"Monster: The Ed Gein Story" appeared at No. 1 on Netflix's self-selected "Top 10" this weekend, just as two previous intstallments of the series from producer Ryan Murphy have done. And like the previous two, including an Emmy Award-winning 2022 series about Milwaukee serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, the story of Ed Gein has a number of exaggerations and fabrications over its eight episodes.
So what's fact and what's fiction? Here's what we know, with information drawn primarily from past reporting and books "The Ed Gein File: A Psycho's Confession and Case Documents," produced and edited by John Borowski, and "Ed Gein: Psycho" by Paul Anthony Woods.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for "Monster: The Ed Gein Story" and includes descriptions of the graphic details portrayed.
Ed Gein confessed to killing two people: hardware-store owner Bernice Worden, 58, in 1957, and tavern owner Mary Hogan, 54, in 1954. Both deaths are portrayed in the show.
Though he was questioned about other cases, he never admitted to any additional killings, and no evidence was produced to suggest otherwise. Gein's house contained body parts from several other bodies; he said he had uneartheed remains of nine to 10 other women from nearby cemeteries. His claims were verified when investigators checked out the grave sites.
