Edward Gein was born on August 27, 1906 in La Crosse, Wisconsin, U.S. Edward was raised in a very strict household with strong religious values. His parents, George Philip and Augusta Gein, did not hesitate to enforce their rules with physical violence on young Ed.
Their family life was anything but stable. George constantly changed jobs and was unable to stick to one due to his heavy drinking problem. Augusta was verbally abusive towards him and they had their constant fights. In 1915, Augusta forced her family to move to an isolated farm in the town of Plainfield, Wisconsin. She believed that was the ideal place to raise her boys and keep them away from all the "sinful" activities and taught them that all women, but herself were servants of the Devil.
Edward was very quiet as a kid. His teachers described him as an "odd" kid. He didn't have any friends either because his mother forbade him from speaking to anybody. Regardless, Ed was still very close with his mother and described her as his 'first love'.
Things took a different turn, when in 1940 Ed's father passed away. Edward and his brother, Henry had to pick up jobs around the town to support their family.
As time went on, Henry met a woman and started to move on with his life. But not Edward. He was at home, still very much obsessed with his mother. Henry expressed his concerns and allegedly talked poorly of Augusta.
Then on May 16th, 1944 the two brothers were working around a farm. When suddenly a fire started. Edward reported to the authorities that his brother was missing. Soon they discovered his body lying face down nearby. There were no signs of any burnt skin but they did find injuries on his head. According to the autopsy, the cause of death was heart failure. So that was that and the police closed the case. Many believe that Henry, Ed's brother, was indeed his first victim.
About a year later Augusta had a stroke. Despite Ed's good care Augusta passed away in 1945. In her last days she continued to verbally abuse him.
Edward was absolutely devastated after his mother's death and barely had much skills to fend for himself. He was still living in their family house. Rooms turned into a garbage pile. He didn't take much care of the house and had trash and dust everywhere. But oddly enough he kept his mother's room completely clean, as if she had never left. Also he had 0 to no social life. Many found him odd but no one really paid much attention to him.
On November 16th, 1957, Bernice Warden, a local 58 year old woman, disappeared. Later that day when her son stopped by the shop where she worked, he couldn't find her anywhere. Then when he looked for her, he found a trail of blood near the register which went all the way near the exit door. Even the back and front doors were unlocked.
This greatly concerned him. He checked the receipts and the last purchase was made by Edward for antifreeze. He immediately reported the police and they went to Ed's farm to question him. The police further searched his house and to their surprise, they found the body of Bernice Warden in the summer kitchen.
Apparently, Bernice's decapitated, naked body was hanging by her feet from an overhead pulley. There had been a cut made from her pelvic to her chest. Multiple organs had already been taken out.
The cops immediately called for backup and began searching the rest of the property. The things they found absolutely horrified them. Here's to name a few-
- Lampshades made with human flesh
- A chair made out of human skin
- A box full of human nose
- Soup bowls made out of human skull
- A shade pole decorated with women's lips
- A shirt and leggings made with different kinds of skin from various parts of human body
- One wall decorated with nine women's faces
- A corset made out of a woman's torso
- A refrigerator filled with human organs
According to Edward's statement, he was trying to make a body suit out of human skin to turn himself into a woman. He said it was a way for him to feel close to his deceased mother.
So Edward confessed to killing 2 women, Bernice and local tavern owner Mary. The rest of the bodies were stolen from the local cemetery. He had made a friend there, Gus. Gus helped him dig up the bodies but didn't participate in any other activities.
Edward did it all for about 12 years after his mothers death. But the dead skin was dry and he needed fresh skin to work with. So he decided to kill.
Edward was pled not guilty for reasons of insanity and was sent to central state hospital for the criminally insane. But 10 years later another trial was done and he was found guilty for first degree murder. Ed spent the rest of his life in an institution and passed away on 26th July, 1984.
As for his house of horrors, people in town absolutely despised it besides attracting many tourists. One day it mysteriously caught on fire and burnt to the ground.
Many characters in various well known movies were inspired by Edward. Psycho (1960), Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Silence of The Lambs and many more. As well as many documentaries and books.
