The new Netflix show Monster: The Ed Gein Story has reignited interest in his case. Here’s a look at what Ed Gein’s life was like after he was tried for his crimes. He had some very unexpected hobbies.
Ed Gein was sent to a mental health hospital
He was only ever tried for the murder of Bernice Worden, even though he admitted to killing Mary Hogan and was suspected to have killed other people. Ed Gein was transferred to a “maximum security hospital” called Central State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.
Apparently he was usually very quiet in the hospital
So, the judge from Ed Gein’s trial, Robert Gollmar, wrote a book called Edward Gein: America’s Most Bizarre Murderer. Robert Gollmar described a visit to Central State Hospital, during which he asked the staff what Ed Gein was like. The superintendent Dr Schubert described him as “a very naive unsophisticated type of fellow”. Apparently his life was “a very guarded one, and a very uncommunicative one in his relationships with us and with the other patients”. Ed Gein usually refused to speak with journalists.
He had many unexpected hobbies
Robert Gollmar did meet with Ed Gein again. He wrote: “He was most friendly and talkative. In fact, he smiled or laughed almost throughout the interview.”
Ed Gein described what he got up to in Central State Hospital. He had a phase of making jewellery out of rocks. “My jewellery one of the volunteers sold all at once for $50. I made quite a few hundred dollars worth of jewellery, sterling silver bracelets, and stuff, but it was all sold for $50.”
Ed Gein in Netflix’s Monster
After than, he started “working out in the powerhouse with carpenters, roofing, and doing about everything.” The object he made were sold. Ed Gein also taught other inmates how to make rugs.
He liked newspapers and the radio, but he didn’t enjoy reading fiction books. “It’s okay for kids but not for a grown-up person,” he explained.
This hospital was converted into a prison called the Dodge Correctional Institution. Ed Gein was transferred to Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison, where he died in 1984 at the age of 77.
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.
