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Early Life
Ed Gein was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin on August 27, 1906. Later his mother wanted to relocate to a 275 acre farm just outside of Plainfield, Wisconsin to
avoid the outside world from influencing her sons. Ed grew up with his confined family without
running water or electricity. He went to
school until he was 14 then quit to help his family on the farm. His
mother, Augusta, was an over controlling mother who dominated the household and
drilled into her children the outside world was full of sin. She was very religious and told her sons that
all women were bad and believed there would be another flood that would
come and wash away all of the world's women's sins. She favored Ed Gein growing up so he became a
mama's boy and didn't like other women.
His father, George, was an alcoholic and died of a heart attack in 1940 and a few years later his brother, Henry, died in a fire accident. There is questioning whether Gein killed his brother because when Gein told people about his brother's death he knew exactly where Henry was located. Police also found bruises on Henry's head which grew suspicion to whether Gein had anything to do with it. However, no charges were put up against Gein and the case was dropped. Shortly after the death of his father and brother, Augusta had a heart attack and later died in 1945. This left Ed devastated and all alone in a dark farm house at an age of 39. Once alone, he boarded up the inside of the house, closing off his mother’s room and the upstairs. He resumed living in the left over bedroom and kitchen.
After his mother's death he stopped working on the farm and supported himself on random jobs around town including babysitting children for neighbors. He was known as an "odd ball", but the town’s people still liked him and would invite him over for dinner. Ed had the knack for fixing things and would often be a handy man for neighbors and towns people. His work ethic was known to be very good because he would work hard for the amount that he was paid and everything was done right in a short amount of time.
His father, George, was an alcoholic and died of a heart attack in 1940 and a few years later his brother, Henry, died in a fire accident. There is questioning whether Gein killed his brother because when Gein told people about his brother's death he knew exactly where Henry was located. Police also found bruises on Henry's head which grew suspicion to whether Gein had anything to do with it. However, no charges were put up against Gein and the case was dropped. Shortly after the death of his father and brother, Augusta had a heart attack and later died in 1945. This left Ed devastated and all alone in a dark farm house at an age of 39. Once alone, he boarded up the inside of the house, closing off his mother’s room and the upstairs. He resumed living in the left over bedroom and kitchen.
After his mother's death he stopped working on the farm and supported himself on random jobs around town including babysitting children for neighbors. He was known as an "odd ball", but the town’s people still liked him and would invite him over for dinner. Ed had the knack for fixing things and would often be a handy man for neighbors and towns people. His work ethic was known to be very good because he would work hard for the amount that he was paid and everything was done right in a short amount of time.
the madness
Ed became
intrigued with the woman body and was fascinated with pornographic magazines
and later the obituaries. He wanted to
recreate his mother and even change his sex.
A sex change operation scared Ed so he used other ways to try to create
himself into a woman the best he could.
He began watching the obituaries in the newspaper and would be up to
date with the local deaths and crimes.
At night, he would go to freshly dug graves and take key parts from the
women he wanted. He would then close the
grave back up and take the parts he gathered back home.
After a while this didn't satisfy his need and wanted something a little "fresher". His first victim was Mary Hogan, a 51 year old tavern owner whom Ed killed in 1954. After shooting her he put her in the back of his truck and took her home. Police were unable to find any clues to Hogan's killer. In 1957, he killed his next victim who was 51 year old Bernice Worden, a proprietor of a general store. After he killed her he put her in the back of the store owned truck and took her body home. When Worden's son, Frank, went to the store to help his mother he found a trail of blood and the missing store truck. He then dug into the sales history and found the most recently sold item was a bottle of antifreeze. Frank remembered Ed was in the store the day before looking at the antifreeze and told the police to check it out.
After a while this didn't satisfy his need and wanted something a little "fresher". His first victim was Mary Hogan, a 51 year old tavern owner whom Ed killed in 1954. After shooting her he put her in the back of his truck and took her home. Police were unable to find any clues to Hogan's killer. In 1957, he killed his next victim who was 51 year old Bernice Worden, a proprietor of a general store. After he killed her he put her in the back of the store owned truck and took her body home. When Worden's son, Frank, went to the store to help his mother he found a trail of blood and the missing store truck. He then dug into the sales history and found the most recently sold item was a bottle of antifreeze. Frank remembered Ed was in the store the day before looking at the antifreeze and told the police to check it out.
Caught
When police arrived at Ed's house he was nowhere in sight so
they turned to a store where Ed usually did his shopping. Sure enough they found him there just about
to leave the store. They then asked him
to sit in the police car while they questioned him and Ed automatically came
out and said he thought someone was trying to frame him for Bernice Worden's
death without the police even bringing up the killings. They immediately took him into custody. With Ed locked up
in the jail, the police went to his house to investigate. The farmhouse was locked, but when they went
around to the shed it was open. Inside
the shed it was dark and they had to use their torchlights to search and it is
there they found Ed's possessions. They found a skinless body hanging upside
down gutted like a deer with no head.
