Kriti Mehrotra
Created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, Netflix’s ‘Monster: The Ed Gein Story’ delves deep into the tale of the titular body snatcher and serial killer who was active between the 1940s and 1950s. His gruesome acts eventually came to light in 1957 and shook the entire nation to the core, even resulting in a cultural shift with the kind of movies that soon started garnering attention. He actually inspired ‘Psycho,’ ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,’ and ‘ The Silence of the Lambs,’ whereas this show chronicles his crimes in a parallel narrative while also detailing his complex family life.
Ed Gein Reportedly Didn’t Have a Close Relationship With His Father
Born on August 4, 1873, in Vernon County, Wisconsin, Maria Catherine Dingeldein Gee and John Gee, George Philip Gein reportedly had a tough childhood. While the details of his experiences are not public knowledge, it appears as if he lost both his parents at the tender age of three, and he had no siblings. Therefore, he likely grew up with relatives or in the system before branching out into the world by himself at the age of 17, when he tied the knot with Augusta Wilhelmine Lehrke Gein. According to reports, they married in 1900, welcoming their first son, Henry George Gein, into this world on January 8, 1901, followed by their second son, Edward “Ed” Theodore Gein, on August 27, 1906.
George reportedly seemed happy to expand his family, but as per reports, he was not present in raising them and essentially pawned off all parenting duties to his wife, Augusta. He was allegedly also an abusive alcoholic, with Ed later telling officials he used to hit both him and his brother for even the littlest of infractions while they were growing up. Unfortunately, Henry and Ed didn’t receive much affection from their mother either, who was openly resentful of George and very strong in her religious beliefs. In fact, Augusta was so domineering that she was the one in charge at home, holding bible studies every day to ensure her kids knew to fear God and how women are instruments of the devil.
Augusta never wanted either of her sons to have sex, let alone have a family of their own, because she was certain all women were naturally promiscuous and selfish. However, Henry eventually grew out of her shadow, even starting a relationship with a divorced mother of two, but Ed reportedly hung on to her every word. It was owing to this dynamic that neither son had a close relationship with their father. The fact that he was allegedly abusive and never provided for the family in a stable manner didn’t help either. George held various jobs over the years, including as a carpenter, firefighter, tanner, and local grocery shop owner, but he was unsuccessful at them all. So, he ultimately sold his business to purchase a 155-acre farm in Plainfield, Wisconsin, which became the family’s permanent home. Yet, he didn’t help here either.
George Gein Sadly Passed Away From Natural Causes in 1940
With George reportedly being so violent towards his sons during his fits of rage when drunk, he once struck Ed so hard that it left his ears ringing. Therefore, not only did the father-son duo never share a close relationship, but his demise allegedly didn’t have a significant psychological impact on him either. George passed away from heart failure on April 1, 1940, at the age of 66, following which he was laid to rest at the Plainfield Cemetery. Lying beside him today are his wife as well as both his sons, with Ed being in an unmarked grave. According to records, George’s death only pushed Ed closer to his mother, resulting in him eventually forming an obsessive bond with her. It was so dependent that even Henry was worried about it.
According to records, Henry often tried to discuss Ed’s complex relationship with Augusta and would even openly question her beliefs in front of him, but it was never well-received. Unfortunately, Henry passed away merely four years later, on May 16, 1944, at the age of 43, which made things go from bad to worse. That’s because Augusta sadly suffered a paralysing stroke shortly after his demise, leading to Ed becoming her primary caretaker and always remaining in close proximity to her. According to reports, Augusta passed following a second stroke in 1945, and that’s when Ed’s crime spree began. He later admitted to officials that he robbed graves of women and killed those who reminded him of his mother. In other words, by all accounts over the past seven decades, his father reportedly had a very small role to play in both his life and his crimes.
Read More: Henry Gein: How Did He Die? Did Ed Gein Kill His Brother?
