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5 chilling facts about the Monster: The Ed Gein Story

Monster: The Ed Gein Story shares its own interpretation of the life and crimes of Ed Gein.
posted by Sudipta Sinha
Saturday 10/4/2025 at 1:44PM EDT
  • A scene from Monster: The Ed Gein Story (Image via Netflix)
    A scene from Monster: The Ed Gein Story (Image via Netflix)

    Monster: The Ed Gein Story premiered on Netflix on October 3, 2025. The series explores the complex question of who the real monster truly is — Ed Gein himself, or the society that shaped, neglected, and later sensationalized him. Co-creator Ryan Murphy frames the season around the question, “Are monsters born or made?” and seemingly suggests that in Gein’s case, it’s a tragic combination of both. 

    The series examines how Gein’s abusive upbringing under his domineering mother Augusta, his isolation, and his undiagnosed mental illness contributed to his descent into madness. However, the showrunners also turn the lens toward the audience and media, arguing that the cultural obsession with violence and sensational storytelling is just as much to blame for this to become a dark social phenomenon. 

    Alfred Hitchcock, director of the film Psycho, inspired by Gein’s life, is a character in Monster season 3. Such characters highlight how Gein’s real-life atrocities influenced popular culture, blurring the line between horror and entertainment. Charlie Hunnam, who portrays Gein, questions along the same line whether the true evil lies in the man or in the countless people who exploited his story for fascination and profit.

    Netflix’s take on The Ed Gein Story

    Ed Gein kills his own brother in the series

    In the series, Ed Gein’s first victim is his brother Henry, whom he accidentally kills by striking him on the head, and then hides the truth to avoid suspicion. Henry’s death devastates their mother, Augusta, further straining her already fragile relationship with Ed. This tragedy cements a deep rift between them that shapes Ed’s entire life. However, in real life, Henry died in 1944 at the age of 43, apparently due to cardiac failure.

    Ed Gein’s relationship with his mother, Augusta

    Charlie Hunnam revealed that Ed Gein’s voice in the series was shaped by his warped relationship with his mother, Augusta, who longed for a daughter and often expressed hostility toward him. In an interview with Netflix’s TUDUM, the actor described Gein as a man living in total isolation, detached from reality, and driven by his imagination to construct a world entirely of his own making. He based his portrayal on a rare, unreleased audio recording of Gein after his arrest, which inspired the killer’s unsettling, mumbled tone and withdrawn demeanor. 

    Reports suggest that the real Ed Gein worshipped his mother, and the two shared a strong bond, especially after Gein’s father and brother passed away. It is even suggested that he tried to exhume her remains following her death in 1945, but was unable to do so as the coffin was encased in concrete.

    Gein’s gruesome acts while he is consumed by loneliness—crafting furniture and objects from human skin—culminate in horrifying imagery, reflecting his psychological collapse and obsession with recreating his lost mother.

    Ed Gein’s girlfriend, Adeline, fuels his Nazi fascinations

    Adeline Watkins (Suzanna Son), Ed Gein’s neighbor and companion in Monster: The Ed Gein Story, blurs the line between reality and imagination. Though loosely based on a real Plainfield resident, her existence remains ambiguous. Even the show’s creators debated whether she was a figment of Ed’s mind. 

    Adeline’s influence deepens Ed’s descent into darkness, introducing him to disturbing fascinations, including Nazi war criminal Ilse Koch (Vicky Krieps). Her own obsession with violence and imagery mirrors Ed’s corruption, embodying the show’s warning about the destructive power of what we watch and consume — a central theme driving both characters’ tragic unraveling.

    Ed Gein’s final crimes and arrest

    Ed Gein repeatedly misses chances to change his path, rejecting redemption when he murders Evelyn (Addison Rae) after losing a babysitting job, and later kills shopkeeper Bernice (Lesley Manville) during a psychotic break. It is the latter crime for which Ed ultimately gets arrested by the police.

    Deemed insane rather than evil, Ed is confined to a mental institution, where he imagines radio conversations with Ilse Koch and Christine Jorgensen. Through these hallucinations, the show distinguishes Gein’s gynephilia from transgender identity, a choice creators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan made to clarify misconceptions about gender and violence.

    What is Ed’s diagnosis in Episode 7?

    In the finale, Ed Gein is diagnosed with schizophrenia, offering clarity about his crimes and fragmented memories. Charlie Hunnam and Ryan Murphy emphasize this revelation as the emotional and thematic climax of the series, underscoring how proper treatment might have prevented Ed’s descent into violence. Hunnam’s first-take performance in this pivotal scene moved Murphy to tears, capturing the tragedy of Ed’s distorted reality. 

    The diagnosis also anchors the show’s broader commentary on mental health care in America. Murphy and Ian Brennan use Ed’s story to explore society’s moral duty to the mentally ill, contrasting the compassionate treatment Gein once received with the decline of institutional and governmental support for mental health services in modern times.

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    TOPICS: Ed Gein, Monster: The Ed Gein Story


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