Bill Schenley
2005-07-26 07:25:43 UTC
''Psycho'' Inspiration Ed Gein Dies
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FROM: The United Press International (July 27th 1984) ~
By Frank Ryan
Ed Gein, the ''butcher of Plainfield'' whose grotesque killings and
grave robbing inspired the Alfred Hitchcock movie thriller ''Psycho,''
has died at 77.
Gein died Thursday of respiratory failure in a state mental hospital.
Officials at the Mendota Mental Health Institute said he also had been
suffering from cancer.
Gein's murders, butchery and home furnishings made of human flesh made
him an international byword in 1957. They inspired a book by Robert
Block which was used as the basis for Hitchcock's classic terror film.
Gein lived on a farm with his mother in the east-central Wisconsin
hamlet of Plainfield. After her death in 1945 he became withdrawn and
lonely, but the townsfolk considered him harmless and even hired him
as a babysitter.
Gein admitted in 1957 he had killed and butchered two women and looted
the graves of about a dozen more in moonlight forays into cemeteries
between 1944 and 1952. He never was convicted of the crimes because he
was found mentally incompetent. He spent the rest of his life in
mental institutions.
Gein told authorities he killed Mary Hogan, 54, a tavern operator, in
1954 and killed Bernice Worden, 58, a Plainfield hardware store
operator, in 1957, because they resembled his dead mother.
Psychiatrists said he had an abnormal love for his mother.
Authorities investigating the disappearance of Mrs. Worden went to the
dilapidated Gein farm and found her body hanging by the heels in the
woodshed. It was dressed out like a deer.
Inside the house, they found 19 skulls, shrunken heads, preserved
torsos and death masks made of human skin. Furniture was fashioned
from human remains. Clothing and bracelets appeared to be made of
human skin and hair, and a human heart was found in a pot on the
kitchen stove. Parts of human bodies were found scattered throughout
the nine-room house.
Authorities eventually determined that 10 graves had been uncovered
and that Gein had brought the bodies to his home.
Gein was diagnosed as a chronic schizophrenic. A mysterious fire
consumed his farm about a year after the grisly discoveries.
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Photos: Loading Image...
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(Gein's house)
Ed Gein in art:
Loading Image...
Loading Image...
(WARNING: Could be considered gross)
More on Ed Gein: http://www.crimelibrary.com/gein/geinmain.htm
Photo: Loading Image...
FROM: The United Press International (July 27th 1984) ~
By Frank Ryan
Ed Gein, the ''butcher of Plainfield'' whose grotesque killings and
grave robbing inspired the Alfred Hitchcock movie thriller ''Psycho,''
has died at 77.
Gein died Thursday of respiratory failure in a state mental hospital.
Officials at the Mendota Mental Health Institute said he also had been
suffering from cancer.
Gein's murders, butchery and home furnishings made of human flesh made
him an international byword in 1957. They inspired a book by Robert
Block which was used as the basis for Hitchcock's classic terror film.
Gein lived on a farm with his mother in the east-central Wisconsin
hamlet of Plainfield. After her death in 1945 he became withdrawn and
lonely, but the townsfolk considered him harmless and even hired him
as a babysitter.
Gein admitted in 1957 he had killed and butchered two women and looted
the graves of about a dozen more in moonlight forays into cemeteries
between 1944 and 1952. He never was convicted of the crimes because he
was found mentally incompetent. He spent the rest of his life in
mental institutions.
Gein told authorities he killed Mary Hogan, 54, a tavern operator, in
1954 and killed Bernice Worden, 58, a Plainfield hardware store
operator, in 1957, because they resembled his dead mother.
Psychiatrists said he had an abnormal love for his mother.
Authorities investigating the disappearance of Mrs. Worden went to the
dilapidated Gein farm and found her body hanging by the heels in the
woodshed. It was dressed out like a deer.
Inside the house, they found 19 skulls, shrunken heads, preserved
torsos and death masks made of human skin. Furniture was fashioned
from human remains. Clothing and bracelets appeared to be made of
human skin and hair, and a human heart was found in a pot on the
kitchen stove. Parts of human bodies were found scattered throughout
the nine-room house.
Authorities eventually determined that 10 graves had been uncovered
and that Gein had brought the bodies to his home.
Gein was diagnosed as a chronic schizophrenic. A mysterious fire
consumed his farm about a year after the grisly discoveries.
---
Photos: Loading Image...
Loading Image...
(Gein's house)
Ed Gein in art:
Loading Image...
Loading Image...
(WARNING: Could be considered gross)
More on Ed Gein: http://www.crimelibrary.com/gein/geinmain.htm