia. He would return the corpses to their graves, well the parts he didn't want to keep for himself that is.
The center of his obsessions seemed to stem from his overwhelming desire to turn himself into a woman. Enter in the movie "Silence of the Lambs" and the character Buffalo Bill as well as Leather face from "Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Ed would take women's skin and drape them on himself, this included making face masks and using their breasts kind of like a vest. He went as far as making a fully body female jumpsuit.
Soon grave robbing wasn't enough for him. To perfect his suits he was going to need a fresher body. On December 8, 1954 Ed killed Mary Hogan, a tavern owner. The authorities couldn't solve her disappearance, but definitely knew she had been a victim of foul play.
In Bernice's case, Ed went into the hardware store that morning, like he had many times before. He grabbed a .22 rifle from the display rack, put in his own bullet and shot her. He placed her body into the stores truck, grabbed the money from the register and drove back to his home.
Ok this next part is pretty gruesome so fair warning...
When the police entered the home of Ed Gein, they were hoping to find Bernice, alive. Instead they discovered; skulls made into bowls, jewelry made from human skin, skulls on his bedposts, a lampshade made from a face, hanging lips, chairs upholstered with human skin, the skin masks, a nipple belt, and a box of vulva's...including his mothers that was painted silver. Barf.
The police made their way to the shed, sheriff Art Schley lit a torch in the darkened shed and soon came across the naked corpse of Bernice hanging upside down, disemboweled with the head and throat missing.
Although police believed he killed others during his time, Ed only admitted to the murders of Worden and Hogan. In regards to the death of his brother Henry, there is speculation that Ed had something to do with it. There was no official investigation or autopsy done, his body wasn't burned and he had several bruises on his head when he was found. The circumstances were suspicious and Ed would have done anything to keep mother all to himself.
In 1958, Ed Gein was declared insane, he was sent to Wisconsin State Hospital in Mendota, where he remained until his death in 1984 at the age of 77 due to lung cancer.
Whew! Told you this one was disturbing.
See you all next week
Resources:
https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/ed-gein
https://www.ranker.com/list/ed-gein-childhood/amandasedlakhevener
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ed-gein-kills-final-victim-bernice-worden
https://www.thoughtco.com/serial-killer-edward-gein-972713
Edward Theodore Gein was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin on August 27, 1906 to George and Augusta. His father was a timid alcoholic and his mother...well she was quite the character, she was domineering and fanatically religious. It was Ed alongside his brother Henry that would endure abuse along with constant preaching. She promoted the fear of carnal sin, which she stated existed all around them. She would tell them that women were vessels of sin and caused disease.
In 1914, Augusta moved the family away to a remote farm outside of a small town in Wisconsin in the hopes of sheltering her children from the sinful world. They had very little contact with the outside world, Ed had a very isolated childhood. They were allowed to go to school and that was it. Even then Ed's only interaction with other children was his brother.
On the farm they would slaughter the livestock they raised, Ed was told that he was not allowed to go into the slaughtering shed, but he did just that. One afternoon he snuck in and witnessed his parents butchering a pig while covered in blood. Is this where it all began for Ed?
By 8th grade Ed stopped attending school and worked around the farm.
In 1940 his father George died from heart failure due to his alcoholism. Ed and Henry then began to pick up odd jobs in order to support the family, mostly as handymen, but Ed even took babysitting jobs. In 1944, the brothers were burning some brush on the farm when the fire got out of control. Henry's body was found later on that day when Ed stated he was missing. It was said that the fire was the result of his death, asphyxiation. Later on down the road that initial conclusion would soon be challenged. Was his death truly just a tragic accident?
Now for those that have seen the movie Psycho, this is where they drew the inspiration. Ed was obsessively devoted to his mother, he rarely left home and shockingly never dated any women (insert sarcastic tone.) After Henry's death she had a paralyzing stroke and Ed was there for anything she needed. After a second stroke her health decline rapidly. Augusta passed away in late 1945. This put Ed into a downward spiral, he had lost the only woman he had ever loved. He was now all alone. He boarded up rooms that were used by his mother, leaving them untouched while the rest of the home turned into chaos. He soon took an interest in anatomy books and would get some ideas for interior decorating.
Let's fast forward to the morning of November 16, 1957. It was then that a hardware store owner by the name of Bernice Worden disappeared, there was a report that her truck had been driven out from the rear of the store around 9:30 that morning. Locals saw that the store was closed and figured it was because of deer hunting season. But it was when her son entered the store around 5:00 that evening that he discovered blood stains on the floor and saw the cash register was left wide open. Her son was also the Deputy Sheriff. He had stated to investigators that he was suspicious of a gentlemen by the name of Ed Gein, he had been to the store several times before and was very odd.
So they decided they would go and question Ed and take a look around in the hopes that they would find Bernice. When the authorities did their search of the farmhouse, they stumbled upon a grisly scene that no one could have imagined.
Along with Eds anatomy books he also became obsessed with the human experiments that were conducted in Nazi camps. He started to fantasize about sex and dismemberment. He told one of his only friends Gus about the experiments that he wanted to perform, but needed bodies. So the two of them began to rob graves, you know typical bonding activities between friends. They also went as far as robbing his mother Augusta's grave. Over the years his experiments with corpses became more bizarre and gruesome. He turned to cannibalism and necrophilia. He would return the corpses to their graves, well the parts he didn't want to keep for himself that is.
The center of his obsessions seemed to stem from his overwhelming desire to turn himself into a woman. Enter in the movie "Silence of the Lambs" and the character Buffalo Bill as well as Leather face from "Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Ed would take women's skin and drape them on himself, this included making face masks and using their breasts kind of like a vest. He went as far as making a fully body female jumpsuit.
Soon grave robbing wasn't enough for him. To perfect his suits he was going to need a fresher body. On December 8, 1954 Ed killed Mary Hogan, a tavern owner. The authorities couldn't solve her disappearance, but definitely knew she had been a victim of foul play.
In Bernice's case, Ed went into the hardware store that morning, like he had many times before. He grabbed a .22 rifle from the display rack, put in his own bullet and shot her. He placed her body into the stores truck, grabbed the money from the register and drove back to his home.
Ok this next part is pretty gruesome so fair warning...
When the police entered the home of Ed Gein, they were hoping to find Bernice, alive. Instead they discovered; skulls made into bowls, jewelry made from human skin, skulls on his bedposts, a lampshade made from a face, hanging lips, chairs upholstered with human skin, the skin masks, a nipple belt, and a box of vulva's...including his mothers that was painted silver. Barf.
The police made their way to the shed, sheriff Art Schley lit a torch in the darkened shed and soon came across the naked corpse of Bernice hanging upside down, disemboweled with the head and throat missing.
Although police believed he killed others during his time, Ed only admitted to the murders of Worden and Hogan. In regards to the death of his brother Henry, there is speculation that Ed had something to do with it. There was no official investigation or autopsy done, his body wasn't burned and he had several bruises on his head when he was found. The circumstances were suspicious and Ed would have done anything to keep mother all to himself.
In 1958, Ed Gein was declared insane, he was sent to Wisconsin State Hospital in Mendota, where he remained until his death in 1984 at the age of 77 due to lung cancer.
Whew! Told you this one was disturbing.
See you all next week
Resources:
https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/ed-gein
https://www.ranker.com/list/ed-gein-childhood/amandasedlakhevener
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ed-gein-kills-final-victim-bernice-worden
https://www.thoughtco.com/serial-killer-edward-gein-972713
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