Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Ryan Murphy's lucrative five-year Netflix deal might've come to an end, but that hasn't stopped him from diving into the macabre backstory of another unhinged killer. Having ticked off Jeffrey Dahmer in 2022, the biographical crime drama returned to focus on Lyle and Erik Menendez in 2024. This time around, it's Ed Gein's turn, with Sons of Anarchy's Charlie Hunnam portraying the killer.
Murphy has made a name for himself with anthology series thanks to American Horror Story, whereas the real-life nature of the subjects in Monster means it’s lacking the comic relief of AHS.
Monster: The Ed Gein Story is another certified Netflix banger, although it's not come without its complaints.
Known as the Butcher of Plainfield or the Plainfield Ghoul, Gein confessed to killing two women in 1957 (one he murdered in 1954). While the crimes were horrific enough, Gein's notoriety comes from the fact that he'd been digging up bodies and making 'keepsakes' out of the corpses.
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Creating everything from a belt made from female human nipples and a lampshade made from a woman's face, he also had a collection of bowls made from skulls, human lips on a window shade drawstring, and nine vulvae in a shoebox. Gein is said to be the inspiration behind The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which has cemented him as something of a horror icon.
Hunnam has already clapped back at those who've complained that Monster has sensationalised the story, and now, a Georgia museum has issued its own warning.
The Savannah-based Graveface Museum has told viewers not to Google Gein's story after watching the show.
Similar to the complaints that Murphy has embellished the real-life events, and posting on its TikTok account, the Graveface Museum called out the somewhat fictional nature of the series.
The museum owner claims that most of Gein's 'trophies' were illegally obtained and destroyed shortly after, meaning there's little of it that's still around today. Saying we shouldn't turn to Google for research because there's a lot of misinformation out there, she said: "They obtained this illegal evidence, and they weren't able to use it in the courtroom.
"It was inadmissible. So he was charged for the murder of Bernice, found not guilty by reason of insanity, and went back to the psychiatric ward.
"And you might be wondering now, or maybe you're not, what happened to all of the inadmissible evidence? It was destroyed. So it was burned, it was incinerated, or it was buried."
Chloë Manon reiterated that many of the online images of skin lampshades and the like are hoaxes. Even back when Gein was arrested in 1957, Manon says the local community was "just making sh*t up."
“There were also more reporters and journalists than people who actually lived in Plainfield when all of this was happening.
“And so a lot of the interviews that were being conducted, it was like journalists talking to other journalists.
“Not to mention that these initial news reports were happening as the case was still ongoing.
"Typically, you don't report on an ongoing investigation and state things as facts until they're found to be factual. That didn't happen here."
Manon concludes: "Take what you read and hear online with a grain of salt."
It seems little has changed, with Monster: The Ed Gein Story being something of an exaggerated retelling. Then again, with eight episodes to fill, Monster was always going to take some creative liberties.
