Ed Gein

Ed Gein was an American murderer and grave robber whose crimes in Wisconsin inspired fictional characters including Norman Bates and Leatherface.

Plainfield murders: The 1954 and 1957 killings of Mary Hogan and Bernice Worden by Ed Gein in Plainfield, Wisconsin. These murders exposed Gein’s crimes and led investigators to his farmhouse.
Psycho (1960 film): Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller about Norman Bates, a motel owner with a murderous relationship to his mother. The film’s Norman Bates was partly inspired by Gein, though its plot is not a direct retelling.
Frank Worden: A Wisconsin deputy sheriff who investigated the 1957 disappearance of Bernice Worden. His investigation led authorities to Gein’s farmhouse and the evidence there.
The Silence of the Lambs: A 1988 thriller novel by Thomas Harris featuring FBI trainee Clarice Starling and serial killer Hannibal Lecter. Hannibal Lecter draws on several real criminals, including Gein, but is not a portrayal of him.
Bernice Worden: A Plainfield hardware-store owner murdered by Ed Gein in 1957. Her disappearance prompted the search that uncovered evidence at Gein’s home.
Norman Bates: The fictional motel owner and murderer at the center of Robert Bloch’s novel Psycho and its adaptations. Robert Bloch drew inspiration for Bates partly from reports about Gein.
Alvin K. Kelley: A Wisconsin judge who presided over Ed Gein’s 1957 murder trial. Kelley’s ruling separated Gein’s criminal responsibility from his later commitment to psychiatric care.
Hannibal Lecter: A fictional psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer created by Thomas Harris. Lecter’s composite inspirations differ from Gein’s documented history and specific crimes.
Mary Hogan: A Plainfield tavern owner murdered by Ed Gein in 1954. Her killing was among the crimes Gein later confessed to.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: A 1974 horror film in which a family of killers terrorizes travelers in rural Texas. Gein’s crimes helped inspire the film’s disturbing imagery, but its story is fictional.

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