Edward Theodore ‘Ed’ Gein, infamously known as the ‘Butcher of Plainfield,’ was an American murderer and body snatcher. Born into a small farming community, he lived an isolated and repressive childhood with little social interaction. He was obsessively devoted to his mother and stayed with her until her death. The crimes that he committed around Plainfield, Wisconsin, gathered notoriety after authorities discovered that he had exhumed corpses from graveyards to fashion keepsakes and trophies from their skin and bones. Later, he also confessed to murdering two women in the years 1954 and 1957. However, as he was found mentally unfit for trial, he was transferred to a mental health facility. Years later, he underwent trial for a murder and was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment, which he spent at the mental hospital. His life story has influenced the creation of several fictional characters in music, movies, and literature, such as ‘Norman Bates’ in ‘Psycho’ (1960), ‘Ed Gein’ from The Ziggens' album ‘Rusty Never Sleeps’ (1992), ‘Ezra Cobb’ in ‘Deranged’ (1974), and ‘Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield’ (2007).
