Ed Gein

Ed Gein, the notorious Butcher of Plainfield, shocked the world with his grave robbing and murders that inspired some of horror’s darkest legends.

American Serial Murderer

Ed Gein arrest shot, 1957 - Plainfield case file

Edward Theodore Gein

Last updated: October 16, 2025

Full Name: Edward Theodore Gein
Alias: “The Butcher of Plainfield”
Date of Birth: August 27, 1906
Place of Birth: La Crosse County, Wisconsin, USA
Date of Death: July 26, 1984 (age 77)
Place of Death: Mendota Mental Health Institute, Madison, Wisconsin
Height: 5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Background: Reclusive farmer and handyman; dominated by a strict, religious mother who instilled fear of sin and women
Crimes: Murder, grave robbing, exhumation and mutilation of corpses, creation of “human trophies” (masks, furniture, clothing)
Victims (Confirmed): 2 (Mary Hogan, Bernice Worden)
Victims (Suspected): Numerous, through grave robberies; some investigators believed more murders possible, though never proven
Date of Crimes: 1940s–1957
Location: Plainfield, Wisconsin
Weapons Used: Rifle (Bernice Worden), unspecified blunt force/strangulation methods (Mary Hogan)
Modus Operandi: Murder, dismemberment, skinning, and use of human remains for macabre artifacts
Arrested: November 16, 1957 (after Bernice Worden’s disappearance and discovery of her body in Gein’s shed)
Conviction: Found guilty of murder but legally insane; confined to Central State Hospital and later Mendota Mental Health Institute
Sentence: Life in psychiatric custody (not prison)
Notoriety: Inspired characters in Psycho (Norman Bates), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Leatherface), and The Silence of the Lambs (Buffalo Bill)

🎥Watch the short film, then explore the full case file below.

Mini‑Timeline

1906: Ed Gein born in Wisconsin.
1954: Mary Hogan disappears; later linked to Gein.
Nov 16, 1957: Bernice Worden disappears; Gein arrested the same day.
Nov 1957: Police search reveals human remains and artifacts in Gein’s farmhouse.
1968: Found guilty for Worden’s murder; judge rules he was insane at the time; committed.
July 26, 1984: Dies in a Wisconsin mental health facility.

Classification & Characteristics

Ed Gein is generally classified not as a serial killer in the strictest sense, but as a murderer, necrophile, and grave robber whose crimes blurred the boundaries between homicide, ritual, and obsession. With only two confirmed victims, he does not fit the pattern of repetitive serial murder, yet his psychological profile and macabre practices placed him among the most notorious criminals of the 20th century.

Gein’s pathology was deeply rooted in maternal domination and isolation. His mother’s strict religious control fostered misogyny and sexual repression, leaving him emotionally stunted and socially inept. After her death, he turned to grave robbing as a way to maintain connection with the dead and recreate his mother’s presence. His compulsion to fashion “skin suits” and household objects from human remains reflects a fusion of necrophilia, psychosis, and identity disturbance.

Psychologists describe Gein as a psychotic, disorganized offender, marked by delusional thinking, ritualistic behaviors, and intense dependence on his deceased mother. Unlike power-control killers who exert dominance over living victims, Gein’s compulsions centered on the dead – reflecting obsessive-compulsive patterns more than sadistic gratification. His notoriety lies less in his victim count than in the grotesque creativity of his crimes, which reshaped cultural depictions of horror.

Ed Gein | Butcher of Plainfield

Edward Theodore “Ed” Gein was an American murderer and body snatcher. Each of his crimes were committed around his hometown of Plainfield, Wisconsin and garnered widespread notoriety after authorities discovered he had exhumed corpses from local graveyards and fashioned trophies and keepsakes from their bones and skin.

