Eight major elements of the Ed Gein case Netflix got completely and utterly wrong

Shock! Monster: The Ed Gein Story on Netflix contained a whole bunch of details that were embellished or straight up wrong in comparison to what happened in real life.

The show told the story of killer and grave robber Ed Gein, who was active in Plainfield, Wisconsin, from 1947 to 1957. What he did was utterly chilling, but some of the most gruesome scenes in the Netflix show were made up for… entertainment?

Here’s a rundown of the biggest parts of The Ed Gein Story that Netflix got completely wrong.

Ed Gein was a babysitter, but local children actually really liked him

via Netflix

In episode three of Monster: The Ed Gein Story on Netflix, we see the horrifying killer babysit some local children in his community. This really didn’t end well. After getting jealous the kids preferred their old babysitter, Gein took them back to his house to show them a “magic show” which included wearing dead bodies as masks, and making bones turn into fingers.

There’s no indication Ed Gein ever took children away from their homes. It’s never been confirmed that he drove children to his home, or that any children he babysat ever saw the remains he kept in his house, as was portrayed by Netflix.

A biography has stated that the kids actually did like Ed Gein, and got on with him well. Members of the community saw him as “reliable” and families liked him. It has been claimed Ed did put on “magic tricks” for children, but this was reportedly before he started digging graves. The book, Deviant by Harold Schechter, also claimed Gein would read creepy stories to children. But, they enjoyed it apparently!

Most Read

The deeper meaning of why Ed Gein saw everything green in The Ed Gein Story’s episode four

Everything the real Adeline Watkins has said about her twisted relationship with Ed Gein

Bonnie Blue offends 800k people as she names and shames two ‘sh*thole’ UK cities

There’s little evidence Ilse Koch and Ed Gein were ever connected

via Netflix

The show portrayed Adeline Watkins as having introduced Gein to the story of Ilse Koch, a real-life Holocaust war criminal. Watkins was seen to show Gein comics, that detailed what Koch did and believed in. In real life, Gein may have been aware of Koch’s atrocities, but there is no solid evidence he based his behaviours on her. He never publicly spoke about Ilse Koch.

Author Harold Schechter did mention that Gein was “fed by accounts of Ilse Koch and her human-skin artefacts” – but that’s as far as the connection went.

Ed Gein has always denied any involvement in the disappearance of Evelyn Hartley

In the show, we saw Evelyn Hartley become a victim of Ed Gein’s obsession. He watched her out and about, as she recovered from polio. At the time, Gein had been picking up jobs as a babysitter. Then, Evelyn returned to her work as a babysitter. Gein hated that she had taken his job. As a result, he abducted her. He then tormented her with a dead body he’d dug up, and killed her with a hammer.

But this is mainly based on theory. When he was arrested for murder, Gein was questioned over the disappearance of Evelyn and another local girl, but he denied any involvement. No DNA evidence linked him to Evelyn, either.

Gein was also never officially tied to the death of his brother

via Netflix

Right at the start of the show, Gein killed his brother Henry. In real life, police said there was no foul play in the death, and recorded Henry’s cause of death as asphyxiation. No official autopsy took place.

In May 1944, Ed was burning marsh vegetation on the farm, and the fire got out of control. After the fire was put out, Ed reported his brother Henry as missing. Henry was then strangely discovered dead. His body was found face down – with no clear injuries, and no burns from the fire. There was suspicion around Ed, but nothing more.

He chillingly explained why he wasn’t actually a necrophiliac

Some of the most haunting scenes on Netflix were depictions of Ed Gein having sex with bodies he dug up. But, in real life, when police asked Gein if he had ever sexually violated the corpses he dug up, he gave a bone-chilling reply: “They smelled too bad.”

Ed Gein didn’t help authorities track down Ted Bundy

In a fascinating scene at the end of Monster, Ed Gein was seen to help police track down Ted Bundy. In reality though, Ed Gein had nothing to do with Bundy’s arrest. The timelines would have crossed, but that’s really all about it. The storyline was used to show inside Ed Gein’s imagination. Gein also didn’t write letters to Richard Speck in real life.

Adeline wasn’t his accomplice

via Netflix

Netflix depicts Ed Gein as having a very twisted relationship with Adeline Watkins. Towards the end of the show, she even found out about the gory goings on in his home. In real life, this really wasn’t the case.

Adeline is said to have never known what Ed was really like. She initially admitted in an interview that they had a 20-year relationship, but then took it all back and said they actually only had a platonic relationship, that lasted seven months.

Gein didn’t have a relationship with Bernice Worden

In Monster: The Ed Gein Story, we saw Ed Gein have a sexual relationship with Bernice Worden, before he killed her. Bernice was one of his victims, and he did kill her in her store, but there’s no evidence they had a sexual relationship before this.

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.