Ed Gein's arrest and what the authorities found in his house shocked the America of the 1950s. Gein was just another resident of Plainfield, Wisconsin, but his house was a house of horrors. His neighbors and acquaintances realized how disturbed this man indeed was.
Raised by an alcoholic father and a religious fanatic mother living in an isolated farmhouse, Gein was raised in a repressive household and molded to have an unnatural rejection of normal urges.
His mental health issues took shape once his mother died when Ed Gein was in his thirties. He became unhinged and dangerous, and people became missing. The discovery of his crimes and his house of horrors shocked everyone. This was the first time people were confronted with the idea of necrophilia.
His story inspired Robert Bloch, who wrote the novel Psycho, which was adapted into the classic film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It has inspired the creator of Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies and The book and film Silence of the Lambs.
Who was Edward Theodore Gein?
Sources:
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119692643/ed-gein-one-year-ago/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119692761/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119692889/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119693118/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119693301/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119693451/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119693508/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119693700/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119693793/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119693897/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119693987/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119694109/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119696191/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119696341/
Books:
Borowski, J. (2016). the Ed Gein File: A Psycho's Confession
Gilks, J. (2015). Complete Transcript of Ed Gein's Confession
Keller, R. (2017). Unhinged: The Shocking True Story of Ed Gein, The Butcher of Plainfield.
Rosewood, J. (2017). The Big Encyclopedia of Serial Killers
Schechter, H. (1998). Deviant: The Shocking True Story of Ed Gein, the Original Psycho.
Woods, P.A. (1995). Psycho!