After police found body parts in his house in 1957, Ed Gein confessed to killing two women The first was tavern owner Mary Hogan, who Ed killed in 1954. The second, killed in 1957, was a Plainfield hardware store owner named Bernice Worden. Initially found unfit to stand trial, following confinement in a mental health facility, Ed Gein was tried in 1968 for the murder of Worden and sentenced to life imprisonment, which he would spend in a mental hospital.

With fewer than three murders attributed, Ed Gein does not meet the traditional definition of a serial killer. Regardless, his real-life case influenced the creation of several fictional serial killers, including Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Norman Bates from Psycho and Buffalo Bill from The Silence of the Lambs.

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Victims

Bernice Worden — Abducted Nov 16, 1957, Plainfield, Wisconsin; hardware store owner and mother.
Mary Hogan — Disappeared Dec 8, 1954; tavern owner; remains later tied to Gein.

Note: We list confirmed victims first. Alleged or unconfirmed connections, if mentioned, are clearly identified as such out of respect for the families and the record.

FAQs

How many people did Ed Gein kill versus exhume?

Gein is formally tied to two murders (Mary Hogan and Bernice Worden). He also admitted to multiple grave robberies, from which he recovered remains used to create household items and clothing. Popular culture often inflates the body count, but the documented, charged homicides number two.

Was Gein convicted or found insane?

In 1968, the court found Gein guilty of Bernice Worden’s murder; however, the judge concluded he was legally insane at the time. Instead of prison, he was committed to a secure mental health institution, where he remained until his death.

Was Ed Gein ever actually diagnosed with schizophrenia and medically treated for such?

Yes. In late 1957, court-appointed psychiatrists diagnosed Ed Gein with schizophrenia and he was found incompetent to stand trial. He was committed to Central State Hospital for the Criminally Insane (Waupun) and later transferred to Mendota Mental Health Institute (Madison), where he remained under psychiatric care until his death in 1984. Specific medications aren’t publicly documented.

Which films were inspired by Ed Gein?

His case influenced several works, including Psycho, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs. These are fictionalized portrayals that borrow select details rather than recount the case literally.

Where did Ed Gein die?

He died in 1984 while in the custody of a Wisconsin state mental health facility.

Ed Gein | Butcher of Plainfield

The Story

Who Was Ed Gein

Edward Theodore Gein was born in La Crosse County, Wisconsin. His parents, George and Augusta Gein both natives of Wisconsin, had two sons: Henry George Gein, and his younger brother, Edward Theodore Gein. Despite Augusta’s deep contempt for her husband, the marriage persisted because of the family’s religious belief about divorce. Augusta Gein operated a small grocery store and eventually purchased a farm on the outskirts of the small town of Plainfield, Wisconsin, which then became the Gein family’s permanent home.

Augusta Gein moved to this location to prevent outsiders from influencing her sons. Ed Gein left the premises only to go to school. Besides school, he spent most of his time doing chores on the farm. Augusta Gein, a fervent Lutheran, preached to her boys the innate immorality of the world, the evil of drinking, and the belief that all women (herself excluded) were prostitutes and instruments of the devil. She reserved time every afternoon to read to them from the Bible, usually selecting graphic verses from the Old Testament dealing with death, murder, and divine retribution.

With an effeminate demeanor, Ed Gein became a target for bullies. Classmates and teachers recalled off-putting mannerisms, such as seemingly random laughter, as if he were laughing at his own personal jokes. To make matters worse, his mother scolded him whenever he tried to make friends. Despite his poor social development, he did fairly well in school, particularly in reading.

Ed Gein tried to make his mother happy, but she was rarely pleased with her boys. She often abused them, believing that they were destined to become failures like their father. During their teens and throughout their early adulthood, the boys remained detached from people outside of their farmstead, and so had only each other for company.

Death In The Gein Family

After George Gein died of a heart attack in 1940, the Gein brothers began working at odd jobs to help with expenses. Both brothers were considered reliable and honest by residents of the community. While both worked as handymen, Ed Gein also frequently babysat for neighbors. He enjoyed babysitting, seeming to relate more easily to children than adults. Henry Gein began to reject his mother’s view of the world and worried about his brother Ed’s attachment to her. He spoke ill of her around his brother.

