Ed Gein

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Edward Theodore Gein [ ˈɡiːn ], called Ed Gein (born August 27, 1906 in La Crosse , Wisconsin , † July 26, 1984 in Waupun , Wisconsin), alias Plainfield Ghoul , was a murderer , grave - and corpse molester .

Ed Gein's tombstone (1999)

Family, childhood and youth

Gein came in 1906 as the second child of George Philip Gein (1873–1940) and his wife Augusta Wilhelmine nee. Lehrke (1878–1945) to the world. The parents, both from Wisconsin, married on July 7, 1900. Gein had an older brother, Henry George Gein (1901–1944). Gein's alcoholic father was always unemployed, the mother had to keep the family afloat with her grocery store alone. The father was violent and beat his sons, who were equally aggressive in behavior from a young age. Both Ed and his brother despised the father. Augusta Gein was very dominant and set the tone in the family. Since the parents were very religious, a divorce was out of the question. George and Augusta Gein lived together until the end of their lives, despite mutual contempt.

After saving enough money, Mrs. Gein bought a farm near Plainfield that became the family's primary residence. She chose this deserted area to seal off her growing sons from all external influences. Both were only allowed to leave the property to attend school. Mrs. Gein preached the sinfulness of human sexuality to her sons . She kept repeating that all women are whores and that sex should be for procreation and not for pleasure. She read them from the Bible every day , preferring those parts that deal with death and corruption.

Gein's father died in 1940. Four years later there was a big fire on the family farm in which Gein's brother was killed. Edward told the police that he had lost sight of his brother in the thick smoke. Still, he was able to lead the police straight to the body. Although Henry Gein was diagnosed with head trauma, “suffocation” was recorded on the death certificate. Henry Gein is therefore considered to be his brother's possible first victim. After his mother died the following year, Gein lived alone on his parents' property.

crime

The pathological behavior began with Gein at the latest when his mother died, to whom the bachelor was emotionally attached. On December 8, 1954, Gein murdered 51-year-old innkeeper Mary Hogan in Pine Grove , Wisconsin. Almost three years later, on November 16, 1957, the 58-year-old shopkeeper, Bernice Worden, was kidnapped from her shop in Plainfield and murdered. When police checked Gein's farmhouse the next day, they found parts of various other corpses (at least 15), including a collection of noses, female genital organs and masks made from human facial skin, in addition to Worden's gutted body.

Gein severed the heads of his victims and used the skulls as bowls to feed his dogs and cats. It could be proven that he had at least murdered Hogan and Worden. Gein had dug up the remaining bodies in cemeteries and mutilated them. Investigators found a heart in a pan on the stove - according to other reports, in a paper bag next to the stove. It remained unclear whether Gein was also a cannibal .

Ed Gein was arrested and later confessed to two murders. He looked completely relaxed and didn't seem to regard the murders as crimes, which is why he admitted them. Since he as not criminally responsible was considered, it referred him to the Central State Hospital in Waupun , Wisconsin. In November 1968 he was declared guilty, tried and convicted. The court again admitted him to the Central State Hospital , where he died on July 26, 1984 of cancer.

Entrance into pop culture

Gein's abnormal deeds offer a wide range of attempts at interpretation and discussion and, apart from law, medicine and science, fascinated many artists.

Movies

Ed Gein's actions have been the model for several films.

theatre

In 2012, wrote and directed the German director Jörg Buttgereit at Theater Dortmund that based on the case Ed Gein play Cannibal and love - A True Crime tragedy . The role of Ed Gein was played by the actor Uwe Rohbeck.

music

Ed Gein was also the inspiration for various pieces of music: e.g. B. for Ed Gein for President of the Belgian grindcore group Hybrid Viscery, Gein from Ry Legit , Dead Skin Mask from Slayer , Nothing to Gein from Mudvayne , Old Mean Ed Gein from The Fibonaccis , Jessica from Dir en gray , Nipple Belt from Tad , Skinned by Blind Melon, or Lotion by Greenskeepers . There is also a song of the same name by the Anglo-American group Killdozer . In the booklet of the CD Little Baby Buntin there is also an x-ray of Ed Gein's head. Death metal group Macabre produced two songs about Ed Gein called Ed Gein and The Geins . The band Combichrist features Gein alongside other well-known serial / mass killers in the song God Bless . The brutal death metal band Cerebral Bore also mentions Ed Gein in their song Entombed in Butchered Bodies .

The cover of the third LP Obey by the Swedish noise rock band Brainbombs adorns the image of Ed Geins, as does the album Madman Roll by the British psychobilly band The Meteors from 1991. This album features the song A Very Handy Man , which is "dedicated" to Gein .

The singer and drummer of the Austrian band Bloodsucking Zombies from Outer Space calls himself “Dead Gein” - as a kind of homage to the serial killer. On an album by the Bloodsucking Zombies, the life of Ed Gein is sung in the song GHOUL. The former bass player of the group Marilyn Manson called himself Gidget Gein (Gidget after a film surfer legend from the 1960s).

In addition, a whole music group calls itself Ed Gein. The Swedish death metal group Deranged has, named after the film, which deals with Ed Gein and an album entitled Plainfield Cemetary (dt. Cemetery of Plainfield ) published, which will be in the on the deeds of the serial killer.

In the album Amo , released in January 2019 by the metalcore band Bring Me the Horizon , a verse of the song Wonderful Life reads : "I wear a happy face like I'm Ed Gein". The text refers to Geins' skin masks.

Comics / video games

  • In the Japanese manga Rurouni Kenshin , Ed Gein is the model for the character Gein, who builds dolls and fighting machines from body parts.
  • In the fourth part of the video game series Silent Hill there is a character named Jasper Gein.

literature

Web links

Commons : Ed Gein  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Arnold Hohmann: cannibals, love and the very authentic horror in the Dortmund theater. In: derwesten.de. October 23, 2012, accessed July 17, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Gein, Ed
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gein, Edward Theodore
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American murderer
DATE OF BIRTH August 27, 1906
PLACE OF BIRTH La Crosse , Wisconsin
DATE OF DEATH July 26, 1984
Place of death Waupun , Wisconsin