Netflix's 'Monster: The Ed Gein Story': How Many Victims Did The Butcher Of Plainfield Really Kill?

Netflix's Monster: The Ed Gein Story has quickly become one of the most disturbing yet talked-about releases of the year. After the success of Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the new season explored the horrifying world of Ed Gein, the infamous Butcher of Plainfield. It showcased the heinous crimes that shook America in the 1950s. The show has gripped the audience, but a common question has left everyone thinking is about the exact number of people Ed Gein actually killed.

How many people did Ed Gein kill? 

Ed Gein was arrested in 1957 after the disappearance of Bernice Worden, a local hardware store owner. When the police reached his farmhouse for investigation, they found human remains, body parts moulded into household items, and keepsakes made from dead human skin. However, after his arrest, Ed admitted that he killed only two women: 54-year-old tavern owner, Mary Hogan, who disappeared in 1954, and 58-year-old Bernice Worden. Authorities noted that both women resembled his late mother, Augusta, with whom he had an obsessive attachment.

Ed Gein even confessed that he used to rob graves to gather body parts to make those creations. But despite speculation, no evidence tied him to any other murder. Some people believed that he might have killed his brother Henry, who had mysteriously died earlier. But the theory was never proven. According to reports, Ed Gein's crimes blurred the line between murder and grave desecration. Consequently, his story was titled as one of the most chilling crime scenes in American history. A Wisconsin law enforcement official had once said:

"I don't think we ever saw anything like it before or since."

Was Ed Gein ever convicted? 

Although Ed Gein confessed to committing two murders, he was never put behind bars in the traditional sense. His lawyer had entered a plea of "not guilty by reason of insanity" in 1958. Later, Ed was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was declared mentally unfit to stand trial. He was committed to a state hospital for nearly a decade before finally standing trial in 1968. In the trial, he was found guilty of Bernice Worden's murder but again ruled legally insane. Ed spent the rest of his life in mental health institutions, including Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison, Wisconsin, until his death from lung cancer in 1984.

More about Monster: The Ed Gein Story

Monster: The Ed Gein Story is created by Monster franchise creators, Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan. The story presents Ed Gein's story through a chilling and thought-provoking lens. It features Charlie Hunnam, Laurie Metcalf, Tom Hollander, and Olivia Williams, among others. Instead of glorifying the violence, the show focuses on his psychological trauma, isolation, and twisted love that shaped Gein's monstrous acts, which has left the audience thinking years later.

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