Behind The Horror - The Horrifying True Story Of Ed Gein
A writer who caught wind of Ed Gein’s crimes and followed the case closely was Robert Bloch, who some of you may know as the author of the infamous novel Psycho, which released in 1959. He was fascinated by Gein’s obsessive nature with his mother, and incorporated this obsession into his characters Norman Bates and his mother Norma. In an essay written by Bloch, he gives a detailed account of Gein's crimes and highlights his inspiration in Psycho:
The concept proved so intriguing that I immediately set about planning a novel dealing with such a character. In order to provide him with a supply of potential victims, I decided to make him a motel operator. Then came the ticklish question of what made him tick -- the matter of motivation. The Oedipus motif seemed to offer a valid answer, and the transvestite theme appeared to be a logical extension. The novel which evolved was called Psycho.
As Gein’s crimes grew in popularity by wide media coverage, in 1974 a lesser known director at the time, Tobe Hooper, took inspiration from Ed Gein for his movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Namely, this is seen in his character Leatherface and the wearing of human flash, which of course Gein had become well known for as part of his crimes. In the documentary series A-Z of Horror (1997), Hooper shares how he came to know of Gein:
My relatives that lived in a town close to Ed Gein told me these terrible stories, these tales of human skin lampshades and furniture and such. A little bit of grave robbing, I think...I didn't really know the man's name, I didn't even know about Ed Gein. I just knew about something that happened that was horrendous. But that image really stuck and I grew up with that kind of burning in my mind.
Author Thomas Harris was also inspired by Gein when writing his book The Silence of the Lambs in 1988, as seen in the character Buffalo Bill and his capturing of women to murder and creating a body suit out of their skin. John Douglas, a retired FBI agent of whom Harris audited his criminal psychology class and based his character Jack Crawford on, gave an interview in 1999 discussing Harris' inspiration for the character Buffalo Bill:
I think it's more scary that there are people like Buffalo Bill. He is a composite of three killers who Harris learned about in a lecture: Ted Bundy. A guy from Plainview, Wis., who killed a couple people. Dug up the graves of a couple more. And he'd skin them. And preserve the flesh in motor oil. Then he would slip them on himself. Face masks. He had half a dozen of them.