Gein, Ed

Gein, Ed

▪ American serial killer
in full  Edward Theodore Gein 
born Aug. 27, 1906, Plainfield, Wis., U.S.
died July 26, 1984, Madison, Wis.

      American serial killer whose gruesome crimes inspired popular books and films in the second half of the 20th century. Gein's case gained worldwide notoriety, and his behaviour inspired both Robert Bloch's powerful novel Psycho (1959) and two of the most influential horror films ever made, Psycho (1960), directed by Alfred Hitchcock and based on Bloch's book, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974).

      Gein endured a difficult childhood. His father was an alcoholic, and his mother was verbally abusive toward him. Gein nevertheless idolized her, a fact that apparently concerned his older brother Henry, who occasionally confronted her in Gein's presence. In 1944 Henry died in mysterious circumstances during a fire near the family's farm in Plainfield. Although Gein reported his brother missing to the police, he was able to lead them directly to the burned body when they arrived. Despite bruises discovered on the victim's head, the death was ruled an accident. The death of Gein's mother in 1945 left him a virtual hermit. In subsequent years, Gein cordoned off the areas of the house that his mother had used most frequently, preserving them as something of a shrine.

      Gein attracted the attention of the police in 1957, when he was implicated in the murders of two women. Subsequent examinations of his home showed that he had systematically robbed graves and collected body parts. Police also learned that he had practiced necrophilia and experimented with human taxidermy. Gein was ultimately found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity, and he was confined in various psychiatric institutions until his death.

John Philip Jenkins
 

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Gein — ist der Name folgender Personen: Ed Gein (1906–1984), Mörder Gidget Gein (1969–2008), US amerikanischer Musiker Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidung mehrerer mit demselben Wort bezeichneter Begriffe …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • gein — ge in (j[=e] [i^]n), n. [Gr. gh^ earth.] (Chem.) See {Humin}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Geïn — Geïn, ein indifferenter Humuskörper, dem Humin ähnlich …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Gein. — Gein., bei naturwissenschaftl. Namen Abkürzung für H. B. Geinitz (s.d.) …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Geïn — Geïn, s. Humus …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • Gein — (Géo Héand, Oyen, Yan) • Gein, martyr à Lectoure. Nom latin Genius . • Gein, abbé de Condat, au VIème siècle. Nom latin Eugendus …   Dictionnaire des saints

  • gein — Humin Hu min, n. [L. humus the earth, ground.] (Chem.) A bitter, brownish yellow, amorphous substance, extracted from vegetable mold, and also produced by the action of acids on certain sugars and carbohydrates; called also {humic acid}, {ulmin} …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Gein — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Gein, rivière néerlandaise de l ouest de la province d Utrecht Ge in, personnage de manga Catégorie : Homonymie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gein (riviere) — Gein (rivière) Pour les articles homonymes, voir Gein. Gein Caractéristiques Longueur …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gein (disambiguation) — Gein may refer to: *Ed Gein American murderer *Gidget Gein American musician and artist *Ed Gein (band) *Gein (Rurouni Kenshin) a fictional character, name inspired by Ed Gein. *Jasper Gein A Silent Hill 4 character …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”