Ed Gein’s True Story: Did He Really Dig Up His Mother?

Quick Summary

• Key figure: Ed Gein is known as the “Butcher of Plainfield” for his gruesome crimes in the 1950s.
• Mother’s influence: Augusta Wilhelmine Gein raised Ed in a strict religious environment, shaping his beliefs.
• Criminal activities: Gein confessed to murdering two women and exhuming multiple corpses.
• Legacy: His life and crimes continue to fascinate and horrify audiences today.

Ed Gein‘s story and crimes are at the forefront of Netflix’s latest season for Monster: The Ed Gein Story. While the deceased serial killer‘s gruesome lifestyle and crimes are the focus, so is his late mother, Augusta Wilhelmine Gein. Questions surrounding the depiction of Augusta’s character (played by actress Laurie Metcalf) immediately soared among viewers, as some wondered what happened to her in real life and whether her son actually dug up her grave like his other victims.

Who Was Ed Gein?

Dubbed the “Butcher of Plainfield,” Gein is a deceased serial killer and grave robber from Plainfield, Wisconsin, who exhumed corpses and admittedly murdered two women in the 1950s. Police discovered that he had stolen corpses from their graves and turned their remains into home appliances, including bowls and a lampshade made of human bones and skin.

Gein confessed to the murders of tavern owner Mary Hogan in 1954 and hardware store owner Bernice Worden in 1957.

Gein’s gruesome lifestyle and crimes have haunted the nation from the 1950s to today. He was arrested in 1957 and was deemed legally insane in 1968. He spent the rest of his life at the Mendota Mental Health Institute until his 1984 death from respiratory failure at the age of 77.

Who Was Ed Gein’s Mother?

Gein’s mother was Augusta Wilhelmine Gein, who raised him in a strict environment. The religious woman, who died from a stroke in December 1945, influenced both her sons, Ed and Henry (who also died), to believe that all women — apart from herself — were sinful beings.

Augusta’s teachings are widely considered to be the basis of Gein’s crimes after she died.

Did Ed Gein Dig Up His Mother?

No, Gein did not exhume his mother, despite rumors that circulated over the years. He did, however, dig up and steal the corpses of multiple deceased women and kept their remains in his home as appliances and nicknacks.