Behind The Horror - The Horrifying True Story Of Ed Gein

On July 26th 1984, Ed Gein died from lung cancer in Mendota Mental Health Institute at the age of 77, and in a cruel twist of fate, his body was laid to rest in Plainfield Cemetery - the very location where he stole bodies from for his grisly taxidermy over the course of 10 years.

The crimes of Ed Gein are notorious in their unique, gruesome fashion, his motivations clearly fuelled by his descent into madness following the death of his mother. But the question still remains over the death of his brother Henry - was he indeed Ed’s first victim?

There are points for and against this theory. Gein was apparently not motivated to kill and perform taxidermy until after his mother’s death, which was presumably the breaking point that triggered his descent into madness. And his brother’s body was not found mutilated in the way of his other victims. However, Gein did cherish Augusta, and Henry speaking ill of their mother could have caused him to snap and enter what could have been the first of his ‘dazed states’. We will likely never know.

However, it is clear that the impact of Ed Gein is felt in the horror genre, as his monstrous legacy went on to inspire some of the best horror franchises of all time that continue to both terrify and entertain casual viewers and horror fanatics alike.