The details of Ed Gein’s story are pure fiction

This post contains major Spoilers About “The Monster: The Ed Gein Story.”

There is no disagreement in saying that Ryan Murphy has added fuel to the fire of our collective obsession with true crime dramas. Both “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” and “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” were smash hits on Netflix for a reason, blurring the line between morbid interest and blatant exploitation. The third installment in the Monster series is Monster: The Ed Gein Story no A Murphy-Led Endeavor – Ian Brennan (“Glee,” “Scream Queens”) decided to go the meta-commentary route to explore the impact the titular killer/grave-robber had on popular culture at large. While Murphy’s limited involvement as producer may inspire high hopes for a more tactful exploration of the subject, “The Ed Gein Story” is perhaps the most morally questionable entry in the “Monster” trilogy.

The new series bears all the hallmarks of a Murphy production, as the monster in question, Ed (Charlie Hunnam), is framed through a disturbing lens. Sure, the real Jean may have been driven by complex psychosexual urges, but the series offers the most generous assessment of the notorious serial killer by the time the credits roll. Any nuance lurking beneath the surface is completely lost, as Jane’s twisted obsession with female flesh dangerously mixes with grotesque identity and expression. This recurring recklessness obscures even the simplest facts, such as the detrimental influence that Ed’s mother (Laurie Metcalf) had on his distorted psychosexual tendencies or the ugliness of his general circumstances.

like “The Monster: The Ed Gein Story” embellishes a lot for dramatic stakesWhat parts of the story are purely fictional? Let’s take a closer look.

In the Netflix show, Gene is interrupted by two bear hunters (named Victor Travis and Raymond Burgess) while he is mutilating the body of Bernice Worden (Lesley Manville) in the barn located on his Plainfield lot. While the hunters are initially lost in the snow, they stumble upon Jane’s shed and discover one of the victims’ bodies. Upon discovering them, Gene chases them into the woods and brutally kills them with a chainsaw. This entire sequence is not factual, but merely conjecture, as there is no factual evidence that Gene had anything to do with their deaths.

Now, why does this speculation exist in the first place? For starters, there are two fishermen named Travis and Burgess an act They disappeared in the local area where Jin lived, but their fate remains unknown to this day. While Jin is questioned about this disappearance, there is no evidence linking him to the missing hunters. Furthermore, the chainsaw killing doesn’t fit with Jane’s real modus operandi, and must have stemmed from a classic horror movie directly inspired by Jane. Yes, Leatherface from Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is certainly based on Jane, but the fictional killer’s use of chainsaws as murder weapons was Hooper’s attempt to up the ante (and brutality) in the film’s premise.

It is worth noting that Jin only confessed to killing two women: Mary Hogan, 54 years old, and Bernice Worden, 58 years old. He told authorities that he killed them because they resembled his deceased mother. This means that the show’s depiction of Jane killing his babysitter Evelyn Hartley (Addison Rae) is also wrong, as the real case of Hartley’s disappearance appears to have no connection to Jane and remains unsolved.

In another example of Netflix embellishing facts for dramatic purposes, we see Gene kill his brother Henry (Hudson Oz) by hitting him with a piece of wood and causing a brush fire accident. This incident is presented as a definitive fact, but the reality surrounding Henry Jane’s death is a bit more complex. According to reports, the Gene brothers lived together in Plainfield and burned swamp plants in May 1944, but the fire got out of control one day, and Henry was soon reported missing. Henry’s body was later found, but the cause of his death was attributed to a tragic accident.

It was only after Jean’s arrest that people began to suspect his direct involvement in Henry’s death, although the motives surrounding this supposed crime are based on pure conjecture. In Harold Schechter’s book The Pervert: The Shocking True Story of the Original Psychopath, the biographer states that authorities initially dismissed culpability, but the official cause of death given by the coroner was suffocation (although no autopsy was performed). Noticeable bruises on Henry’s head were also taken into account, but it is unclear whether he fell or was injured. Schechter also noted that there were no signs of Henry being injured by the fire, even though his clothes were covered in soot. While these details raise suspicions, they are not significant enough to prove or disprove any assumptions.

We know that Worden was Jane’s last victim (at least as far as the two murders to which he confessed), and that she was the owner of the Plainfield hardware store who disappeared in November 1957. While the Netflix series sticks to these basic facts, it makes the puzzling decision to depict a fraught romantic relationship between them, with the two also sharing sexual intimacy. This may have been motivated by a desire to highlight Jane’s distorted view of sexuality which could be traced back to his mother, but the results were unsavory and left a terrible aftertaste after Worden was brutally murdered.

So, what are the facts here? After the real Worden disappeared, her son, Deputy Sheriff Frank Worden, led the investigation after bloodstains were found on the floor of his mother’s hardware store. After Gene’s presence inside the store (he accidentally left a receipt behind) was linked to Worden’s disappearance shortly after, an investigation was conducted at the former’s farm, leading to the discovery of the victim’s decapitated and severely scalped body. As Jin admitted, the reason he killed Lorden was because of his resemblance to his mother (both in age and appearance). There is no evidence that the two had a sexual or romantic relationship of any kind.

Aside from these imaginative additions, “The Monster: The Ed Gein Story” also omits important real-life details from the storyincluding the extremely abusive nature of the killer’s late father. The rest, such as the extent of Adeline Watkins’ involvement in Gein’s crimes, is somewhat difficult to discern, as the facts surrounding the real Adeline are surrounded by half-truths and retracted statements.

“Monster: The Ed Gein Story” is now streaming on Netflix.