Wait, did Ed Gein really work with the FBI to help catch Ted Bundy — or was it all fictional?

Netflix recently released the true crime drama Monster: The Ed Gein Story, which has everyone talking because of its chilling look at Gein’s Plainfield farmhouse, his 20-year-long relationship with Adeline Watkins, and even a scene where he seemingly helps catch Ted Bundy. The show goes deep into Gein’s life, showing how his isolation and obsession shaped the crimes that made him infamous.

In the final episodes, Netflix shows Gein in a psychiatric hospital, where FBI agents John Douglas and Robert Ressler, real-life criminal profilers, visit him. They ask him to help understand Bundy’s crimes. The show suggests that Gein had a hand in Bundy’s capture, making it seem like he played a role in catching another notorious killer.

However, the series makes it clear in small print that some events are dramatised. And in this case, it’s a major one.

So, did Ed Gein really help catch Ted Bundy?

via Netflix

In reality, Ed Gein had nothing to do with Bundy’s arrest. Ted Bundy kidnapped, raped, and murdered dozens of young women across multiple states in the 1970s. He was initially caught after attempting to flee a patrol car. Subsequent investigations connected him to his crimes, and he was ultimately sentenced to death. Bundy was executed on 24th January 1989, aged 42.

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Gein, by contrast, had been institutionalised decades earlier after being deemed legally “insane” following his 1957 arrest for the murder of Bernice Worden. He remained in psychiatric care until his death in 1984, aged 77. He never interacted with the FBI regarding Bundy or any other serial killer. And the show’s portrayal of him assisting investigators is purely fictional. It’s a representation of Gein’s schizophrenic mind.

Netflix uses this storyline not as fact, but as a tool to explore Gein’s disturbed psyche.

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.