Everyone is talking about the new true crime drama on Netflix, Monster: The Ed Gein Story, which presents a dramatised version of Ed Gein’s life, and now it has left viewers wondering what really happened in his final days and how he died.
Ed Gein, known as the “Butcher of Plainfield,” shocked the world in the 1950s with his murders and grave-robbing. The show explores his gruesome crimes, his strange obsession with his mother, and the dark fantasies that haunted his mind. While Netflix dramatises these events, much of the story is based on the real details of Gein’s later years.
So, how did Ed Gein actually die?
via Netflix
After his arrest, Gein was diagnosed with schizophrenia and found mentally unfit for trial. He was first sent to the Central State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Later, he was transferred to Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison, Wisconsin, where he spent the rest of his life under psychiatric care. He lived quietly there, far from the farmhouse that had once terrified the nation. The series also shows these years in the institution.
According to United Press International, Gein died on 26 July 1984, aged 77, from respiratory failure caused by cancer. By that time, he had spent decades in mental health facilities. A judge had previously ruled against releasing him, saying he would become an “object of ridicule and curiosity.”
Why is Ed Gein’s grave unmarked?
@suerae87
Even after his death, Gein’s story continued to attract attention. He was buried in Plainfield Cemetery next to his mother and brother, but his grave soon became a target for morbid curiosity. Visitors began chipping away at his headstone, taking small pieces as souvenirs. By 2000, the 150-pound stone had vanished completely. According to the New York Post, authorities suspected it might have been sold online or linked to occult activity. Because of the repeated vandalism, Ed Gein’s grave remains unmarked to this day. Even after so many years, people on TikTok are still visiting his and his mother’s grave.
Monster: The Ed Gein Story is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news and drops, like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.
