Trivia

Although he is often characterized as a serial killer, only two murders were directly linked to Gein. The artifacts he made from body parts were mostly gathered from his grave-robbing activities.

A short list of films inspired by his life and crimes: Psycho (1960), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Motel Hell (1980), Deranged (1974), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Maniac (1980), Three on a Meathook (1972), Ed Gein (2000), Ed and His Dead Mother (1993) and House of 1000 Corpses (2003).

Ironically, he is now buried, next to his mother Augusta, in Plainfield Cemetery, the same cemetery where he use to dig up dead bodies. He passed away on July 26, 1984, one month away from what would have been his 78th birthday on August 27.

While Gein was in detention, his house burned to the ground. Arson was suspected, but the cause of the bonfire was never determined. When Gein learned of this, he shrugged and said "Just as well".

His intelligence was measured at average, with an IQ of 99, signifying average intelligence; a pretty good score for someone who dropped out of school in eighth grade.

Gein was arrested on one charge of murder and one count of theft but was proclaimed mentally unfit to stand trial until ten years later. He spent the remainder of his life since his arrest in a mental hospital.

Gein was shy and had strange mannerisms, such as seemingly random laughter, as if he were laughing at his own personal jokes. To make matters worse, his mother punished him whenever he tried to make friends.

According to people who knew him personally, his last name rhymed with "bean".

Bunny Gibbons, a sideshow exhibitor, bought his beat-up Ford sedan. He then displayed the car in county fairs and charged onlookers to see: "The car that hauled the dead from their graves". This provided the inspiration for the name of the punk rock group "Ed Gein's Car".

His tombstone was stolen during the early 1990s and today a small wooden cross with his name and death date inscripted was put there by someone unknown.

The thrash metal band Slayer wrote a song called "Dead Skin Mask" which was inspired and loosely based on the murders perpetrated by Gein.

Films that directly reference Gein include American Psycho (2000) and Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea (2024).

He was played by Charlie Hunnam in Monster (2022) and Kane Hodder in Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield (2007). Additionally, some variations or serial killers inspired on Gein include Roberts Blossom (as Ezra Cobb) in Deranged (1974), Anthony Perkins (as Norman Bates) in Psycho (1960) and Vince Vaughn in the remake Psycho (1998), Gunnar Hansen (as Leatherface) in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Ted Levine (as Jame Gumb/Jack Gordon) in The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Steve Buscemi (as Ed Chilton) in Ed and His Dead Mother (1993), James Carroll Pickett (as Billy Townsend) in Three on a Meathook (1972), and Sid Haig (Captain Spaulding) in House of 1000 Corpses (2003).

He and his brother Henry worked as handymen around town and were known for being reliable and honest.

Read "Tales from the Crypt" and "The Vault of Horror" comic books.

The heavy metal band Mudvayne wrote a song called "Nothing to Gein" paying homage to the serial killer.

He often babysat the children of his neighbors.

The grindcore band Ed Gein was named after the serial killer.

The extreme metal band Macabre wrote a song called "Ed Gein".

His father was an alcoholic who regularly beat both Ed and his brother Henry.