Serial Killers

Ed Gein was a middle-of-the-road American virtually indistinct from any other. That is, until Green Lake County sheriffs laid eyes on the grisly trophies and skinned body of Gein’s latest victim. Operating off a tip, law enforcement in 1957 was stunned at the horror of tearing the veil off Gein’s hidden horror funhouse. A human body hung as if skinned, a human head waiting in a kitchen saucepan, and authentic (and recent) skeletons making up the décor were only some of the horrific scenes awaiting them.

Gein had a horror show waiting for any intruder, which he had taken pains to prevent. But the unmitigated contempt for human life Gein showed demonstrated to law enforcement that his victims were merely part of an elaborate scheme. While some serial killers concentrate on their thrill in the moment, Ed Gein was titled the Butcher of Plainfield for the gruesome catalog of body parts and startling inventory of bizarre trophy after effects of the victims’ remains.

Ed Gein was the model for Norman Bates in “Psycho”, and other cinematic horror figures; this rural Wisconsin farmer practiced deviant and depraved acts on both corpses and living victims. Gein doesn’t exactly fit the description of a serial killer, though like many serial killers, Ed Gein benefited from a complacent American small town lifestyle and a police force without advanced modern forensic techniques. Gein’s bachelor existence, rural lifestyle, and stern upbringing made for a snapshot of his personality as a curiosity.
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