On May 16, 1944, a brush fire burned close to the farm, and the Gein brothers went out to extinguish it. Reportedly, the brothers were separated, and as night fell, Ed Gein lost sight of his brother. When the fire was extinguished, he reported to the police that his brother was missing. When a search party was organized, Ed led them directly to his missing brother, who lay dead on the ground. The police had concerns about the circumstances under which the body was discovered. The ground on which Henry Gein lay was untouched by fire, and he had bruises on his head. Despite this, the police dismissed the possibility of foul play and the county coroner listed asphyxiation as the cause of death. Although some investigators suspected that Ed Gein killed his brother, no charges were filed against him.

After his brother’s death, Ed Gein lived alone with his mother, who died on December 29, 1945, following a series of strokes, at which time Ed “lost his only friend and one true love. And he was now absolutely alone in the world.”

Ed Gein remained on the farm, supporting himself with earnings from odd jobs. He boarded up rooms used by his mother, including the upstairs, downstairs parlor, and living room, leaving them untouched. He lived in a small room next to the kitchen. Ed became interested in reading death-cult magazines and adventure stories.

The Arrest of Ed Gein

On November 16, 1957, Plainfield hardware store owner Bernice Worden disappeared, and police had reason to suspect Ed Gein. Worden’s son had told investigators that Gein had been in the store the evening before the disappearance, saying he would return the following morning for a gallon of anti-freeze. A sales slip for a gallon of anti-freeze was the last receipt written by Worden on the morning she disappeared.

Upon searching Gein’s property, investigators discovered Worden’s decapitated body in a shed, hung upside down by ropes at her wrists, with a crossbar at her ankles. The torso was “dressed out” like that of a deer. She had been shot with a .22-caliber rifle, and the mutilations performed after death.

Searching the house, authorities found:

Four noses
Whole human bones and fragments
Nine masks of human skin
Bowls made from human skulls
Ten female heads with the tops sawed off
Human skin covering several chair seats
Mary Hogan’s head in a paper bag
Bernice Worden’s head in a burlap sack
Nine vulvas in a shoe box
Skulls on his bedposts
Organs in the refrigerator
A pair of lips on a draw string for a window shade
A belt made from human female nipples
A lampshade made from the skin from a human face

These artifacts were photographed at the crime lab and then were properly destroyed.

The Confession of Ed Gein

When questioned, Ed Gein told investigators that between 1947 and 1952, he made as many as 40 nocturnal visits to three local graveyards to exhume recently buried bodies while he was in a “daze-like” state. On about 30 of those visits, he said he had come out of the daze while in the cemetery, left the grave in good order, and returned home empty handed.

On the other occasions, he dug up the graves of recently buried middle-aged women he thought resembled his mother and took the bodies home, where he tanned their skins to make his paraphernalia. Ed Gein admitted robbing nine graves, leading investigators to their locations. Because authorities were uncertain as to whether the slight Gein was capable of single-handedly digging up a grave in a single evening, they exhumed two of the graves and found them empty, thus corroborating Gein’s confession.

Shortly after his mother’s death, Ed Gein had decided he wanted a sex change and began to create a “woman suit” so he could pretend to be a female. Gein’s practice of donning the tanned skins of women was described as an “insane transvestite ritual”. Ed denied having sex with the bodies he exhumed, explaining, “They smelled too bad.” During interrogation, Gein also admitted to the shooting death of Mary Hogan, a tavern operator missing since 1954.

A 16-year-old youth, whose parents were friends of Ed Gein, and who attended ball games and movies with Gein, reported that he was aware of the shrunken heads, which Ed had described as relics from the Philippines sent by a cousin who had served in World War II. Upon investigation by the police, these were determined to be human facial skins, carefully peeled from cadavers and used as masks by Ed Gein.

