Killer who inspired iconic horror films to feature in hit Netflix series

Following the success of Netflix’s Monsters series, the creative force behind the show has confirmed a new subject for the next iteration.

The anthology series created by Ryan Murphy has so far tackled two high profile murder cases and is set to examine the inspiration behind many iconic horror characters for its next subject.

Murderer and body snatcher Ed Gein will be the focus of the third series of Monster, who has been credited as being the real Leatherface among other nicknames.

It follows the first two series which tackled the crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer and the Menendez brothers.

But who is Ed Gein, who will play him in the series and what makes him such an interesting subject for the Netflix show? Here’s everything we know so far.

Who is Ed Gein?

Born in 1906 in Wisconsin, Ed Gein was a notorious killer and grave robber who killed at least two women and is connected to a number of unsolved cases.

He lived on a farm with his family in Plainfield from around 1915. His father passed away in 1940 while his brother Henry died under mysterious circumstances in 1944. While the cause was thought to be a fire that got out of control, questions have been raised over the younger sibling’s involvement.

Gein’s mother then died in 1945, leaving him alone and is thought to be the catalyst of him becoming increasingly deranged. He kept her room neat and as it was at the time she was last alive while the rest of his home fell into disarray.

What were Ed Gein’s crimes?

Gein worked as a handyman and babysitter but in December 1954, 54-year-old Mary Hogan who ran a nearby tavern disappeared.

Then, in November 1957, 58-year-old Bernice Worden went missing from the hardware store along with the cash register. A trail of blood was spotted going out the back of the building.

Worden’s son, a deputy sheriff, was suspicious of Gein and launched an investigation. When authorities searched his home, they found the woman’s headless body hanging from the ceiling. Her head was in a sack and her heart had been placed inside a plastic bag but that wasn’t all they found.

They discovered a larger collection of human organs along with clothing, accessories and household items made out of body parts and human skin. This led to Gein becoming known as the Butcher of Plainfield.

He would eventually admit to shooting both women who had reminded him of his dead mother. He also revealed he dug up corpses to practice necrophilia, as well as make suits out of skin to wear around his home.

Following Gein’s arrest, he was found unfit to stand trial due to a schizophrenia diagnosis and sent to Central State Hospital in Wisconsin. A decade later he was declared fit for court and found guilty of murder but again found insane and so was recommitted.

While he only admitted to murdering two women, Gein was linked with other disappearances and admitted to digging up the graves in a nearby cemetery.

What happened to Ed Gein?

Gein died of complications from lung cancer and respiratory illnesses on July 26, 1984, at age 77 and buried in his home town.

His grave became a dark tourist attraction until his entire headstone was stolen in June 2000. It was found a year later and placed in storage, leaving Gein’s gravesite unmarked ever since.

As for his farmhouse where the grim discoveries were made, a report in 1958 claimed it burned down following rumours it could be turned into a museum. However the cause of the blaze was never officially declared.

Who will play Ed Gein in Netflix series Monsters?

Charlie Hunnam will play the role of Ed Gein for the upcoming series. The British actor is known for his role as Jax in Sons of Anarchy and has also appeared in Pacific Rim and Rebel Moon Part One.

Hunnam will also appear in the new series Criminal on Amazon Prime in the near future.

There is no release date for the next Monster but production is believed to start this month.

It’s not the first time Gein has served as inspiration for film or television as he is credited with being the basis for some iconic characters. The relationship with his late mother inspired Robert Bloch’s novel Psycho which was eventually adapted by Alfred Hitchcock for the big screen. His gruesome habits with body parts also inspired the character of Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs as well as Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

If Hunnam and Murphy need any more inspiration for the upcoming Netflix release, they can look no further than a recent documentary.

Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein, released in 2023 featured previously unheard audio of interviews between Gein and law enforcement. Director James Buddy Day believed it gave a new insight into Gein’s true character, he said: “I had always assumed that Ed Gein was this meek, mild person, and that really comes through in the tapes.

“But when you hear his voice and you hear that interaction between him and the authorities, it really sets him apart from the serial killer myth, this kind of handsome, Anthony Perkins –type who can talk his way out of anything.

“Ed Gein is the opposite of that. But that’s what I think is so scary about him. He really is a monster in plain sight.”

Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is available to stream on Netflix now

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