Ed Gein expert brutally slams Netflix’s new Monster series and says he might take legal action

An expert who wrote the book on Ed Gein has slammed Netflix’s new true crime drama Monster: The Ed Gein Story, and may even take legal action.

The third instalment of Ryan Murphy’s Monster is a dramatised version of the real story of Ed Gein. It shows the gruesome reality of the crimes he committed, his relationship with Adeline Watkins, and his struggle with mental health problems.

Now, Harold Schechter, author of Deviant: The Shocking True Story of Ed Gein, the Original Psycho, has said the show strays far from the truth.

He said the show ‘veers wildly’ from the truth

via Netflix

“After watching the show, I mean, there is some unauthorised use of my book. But the show veers so wildly from the reality of the case,” Schechter told the New York Post. “So much of it is pure over-the-top fabrication.”

Basically, Schechter’s biggest complaint is that the series makes viewers think they’re watching a true story, when, in his view, they’re not. “Now I’m mostly upset that all the people who watch the show are going to think they’re seeing the true story of Ed Gein,” he said.

He reveals what Ed Gein and Adeline Watkins’ relationship was really like

via Netflix

According to Schechter, Monster gets some parts right, like Gein’s disturbing relationship with his mother and his grave-robbing habits. But apart from that, he says, the rest is mostly fiction.

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He also criticised the show’s romantic storyline between Gein and Adeline Watkins. In real life, he says, the pair barely had a relationship. “Their relationship, I’m pretty convinced, didn’t really consist of anything more than possibly maybe Gein once asked her roller-skating or something,” he said. “They didn’t really have a relationship. She was kind of a publicity hound when all the media descended on Plainfield after the discovery of the crimes. She suddenly came forward as Ed Gein’s girlfriend.”

Schechter also called out other “wildly made up” parts, like Gein helping investigators catch Ted Bundy and being labelled a “serial killer.” He said that wasn’t what Gein was about.

“The term serial killer was specifically coined to describe a certain kind of psychopathic sex murderer,” he explained. “I mean, he did kill these two women, but he executed them very swiftly. He was basically just interested in bringing their corpses home so he could dissect them. He was not a serial killer.”

Now, he might take legal action

via Netflix

Schechter said he’s considering legal action over what he believes is “unauthorised use” of his work. He has been in talks with lawyers but hasn’t confirmed if he’ll actually sue Netflix, Murphy, or co-creator Ian Brennan.

“Before the show came out, I definitely had some discussions with intellectual property lawyers,” he explained. “I mean, there might still be enough in there that it would justify some kind of action. But on the other hand, there might not. So I’ll have a discussion with some legal advisors. And if they feel that so much of that was made up and not derived from my book, I’ll just drop the whole matter.”

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.