On November 21, 1957, Ed Gein was arraigned on one count of first degree murder in Waushara County Court, where he entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. Found mentally incompetent and thus unfit to stand trial, Ed was sent to the Central State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, a maximum-security facility in Waupun, Wisconsin, and later transferred to the Mendota State Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. In 1968, Gein’s doctors determined he was sane enough to stand trial. The trial began on November 14, 1968, lasting one week. He was found guilty of first-degree murder by Judge Robert H. Gollmar, but because he was found to be legally insane, he spent the rest of his life in a mental hospital.

The Death of Ed Gein

On July 26, 1984, Edward Theodore Gein died of respiratory and heart failure due to cancer in Goodland Hall at the Mendota Mental Health Institute. He was 77 years old. Ironically Ed Gein’s final resting place is quite close to some of the very graves he’d at one time dug up and robbed. He is buried between his mother and his brother, on the family plot in the Plainfield Cemetery.

Source: murderpedia | wikipedia |

Additional Resources

Encyclopaedia Britannica — Ed Gein
- A reliable biography and overview of his crimes, cultural impact, and background. Britannica: Ed Gein
Wikipedia — Ed Gein
- Comprehensive, frequently updated article covering his life, crimes, mental state, victims, and legacy.
- Wikipedia: Ed Gein
Crime Museum — Ed Gein Case File
- Presents a well-organized crime library entry: timeline, artifacts discovered, crime details, and historical context.
- Crime Museum: Ed Gein

Fireside Crime Stories

If the written word keeps you leaning forward into the shadows, then you’ll love settling back by the fire with us. On our YouTube channel, these same haunting stories are told in a softer voice – woven with stormlight, fire crackle, and quiet piano. Perfect for late-night listening, or for those who want to drift into slumber carried by true crime whispers instead of headlines. Step into the firelight, and join us there.

FIRESIDE CRIME STORIES

THE TALE OF ED GEIN IS UNDER THE STORMLIT DOUBLE FEATURE PLAYLIST FOUND HERE

👉Related WickedWe Cases

👩‍⚖️This page is part of the WickedWe True Crime Archive – a resource for researchers, students, and true crime enthusiasts seeking verified facts, case records, and deeper historical context.

Court Reports & Legal / Psychiatric Documents

Ed Gein Testimony (Transcript PDF / Court Statements) – A primary courtroom transcript of Gein’s testimony, detailing his statements under oath.
Read the Transcript – Scribd
Sheboygan Pathologist Helped in Ed Gein Case – A forensic report describing the autopsy of Bernice Worden, medical examiner notes, and case handling.
Read the Report – Sheboygan County Historical Research Center (PDF)
Wisconsin Historical Society – Edward Gein Historical Essay – Includes legal perspectives, trial notes, and commentary from Judge Robert H. Gollmar, who presided over Gein’s case.
Read the Essay – Wisconsin Historical Society

Psychological / Behavioral Analysis

Radford University Criminal Justice Profile – Academic report summarizing Gein’s background, psychological characteristics, and criminal behavior.
Read the Report – Radford University (PDF)
A&E – Ed Gein as a “Model Patient” – Covers his psychiatric management and institutional behavior, including how hospital staff perceived him.
Read at A&E

Media Coverage & Archive Resources

Crime + Investigation – Ed Gein – Narrative timeline, case details, and cultural legacy of his crimes.
Read at Crime + Investigation
Crime Museum – Ed Gein Case File – Case overview, artifacts found, and detailed crime library entry.
Read at Crime Museum
Wisconsin Historical Society – Photo of Ed Gein – Archival photo of Gein at the Wisconsin State Crime Lab after his arrest.
View the Photograph – Wisconsin Historical Society

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Ed Gein | The Butcher of Plainfield [Case File & Timeline] Updated