A new true crime docuseries will unravel the gruesome details of the infamous serial killer who made a “skin suit” of his victims and inspired dozens of modern horror films.
The four-part series titled Psycho: The Lost Tapes Of Ed Gein delves deeper into the sadistic actions of the now infamous murderer and necrophile who was sent to a mental institution after his sadistic crimes.
Active in Plainfield, Wisconsin in the late 1950s, Gein was branded The Plainfield Ghoul and The Mad Butcher for his heinous acts that are said to have inspired a slew of films, including Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs.
Here, FEMAIL has laid bare the disturbing reality surrounding Gein’s disturbing lifestyle.
The four-part series delves into the sadistic actions of notorious killer and necrophile Ed Gein (pictured) who was committed to a mental institution following his crimes
Nothing could have prepared agents for what they would find in Gein’s dilapidated farmhouse littered with rubbish and rotting garbage.
Ed Gein and older brother Henry grew up in a tumultuous atmosphere with their parents – George and Augusta – constantly at odds but refusing to divorce because of their religious beliefs.
Augusta, who was a staunch Lutheran, set aside time each afternoon to read passages from the Bible to her son—usually selecting explicit verses about death and divine retribution.
The mother of two was also keen to keep them away from outside influences, only letting them leave the house to go to school and berating them when they made friends.
But despite her tight rein, Ed in particular was eager to please his mother.
His father died of a heart attack in 1940, and just four years later, his brother was killed in a wildfire – leaving some researchers wondering if Ed was involved.
Their deaths left Ed alone with Augusta until her death in 1945 after a series of strokes.
He is said to have boarded up all the rooms his mother used after her death to leave them untouched – and confined himself to just one room.
The young man stated at the time that he “lost his only friend and one true love.” And he was all alone in the world.’
Gein confessed to killing hardware store owner Bernice Worden (left) and tavern owner Mary Hogan (right)
He is said to have boarded up all the rooms his mother used after her death to leave them untouched – and confined himself to just one room (pictured)
Authorities found bowls made from human skulls, chair covers made from human skin, a belt made from female nipples, and a lampshade made from the skin of a human face at Gein’s home (pictured)
Left to his own devices, Gein developed a morbid fascination with corpses and took up grave robbing and body snatching.
After digging up corpses from his local cemeteries, he began crafting gruesome trophies from skin and bones.
And the extent of his twisted crimes began to unravel after he was named as the prime suspect in the disappearance of hardware store owner Bernice Worden in 1957.
Her son told police that Gein had been in the store the day before and returned the next morning to buy antifreeze – that was the last receipt Worden had written.
Authorities soon raided his home, and the then 51-year-old killer quickly confessed to Worden’s murder and that of another woman, innkeeper Mary Hogan, in 1954.
But nothing could have prepared the agents for what they would find in Gein’s dilapidated farmhouse littered with rubbish and rotting garbage.
Police found Worden’s decapitated body hanging upside down in his shed with her body ripped open.
Her head, along with Hogan’s, was in his home.
Unfortunately, the grizzly discoveries didn’t end there: Authorities also reportedly found bowls made from human skulls, chairs covered in human skin, a belt made from female nipples, and a lampshade made from the skin of a human face. – just to name a few.
Gein was promptly arrested and revealed during interrogation that he had made as many as 40 trips to the three local cemeteries to dig up recently buried bodies.
He was also suspected of killing another four victims, but this was never proven.
Gein stood trial and was sentenced to life imprisonment, but after being found “legally insane,” he spent the rest of his life in a mental institution.
His ‘House of Horrors’ was burned to the ground in 1958 while he was in custody and that same year the car he had used to drag his victims’ bodies to his home was sold at public auction.
It received 15 bids before being snapped up for $760 (the equivalent of about $8,000 today) to carnival sideshow operator Bunny Gibbons, of Rockford, Illinois, who later charged 25 cents admission for carnivalgoers to see it.
Gein was promptly arrested and revealed during interrogation that he had made up to 40 trips to the three local cemeteries to dig up recently buried bodies.
Police (pictured digging in Gein’s garage) found Worden’s decapitated body hanging upside down in his shed with her body ripped open
His ‘House of Horrors’ was burned to the ground while he was in detention with suspected arson – before his death in 1984 caused by respiratory and heart failure due to cancer
The gruesome details of Gein’s crimes have inspired a slew of villains at the center of Hollywood blockbusters – most notably Norman Bates in Psycho (left) and Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs (right)
Gein died in 1984 of respiratory and heart failure due to cancer.
He was buried next to his mother before vandals later desecrated the killer’s grave.
The gruesome details of Gein’s crimes have inspired a slew of villains who have starred in Hollywood blockbusters – most notably Norman Bates in Psycho, Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs.
And now Psycho: The Lost Tapes Of Ed Gein will use “never-before-heard recordings” to explore the killer’s “upbringing and twisted relationship with his mother, his early grave robbery, the murders leading up to his arrest, and the police discovery of his terrifying horror house.’
The docuseries will stream on MGM+ in September.