After that finding the police moved back to the house where they broke
in and were overpowered with stench and filth.
Findings
themindofaserialkiller.tumblr.com
In the house police found:
- 2 shin bones
- 4 human noses
- A quart can that had human skin stretched over it like a drum
- A bowl made from half of a skull
- 9 masks
- 10 female heads with the head sawn off above the eyebrows
- Shoebox with 9 salted vulvas and one was his mother’s which was painted silver
- A hanging human head
- shrunken heads
- 2 skulls for Ed Gein's bedposts
- Pair of human lips on a string for window shades
- Refrigerator full of human organs
- scattered remains throughout the house
- Brown paper bag with Mary Hogan's face and hair inside
- Bernice Warden's head in a burlap sack
Findings made from human skin:
- Bracelets
- A purse with handles
- A sheath for a knife
- Pair of leggings
- 4 chairs that have been upholstered with human skin
- Lampshade
- A skirt
- Full body suit complete with mask and breasts
There were around 15 bodies found in the farmhouse. When Ed was questioned about how many he had in his possession he couldn't give an answer. He confessed to 2 killings and said the rest were from the cemetery. Ed Gein claims that he made around 40 visits to the cemetery between 1947 and 1952. He claimed he was in a "daze-like" state and would often wake up in the middle of the grave yard and would return home without taking anything during about 30 of the 40 trips. The other 9 he admitted digging up the graves and led authorities to them. When they dug the graves up to see if Ed was capable of such a thing they found either missing parts or the whole grave missing. One of the graves they found Ed's crowbar instead of the body that was supposed to be in there. Ed denied having sex with any of the bodies because they "smelled bad". He also admitted the killing of Mary Hogan, but said he didn't remember the details of the murder.
- 2 shin bones
- 4 human noses
- A quart can that had human skin stretched over it like a drum
- A bowl made from half of a skull
- 9 masks
- 10 female heads with the head sawn off above the eyebrows
- Shoebox with 9 salted vulvas and one was his mother’s which was painted silver
- A hanging human head
- shrunken heads
- 2 skulls for Ed Gein's bedposts
- Pair of human lips on a string for window shades
- Refrigerator full of human organs
- scattered remains throughout the house
- Brown paper bag with Mary Hogan's face and hair inside
- Bernice Warden's head in a burlap sack
Findings made from human skin:
- Bracelets
- A purse with handles
- A sheath for a knife
- Pair of leggings
- 4 chairs that have been upholstered with human skin
- Lampshade
- A skirt
- Full body suit complete with mask and breasts
There were around 15 bodies found in the farmhouse. When Ed was questioned about how many he had in his possession he couldn't give an answer. He confessed to 2 killings and said the rest were from the cemetery. Ed Gein claims that he made around 40 visits to the cemetery between 1947 and 1952. He claimed he was in a "daze-like" state and would often wake up in the middle of the grave yard and would return home without taking anything during about 30 of the 40 trips. The other 9 he admitted digging up the graves and led authorities to them. When they dug the graves up to see if Ed was capable of such a thing they found either missing parts or the whole grave missing. One of the graves they found Ed's crowbar instead of the body that was supposed to be in there. Ed denied having sex with any of the bodies because they "smelled bad". He also admitted the killing of Mary Hogan, but said he didn't remember the details of the murder.
trial behind the killing and psychology
On January 16, 1958 Ed was found not guilty due to insanity. He then spent 10 years in Central State Hospital at Waupon. After 10 years he was considered psychologically capable to be tried again and was found to be criminally insane. He was then put back into Central State Hospital and later moved to Mendota Mental Health Institute where he died at age 77 of heart and respiratory failure. He was said to be the ideal prisoner who was polite and would occupy his time in therapy and rug making activities.
Dr. Edward Kellener who is the head of psychiatric institute
called Gein a Schizophrenic, but nobody knows the true reason why Ed did the
things he did. Some psychologists say there were two things to explain
his killings. One of these factors was because of his mother. It is
believed that he unconsciously hated his mother and loved others. Ed cut
up women to bring his mother back and destroy her again because of his
frustration toward her. The second reason is due to him perceiving people
as objects. Others say his actions were a way to get his mother back because he was such a mama's boy, yet others say he did the things he did because he wanted to be a female and be more like his mom.
After Ed Gein
Ed Gein brought people from all over to Plainfield and was
on the front page of the newspaper. The people of Plainfield didn't like the
publicity and was happy when Ed's house went up in flames on the 27th of March 1958; three days before the house and property was supposed to be auctioned off. Nobody knows who started the fire, but when
Ed was informed that his house was gone he said, "Just as well." His car, however, was sold and was put on show
for people to see the car Ed carried the body parts and bodies home in. He also had an influence on the movies
Psycho, Silence of the Lamb, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre and was labeled as a
serial killer for the two killings and the body parts he possessed from the
graves.