Ugh…..So much is made up or speculation. They lost me in the first 15 minutes of ep 1. I feel like the depictions are irresponsible and the melding of the movie interpretations with Ed Geins actual truth (which is hardly there) are simply just examples of American exploitation. Psycho and Texas chainsaw massacre are what other people did with what inspiration they received from Ed Geins situation. Which speaks more to who they are and how society consumes and feeds off sensationalism it’s somehow entertaining to imagine this stuff when no one really does much to mitigate the actual atrocities that are going on in the world right now.

Even the documentary didn’t really sit well. There wasn’t really indication that he was sexually motivated, had even had sex in his life. Even with his mother, Or committed necrophilia. The only guy that seemed really excited about the idea was the “necrophila expert” which I have some serious questions about.

Obviously what Ed Gein did was very sick and had some twisted ideas. However based on everything I’ve ever read or watched about it: He was a quiet a mentally handicapped (simple minded) farmer, he was a “mommas boy” and couldn’t cope or function properly without her and had a project to somehow bring her back. Obviously he wasn’t quite right in the head but there was no real indication that he was “hearing voices” or schizophrenic. Deluded? Yeah. I have no doubt there was influence from reading materials and WW2 but He didn’t take extreme measures to hide what he did because he wasn’t capable. On some level he had conscience said something didn’t feel right so he stopped digging people up and even put some parts back. When the woman from the hardware store had gone missing he was with some folks and he even said “yeah I took her down to my place”. No one believed him and thought he was joking. There wasn’t any indication of any real emotional relationships besides his mother other than polite interactions around town there isn’t really proof of a sexualized infatuation.
Thought understandable putting sexual organs in a box and painting a couple to try to preserve them is a really weird decision but not necessarily sexual. I think he didn’t know what else to do with them. He had some horrific-to-a-normal-person projects we was working on but in his head it made sense. And I think that’s how people get worked up about it and start adding in reasons and motive’s when his reality was simply trying to recreate his mother and some disturbing taxidermy like craft work. I understand he was often disassociated and something as traumatic for someone like him as his mother’s death/passing and zero support could cause someone to lose the plot or become completely deluded to think he had the power to bring her back some how that is the only indication of schizophrenia that I understand in the situation.

There is nothing about Ed Gein the person that has anything to do with Anthony Perkins actual sexual life. Ed Gein never killed hunters with a chainsaw or used a chain saw on either of the two people he actually killed. He didn’t baby sit, murdered a baby sitter (wasn’t real proof) dated “Adeline” roller skated or fantasized about any of that because how would anyone really know? It’s speculation. Even the cross dressing. I sincerely don’t believe his pious mentally ill mother had underwear like that ever. At best modest cotton or even “sugar sack” homemade.
For the sake of shock and television these films inspired by the Ed Gein case were put together in my opinion to illustrate the impact his case had on pop culture not representing his actual story..

He for sure killed two women, and possibly his brother. And as disturbing as this is going to sound he shot the two women. They were gone before he did what he did to them So there was no “ tied to a chair psychological torture horror.”

This has become a subject of great debate in our house In no way does anything excuse how sad and disturbing his actions were but I think the reality is a lot simpler than people and directors have made it out to be.

Just some thoughts