It wasn’t easy to get a confession out of Ed Gein. He was arrested and taken away from his home, and despite his house being filled with body parts and other horrors, he didn’t give up the details of what he’d done easily.
Killer Ed Gein was active in Plainfield, Wisconsin, from 1947 to 1957. He murdered two women, and was also a grave robber. He dug up corpses from graves in his local area, and kept them in his home. Gein used skin from the bodies as masks, and made household objects out of it.
He’s now the topic of many books, films and TV shows, including The Ed Gein Story on Netflix. In 1989, Robert H. Gollmar wrote the book
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At first, Ed Gein was ‘pounded against a wall’ but denied everything
According to the book, Ed Gein was taken to a jail after his arrest and interviewed by the sheriff and his deputy. It was said at one point in the interrogation, the Sherif “grabbed Gein physically and hit him up against the wall”.
It was noted by a judge that those who interviewed him had “pounded Gein against that wall to obtain a confession.” Despite this, it wasn’t that night that Ed Gein confessed.
Then, a different jail obtained the confession
At a jail in Wautoma, Ed Gein was questioned again. At first he denied murder. He said things such as “I didn’t kill anyone that I know of” and “to my knowledge, I didn’t do it”. He also said “I can’t remember about it” when asked about certain things, and added “I might have done something but not to my knowledge”.
Then, Gein was smuggled out of the jail and shown the body of Bernice Worden – one of his victims who was found in his house – and he confessed. Gein was then taken to the tavern Mary Hogan – his second victim – worked at. Gein is said to have “enjoyed the escapade very much”.
Gein’s confession was taped. He was questioned at length and given a polygraph test. He is said to have “never admitted to anything serious unless the evidence against him on that point was very clear.” Regarding a lie detector test, Gein said: “Give me a lie detector test. It will show my mental unbalance.”
He maintained the death of Bernice Worden was an accident. “I liked her, she was nice,” Gein said of her. “I did take her for the resemblance of my mother. Her height and everything was the same, and she had resemblance in the cheekbones.”
Speaking of Mary Hogan, Gein said: “Every time I went there [to the tavern she worked at] she was friendly and nice.” He also said she had the same “friendliness and height” of his mother.
During this interview, Gein admitted he had dug up nine or ten bodies between 1950 and 1954, from three different cemeteries. He is described as, differently from the murders, speaking “freely and almost eagerly” about his grave robbing.
He named everyone he dug up, and said some bodies were returned to their graves but “not too many”. Gein admitted he didn’t even leave the graves with some of the bodies. He would remove body parts he wanted grave-side, and they were “left right there and not taken away”.
He was also questioned over other disappearances, including that of babysitter Evelyn Hartley, but he denied any involvement.
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Some of his confession was graphic
In another part of his confession interview, Gein was asked about “removing flesh” from bodies at cemeteries. When asked what flesh he removed from bodies, he said “the head”. He admitted he would sometimes but “not always” remove the vagina.
He admitted he had once taken a vagina, and “held it up” against his penis. “I believe that is true,” he said, when he was questioned about it. He also said he was “pretty sure” he had removed a face and held up over his own.
When asked how long he did this for, Ed Gein said: “Not too long. I had other things to do. Maybe an hour or so.” He added: “When I made these masks, you see, I stuffed them all out with paper so that they would dry. On the vagina I did, you know, sprinkle a bit of salt.”
Gein confessed to putting oil on body parts to “keep it soft” and said he removed heads with a hacksaw. He was later asked about a waste basket found in his home, and said: “That’s human skin.”
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.
