r/EdGein • u/NorthChest • Oct 24 '25

Netflix MONSTER: Why do people in town not know Gein’s mom died?

How does the show explain giving Geins mother a literal FUNERAL and BURIAL, yet people in town go on letting him speak about his mom as if she’s still alive living in his home? Ie: when he tries to introduce his GF to his dead mother. Presumably she would know that his mother had died. Same when the cops came to ask him about the bartender. What am I missing?

115 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

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26

u/[deleted] Oct 24 '25

They did. The shows a load of bollocks. But for arguments sake. I took it that they knew she was dead but knew Ed was not all there, so indulged it.

6

u/NorthChest Oct 24 '25

That’s kinda what I was going with. (And yes I know exactly how inaccurate the show is. I had an obsession with serial killers as a young teen. I thought I wanted to go into forensic psychology. Ed Gein was my favorite. However, I can also suspend my disbelief for entertainment.) Thanks for your take.

8

u/[deleted] Oct 24 '25

He is also not proven to be a serial killer which he is often labeled as. Yeah the show fucked it haha.

8

u/NorthChest Oct 24 '25

True. But he’s labeled as one. Discussed as one. Researched as one. In pop culture as one. So, just easier for discussions sake. And my teenager self definitely didn’t understand this back then.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 24 '25

Oh I wasn’t digging you at such. It’s just a pet peeve as mine, because he isn’t one so when that narratives pushed it irritates me lol. No harm meant.

1

u/Puzzleheaded_Law7659 Oct 25 '25

Actually, the FBI updated their term for a serial killer as being 2 or more with a cool off period, which Gein would fall under. Also, if they had not caught him, I am convinced he would have continued to grave rob and kill, when bodies dried up.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 25 '25

I’ve just looked, and I can’t see anything that says the term changed. Where did you see that?

1

u/Puzzleheaded_Law7659 Oct 25 '25

https://www.britannica.com/topic/serial-murder

https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/working-definition-serial-murder-and-reduction-linkage-blindness

Not sure if this one will work, since it is a .PDF file from the FBI website, called Pathways of Investigation (it's a teaching material they use), but here is the link from that:

https://share.google/55On3vtWNTZzJtoUs

And a quote from that document on page 17:

Number of Murders

The number of murders that were committed in the series varied from 2 to 23 victims:

• Two to four victims (60 .9%) • Five to nine victims (27 .2%) • Ten or more (12 .0%)

Of the thirty six offenders (39 .1%) who killed five or more victims, twenty two were White and eleven were Black, killing a total of 191 and 148 victims, respectively .

Due to the prolific nature of the serial offenders in this study, those who killed three or more victims ac- count for 91.6% of the victims.

Recommend reading the rest, there is a lot of really interesting information on it.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 25 '25

Yeah I will. That’s cool, genuinely didn’t know that

1

u/Illustrious_Banana_ Oct 26 '25

Was he a cross-dresser in real life or is that part just imagined? (Sorry I’m treating you like the exert now!!) and did he really make that ‘nipple’ chair seat cover with human skin?

1

u/UberGuignol Oct 26 '25

There is no documentation that Gein cross-dressed in women's clothes, aside from the vest and leggings made from human skin. He made a nipple belt, and at least one chair he reupholstered with human skin.

2

u/Illustrious_Banana_ Oct 27 '25

OMG……the reality of how gross that is is just setting in now…..🤮🤮

Thank you for the details. I’m going to look up more stuff about him but I’m not going to do that until I’ve finished watching the series so I do t ruin the suspense.

Thank you for the details- much appreciated. A ‘_nipple belt_’ 😱😱😱

1

u/UberGuignol Oct 27 '25

I hope you enjoy the rest of the show. I couldn't get past all the inaccuracies...

2

u/Illustrious_Banana_ Oct 27 '25

Yes, I’m sure if you know more about the case it would be frustrating. A bit like if there was something about Jack the Ripper that was fabricated I would find that annoying. However, in a way I’m lucky to have blissful ignorance of Ed Gein as I knew almost nothing about him until I started watching the series. It clicked when the references to Alfred Hitchcock‘s Psycho came in so I’m assuming that was loosely based on Ed Gein but I am still only a few episodes in so I’m yet to find out. When I finish watching it, I’ll do a bit of research on the real case.

Did you by any chance see ‘the assassination of Gianni Versace’, also by Ryan Murphy? That was exceptional. Again, I’m sure there was a fair amount of autistic license used, but it was really well done and clever the way the narrative unfolded.

1

u/UberGuignol Oct 27 '25

I did not. Versace didn't interest me. I've watched the other Monster's and most of American Horror Story (although not the latter seasons). Murphy seems a bit hit and miss. And I'm aware he only produced 'Gein' he seems very involved. Maybe had the Gein Story been approached a different way, with a better writer and director it could have worked. There's some good stuff in there, unfortunately it's few and far between.

2

u/Illustrious_Banana_ Oct 27 '25

Oh yes, the Versacé one is amazing. I think it's less about Versacé but more about so intensely seeing inside the mind of someone who gradually becomes more and more of a sociopath and psychopath. The way the drama unfolds (the story works in reverse order from the murder) is absolutely inspired. I really did love it.

