Ed Gein - Inspiration for Many Horror Films

Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Silence of the Lamb

Oct 7, 2009

Ed Gein was not a smart murderer, nor was he charming or clever. The simple horror of his crimes, committed by pure insanity, has led to many films based on his case.

Ed Gein’s heinous crimes are the basis for many a sleepless night and horror movie. Some of the films, such as Ed Gein, are factual, while others, such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, are a fictitious mixture of Gein's crimes and others.

The Real Ed Gein and his Crimes

Edward Theodore Gein was born August 27 in Wisconsin to an alcoholic father and a mother who was a religious fanatic. His mother, who did not believe in divorce, supported the family. She ran a small grocery store and was able to buy a farm on the outskirts of Plainfield. Her religious beliefs caused her to isolate her two sons to save them from the evil influences of alcohol and bad women.

Ed had an unnatural attachment to his mother that grew worse after the death of their father. After his only brother died under suspicious circumstances, Ed lived alone with his mother. Her death isolated him and put him over the edge.

Gein supported himself with odd jobs, and began visiting the local cemetery, where he began exhuming corpses. Then he moved on to murder. The police, growing suspicious, discovered a missing woman, Bernice Worden’s corpse in his shed, decapitated and disembowled as hunters dress a deer. A search of the house found human skulls, skin made into lampshades, and human facial skins which he wore as masks, and many other grisly discoveries. Gein admitted to digging up graves of women who resembled his mother. He also made a “woman suit” so he could pretend to be female.

Gein was convicted of two murders, Bernice Worden and Mary Hogan, but it is believed there may have been more victims. In 1968, Gein was found guilty of first degree murder, but since he was also declared legally insane, his sentence was life in a mental hospital. He died of natural causes in 1984.

Movies Strongly Based on Ed Gein’s Life

Several movies follow Ed Gein’s true life and crimes. The 2001 film Ed Gein, also titled In the Light of the Moon, in which Steve Railsback plays the main role, comes closest to the true account of his life and crimes.

In the 2007 film Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield, Kane Hodder (of Friday the 13th Jason fame) plays Gein. This film deviates quite a bit from the real story in order to make it more of a thriller, so many of the details are not the same as the true account. The 1974 cult classic Deranged was strongly influenced by the Ed Gein story. Roberts Blossom plays Ezra Cobb, a man is dominated by his mother, who loses his mind after her death.

Films Inspired by Gein’s Crimes

Other movies are either based in part or inspired by his crimes. In Psycho, Norman Bates is a Gein-like character who has an unnatural attachment to his deceased mother. He keeps her corpse in the house, and often personifies her by wearing a wig and dresses.

In Silence of the Lambs, another purely fictional movie, serial killer Buffalo Bill is patterned after Gein in that he murders women and uses their skins as human masks. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a blend of several different murders and serial killers. Leatherface, who also wears a masks made of human skin, was doubtlessly inspired by Ed Gein. However, Gein never killed his victims with a chainsaw.

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