From John Wayne Gacy to Aileen Wuornos, all the real killers linked in Netflix’s Monster

Netflix’s Monster is never just about one notorious killer at a time. Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s true-crime anthology has gradually created a web of connections between its different stories, with real-life murderers appearing in episodes, being referenced by name or becoming part of the wider story.

Across its seasons, Monster has covered everyone from Jeffrey Dahmer and Ed Gein to Lizzie Borden, while also bringing in several other notorious figures along the way.

Here’s a rundown of the real-life killers who have been featured or linked across the Monster universe.

Jeffrey Dahmer

Via Netflix

The first full season, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, was centred entirely on Jeffrey Dahmer, who murdered 17 men and boys over more than a decade.

The series also explored the institutional failures surrounding his crimes and the opportunities authorities had to intervene, and one of the show’s more unexpected links came in the form of another infamous killer.

John Wayne Gacy, played by Dominic Burgess, makes a brief appearance in Dahmer. The show draws a deliberate parallel between Gacy and Dahmer, with Gacy’s execution taking place around the same period that Dahmer was seeking baptism while in prison. It’s a small appearance, but it effectively ties Dahmer’s story into a much bigger history of American serial killers.

Ed Gein

Via Netflix

The third season moved on to Ed Gein, the Wisconsin murderer and grave robber whose crimes later influenced horror films including The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Psycho. But, as has become something of a Monster tradition, Gein’s story didn’t exist completely on its own.

The season also brought several other real people into its storyline, expanding the true-crime world around Gein.

Ed Kemper is among the other notorious killers referenced as part of the wider Ed Gein story. Kemper, who was convicted of murdering several people in California in the 1970s, is one of the many real-life figures folded into the season’s broader exploration of notorious American murderers.

Jerry Brudos also appears in the Ed Gein season. Happy Anderson plays Brudos, reprising the role he previously played in Netflix’s Mindhunter. Brudos was an American serial killer whose crimes were committed in Oregon during the 1960s.

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Via Netflix

Tobias Jelinek plays Richard Speck in the series. Speck was an American mass murderer who became notorious after killing eight student nurses in Chicago in 1966. His appearance adds another real-life criminal to the increasingly crowded cast of historical figures surrounding the Gein storyline.

Charles Manson is also part of the season’s wider collection of real-life references. While Manson’s story isn’t the central focus, his inclusion further connects the Gein season to the broader history of notorious American criminals.

The season also brings in real figures from the world of horror, including author Robert Bloch and director Tobe Hooper, whose work was influenced by Gein’s crimes.

Lizzie Borden

Via Netflix

The fourth season, Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, turns its attention to Lizzie Borden. The series examines the 1892 murders of Borden’s parents in Fall River, Massachusetts, and the subsequent case against Lizzie.

The series connects Lizzie Borden’s story with that of Aileen Wuornos, the Florida serial killer played by Sarah Paulson. The storyline moves between the two women and explores how female killers have been viewed differently across different periods of history.

Rather than treating Borden and Wuornos as identical figures, the season uses the connection to look at changing ideas around female violence, rage and how society responds to women accused of killing.

Via Netflix

The season also brings in Elizabeth Báthory, the Hungarian countess played by Vicky Krieps. Báthory was historically accused of murdering large numbers of young women between 1590 and 1610, although the details surrounding the accusations and the number of alleged victims remain historically disputed.

Her inclusion gives the season yet another link to a notorious woman from history who has become surrounded by legend.

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Featured image via Netflix