Who Is Ed Gein? The Serial Killer Behind Monster: The Ed Gein Story
- Richa Verma
- Oct 11
- 2 min read
If Netflix had a dark corner dedicated to exploring the minds that terrify humanity, Ed Gein would be right at the center. The third installment of Ryan Murphy’s Monster anthology, Monster: The Ed Gein Story, doesn’t just revisit the crimes that inspired Hollywood’s most chilling classics; it pulls us deep into the psyche of a man whose name became synonymous with horror itself.
The Real Serial Killer Ed Gein: America’s Original Boogeyman
Born in 1906 in Plainfield, Wisconsin, Ed Gein grew up under the suffocating control of his fanatically religious mother, Augusta. She warned him that women were instruments of sin, shaping his warped view of the world. After her death, Gein’s loneliness and delusions took a sinister turn. He began grave robbing and murdering local women. He later crafted furniture and clothing from human remains. His acts would go on to inspire Psycho’s Norman Bates and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s Leatherface.
Netflix’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story
In Monster: The Ed Gein Story, Charlie Hunnam steps into the role of Ed Gein, offering what Variety calls a “frighteningly quiet, human portrayal of madness.” The show moves beyond shock value. It dissects how grief, repression, and isolation can deform the human mind. Rather than splattering gore, the camera lingers on Ed Gein’s eerie stillness, forcing viewers to confront the dark side of humanity behind the horror.
Entertainment Weekly highlights how the series explores Ed Gein’s relationship with his mother, Augusta, as its emotional anchor. The creators don’t excuse his crimes but attempt to understand the psychological roots of his monstrosity. EW notes,
“It’s less about what Gein did, and more about what made him.”
The Ethics of Obsession: Critics of The Ed Gein Story
But as Rolling Stone points out, there’s an uncomfortable mirror here; one reflecting our own obsession with true crime. “Every retelling of Gein’s life risks feeding the very fascination it condemns,” the review observes. The piece questions whether dramatizing such darkness in binge-worthy form risks glamorizing tragedy.
Still, critics agree on one thing: Murphy’s Monster series has redefined how we tell true-crime stories that blend artistry, empathy, and unease in equal measure. Ed Gein's portrayal might be the weakest in the series. However, as viewers, we’re left to ask why we can’t look away.
Why We Keep Watching
Perhaps it’s because Ed Gein isn’t just a name from the past but a reminder of the extent of human madness and cruelty. The show doesn’t justify him; it exposes him. And in doing so, it forces us to confront the part of ourselves drawn to darkness.
Because, in the end, Monster: The Ed Gein Story isn’t only about a killer. It’s about us, the audience that turns real horror into late-night entertainment.
Keep reading The ScreenLight for more such insight.
