| 1957. Plainfield, Wisconsin. The kind folks here think ED GEIN is just a shy, eccentric farmer. But Ed knows differently. Haunted by visions of his late mother Augusta ... a devout woman whom he considers a saint ... Ed has already become a prolific graverobber and amateur anatomist. Now, with the ghost of his mother compelling him, Ed can no longer resist the allure of Plainfield’s women, and his fierce desire to experience a real, live kill...or two.
The film Ed Gein is based closely on the life of the famed Wisconsin serial killer.
Plainfield, Wisconsin was fifty miles away from where Robert Bloch lived. Bloch went on to write the novel Psycho, which he publicly stated was inspired by and loosely based on the story of Ed Gein.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was taken far more accurately from the life of Ed Gein, although director Tobe Hooper invented a whole family to be responsible for the heinous crimes that, in reality, were the work of just one man.
Thomas Harris, author of The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal, based Buffalo Bill, the serial killer Clarice Starling is trying to catch in the first book, on Ed Gein.
And American Psycho - both the book and film versions - makes several pointed references to Ed Gein. He has also inspired numerous rock bands and even sculptors who have based their work on Gein. He has several websites and even his own fan club, whose members meet regularly to swap cherished memorabilia, trade stories, and perpetuate the legend of Ed Gein. |
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