Ed Gein And His Nipple Belt
And Skin Suit **Disclaimer: Graphic Images**
Look at the man in the image. Incredibly sweet-looking, right? Behind this kindly demeanor, there lies a completely psychotic mad man who made a habit out of skinning women and making homemade furniture with the skin.
What could have been the reason for him to end up this way?
Childhood
Edward Theodore Gein was born on August 27, 1906, to George Phillip Gein and Augusta Wilhelmine Gein, in La Crosse County, Wisconsin. He was the younger of their two sons, first being Henry George Gein.
George Gein was an alcoholic who had worked in various odd jobs as a carpenter, tanner, and insurance salesman. But couldn’t keep a hold on his work.
Augusta was a devout (bordering on fanatic) Catholic and loathed her husband. From their childhood, both the sons were preached against sex, sins, drinking, and women (except her). It became hard ingrained in little Edward that every woman, except his mother, was reprehensible.
Edward was shy and had exceptionally bizarre mannerisms when in school, and teachers recounted how he used to laugh over something going on in his unfathomable mind. Despite his peculiarity, he was good at academics.
Father’s Death
They had moved to a secluded house in the middle of a town, Plainfield. At the age of 66, George Gein passed away from cardiac arrest, and Henry and Ed had to work on various odd jobs to run the family.
The duo came completely under their mother’s grasp. And Ed loved it.
Both of them worked as handymen, and the people of Plainfield sought them, considering them reliable and honest. Ed Gein found solace in babysitting children, rather than interaction with adults.
His brother, Henry, got into a relationship with a divorced woman and was planning to marry her. Fearing Ed’s obsession and attachment to their domineering mother, he spoke ill about Augusta. Instead of changing his mind, he earned Ed’s wrath.
Once, while clearing the marsh, the fire they started grew out of control, and a little later, Henry’s body was found, completely unharmed. The police believed asphyxiation to be the reason for his death, and the autopsy was dismissed. Though bruises were found on Henry’s head, his death was considered an accident. (Probably Ed? To avenge his mother’s respect?)
Ed and his mother were all alone in the big house.
Life With Mother
Augusta suffered from a paralytic stroke, and Ed spent his life looking after her. He cherished whatever she said and took it deep into his mind.
There was an incident where they visited a certain Mr. Smith and saw him trashing a dog to death. A woman came running out of his house and begged him to stop. But in vain. This scarred Augusta. Not because of the plight of the dog. But because the woman was not his wife and she called the woman as “Smith’s harlot”. (Way to keep priorities straight, lady!)
Augusta died at the age of 67, and Edward was devastated.
lost his only friend and one true love. And he was absolutely alone in the world.
Apparently, his mind too. After this, things started getting creepy.
Obsession
Ed became fully obsessed with reuniting with his mother. No, becoming his mother. Books about cannibalism, Nazis, shrunken heads, and Grey’s Anatomy fascinated him and shaped his insane mind.
Slowly, he came up with the idea of making a skinsuit from the remains of women who resembled his mother, and drape it to, eventually, become Augusta. So, he started tracking recently deceased women who had earmarks of his mother and exhumed their graves.
Then, he skinned them and made articles out of the skin. Eventually, people became suspicious and closely monitored the graves.
So, Ed had to resort to murder.
Murder And Arrest
In the year 1954, a woman from a tavern, Mary Hogan disappeared and was not found. Later, in 1957, a woman named Bernice Worden went missing, and her son, Sheriff Frank Worden, suspected Ed Gein as he was the last person she had spoken to.
Upon searching his house, the police were horror-struck. The entire building was in shambles (except for Augusta’s room). The decapitated body of Bernice hung from the roof, with her innards spilling out. The police found several items made out of human body parts. Probably due to his father being a tanner, once, all the items were preserved. These included:
- Whole human bones and fragments
- A wastebasket made of human skin
- Human skin covering several chair seats
- Masks made from the skin of female heads
- A belt made from female human nipples
- A lampshade made from the skin of a human face
- Mary Hogan’s face mask in a paper bag
- Mary Hogan’s skull in a box
- Bernice Worden’s entire head in a burlap sack
- Bernice Worden’s heart “in a plastic bag in front of Gein’s potbellied stove”
- Nine vulvae in a shoebox
He was arrested but wasn’t charged because of mental instability.
Ed Gein proclaimed that he did it all in a daze and when not hallucinating, he would return home empty-handed. When asked if he had indulged in necrophilia, he denied saying,
They smelled too bad.
What did he expect? Rose petals?
He was later diagnosed with schizophrenia and admitted to Central State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.
Death
He died in Mendota Mental Health Institute due to lung cancer at the age of 77, on July 26, 1984. His notorious tale had left a lasting impression in the minds of people, and many books and movies were produced based on his life.
The book Psycho (1959) and its movie adaption of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock (1960) coincide with Ed Gein’s life.
