Ed Gein in Popular Culture Edward Theodore Gein, better known as Ed Gein, the ‘Butcher of Plainfield’ (August 27, 1906 – July 26, 1984), was a human corpse snatcher, later convicted of the murder of two people and strongly suspected of killing six others, totaling eight victims. Gein's story has been widely portrayed in American popular culture through numerous appearances in films, music, and literature. The case first gained public notoriety in the fictionalized version presented by Robert Bloch (April 5, 1917 – September 23, 1994) in his 1959 suspense novel, Psycho. In addition to Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film adaptation of Bloch's eponymous novel, Gein's story has been loosely adapted into several films, including Deranged (1974) (also known as Deranged: Confessions of a Necrophile), a psychological horror film loosely based on the crimes of Ed Gein. It follows Ezra Cobb, a middle-aged man in a rural Midwestern community who begins a series of murders and grave robbings after the death of his mother, Amanda, a religious fanatic who raised him to be a misogynist. The film features diegetic narration in which newspaper columnist Tom Simms occasionally appears and narrates the events depicted. Although based on Gein, the film's title is misleading, as Gein never practiced necrophilia (although a necrophiliac is also defined as someone who has an obsessive fascination with corpses). The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Moonlight (2000) released in the United States and Australia as Ed Gein. Ed Gein, the Musical (2010) and Rob Zombie's films House of 1000 Corpses (2003) and The Devil's Rejects (2005). Gein served as inspiration for numerous fictional serial killers, most notably Norman Bates (Psycho), Leatherface (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Buffalo Bill (The Silence of the Lambs), and the character Dr. Oliver Thredson in the TV series American Horror Story: Asylum. Gein's story inspired the grunge band Tad to write the song "Nipple Belt" for their 1989 album, God's Balls. Gein also inspired the thrash metal band Slayer to write the song "Dead Skin Mask" for their 1990 album, Seasons in the Abyss. Furthermore, Blind Melon vocalist Shannon Hoon stated in interviews that the song "Skinned," from their 1995 album Soup, was about Gein and many of the crimes he committed. In 2012, German director Jörg Buttgereit wrote and directed a play about the Gein case titled Kannibale und Liebe, at the Theater Dortmund. According to psychiatrist George W. Arndt, who studied Ed Gein's psychology and the community's reactions to his crimes, news reports at the time about Gein's crimes gave rise to a subgenre of dark humor called "Geiners." Gein was portrayed in flashbacks by Michael Wincott in the 2012 biopic Hitchcock; Based on the book *Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho* by Stephen Rebello, the film chronicles the relationship between Alfred Hitchcock and his wife, Alma Reville, during the filming of *Psycho* in 1959. In 2022, Gein was portrayed by Shane Kerwin in the first season of the Netflix anthology series *Monster*, where he was suggested as a possible inspiration for the crimes of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. However, any direct connection between the two remains speculative. The third season of Ryan Murphy's series, titled *Monster: The Ed Gein Story*, focused on Gein's life and crimes, with Charlie Hunnam in the lead role. However, being based on real events doesn't mean everything is true: for example, regarding the capture of Ted Bundy, the series shows that Gein assisted the police in capturing Bundy. However, he did not assist in anything. Netflix created a kind of reference to *Mindhunter*, another of its original productions. FBI agents John Douglas and Robert Ressler visit Gein during an attempt to capture Ted Bundy—something that didn't happen in real life. Another point that viewers shouldn't consider is Gein's relationship with Adeline Watkins (Suzanna Son). In real life, the killer was indeed friends with Watkins for a short time, but this relationship was greatly exaggerated in the series. Gein and his second victim, Bernice Worden, a local shopkeeper, did not have a relationship as depicted in the series. The motivation for the crime, in the series, is that he murdered her out of passion. However, Gein never had a sexual relationship due to his strict upbringing in an extremist religious home. Alex