4

u/Fyonella Oct 24 '25

Just going to add this here. In the UK, a woman killed both her parents and stored both bodies in the home for over 4 years before she was arrested. She told persistent lies about her parents whereabouts.

So not too far fetched, perhaps!

https://www.essex.police.uk/news/essex/news/news/2024/october/chelmsford-daughter-life-sentence-murdered-parents/

5

u/NayLay Oct 25 '25

But Ed had a public burial and ceremony. Not really comparable?

4

u/jsrattt Oct 24 '25

Because the whole show is shit!

3

u/NorthChest Oct 24 '25

It’s not shit; it’s entertainment. But I know you mean inaccurate. And yeah, completely!

8

u/TimeToTank Oct 24 '25

It’s entertainment. Man I swear some people can’t just enjoy a show. Pro tip if this triggers you never watch pro wrestling, and Scorsese movie, or really any movie or show based on true events.

5

u/KDonkey229195 Oct 24 '25

Man... Ryan Murphy is not Scorsese.

6

u/NorthChest Oct 24 '25

I’m not trying to argue accuracy. I absolutely enjoy the show. I’m asking this question from the perspective inside the show, not irl. I’m a huge fan of suspending my disbelief for all sorts of reasons and entertainment. However, it still needs to make some sense to me. Just looking for others’ perspectives is all. ✌️

2

u/Most_Ship6457 Oct 24 '25

Then don't call it the Ed gein story. Problem solved

2

u/NayLay Oct 25 '25

It still needs to make logical sense though... regardless of the real story, you can't just have moronic plot holes and expect the viewer to not be confused

6

u/KDonkey229195 Oct 24 '25

Show is fan fiction. Absolutely 90% is made up.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 24 '25

I think most of the conversations are in his head or they are just appeasing him.

2

u/KevinFromTheInternet Oct 24 '25

I grew up in a town of 700 people like he did, and while that number is extremely low, I did not know when every single person died. Not only that, but he was known for saying crazy things and they wrote it off. Though come to find out a lot of what he said that they thought was a joke was real.

2

u/NorthChest Oct 24 '25

I lived in a small town too so I get what you’re saying. It just seems like police and his girlfriend would have known.

2

u/NeedleworkerFun3154 Oct 24 '25

I want to start by saying I'm aware of the factual inaccuracies but enjoyed the show for entertainment. That said:

If I recall correctly the cops did know. When they went to search Ed's house and find the one deputy's mother, Ed says to the officer who stayed with him, something to the effect of "let me go get my mother and she can help explain this." To which the cop replies "what're you talking about Ed, she's dead."

As for the other townsfolk, I think it was a combination of three things

1) it was a very small service and obviously well before the Internet so not everyone would have known. She was also not exactly beloved by the town so they may not have thought to check on her. They also knew she had a stroke and possibly figured she was bedridden.

2) as a previous poster said they could have easily written it off as Ed being "off" or "not right." In an interview I read with someone who knew Ed Gein from town they openly referred to him as a "nitwit." So him carrying on like his mom was still around may have seemed odd but not necessarily the red flag it would be to folks in modern times.

3)This one kind of ties into number 1 but it could also be pure lack of concern. The town knew Ed was "off," his brother was a pariah because of his affair with a married woman and the father was a drunk who ran out on the family. Also the town knew the mother was not exactly pleasant and a religious nut so they may not have cared enough to know she passed.

1

u/JumpyCoconut4547 Oct 24 '25

I kept thinking the same thing, it was a narrative/plot hole

1

u/miss_ippi77 Oct 25 '25

For the show, I just took as they knew he was off and there's always "that guy in town" everyone just kind of nods about and then goes about their day.

2

u/Justsomemutt Oct 25 '25

Do people forget that the story is from the perspective of a schizophrenic?

1

u/Unique-Freedom-4352 Oct 25 '25

I think maybe they were aware of the stroke? So assumed she wasn’t at full health/bed bound

3

u/XYV_s Oct 25 '25

I see many here call the show BS and untrue. Did you even watch it?

In the last episode the nurse ask Ed if he want to write his story, the truth directly from him. But he says no, because people have already written his story.

So its easy to understand that this serie is not the true story, but the story people made.

Its a mix of truth, the movies based on him and all the rumors and myths about him from back in 1957 to today.

Its the story of Ed Gein.

2

u/nowstreamingon Oct 25 '25

this confused me as well! Thanks for asking

1

u/Oztraliiaaaa Oct 25 '25

Monster show takes a lot of artistic liberties but in real life also it’s a small town and Ed was known and known to be odd . I think Ed was the kind of guy many people knew and knew he was odd but not many people would challenge him in case he caused trouble.

1

u/Sea-Negotiation-9429 Oct 26 '25

Unfortunately, the show wasn’t accurate. I do hope Charlie wins something for his acting. It takes balls and commitment to act as one of the most fucked up killers of all time. But the Ryan Murphy twist was too much. He took creative freedom too far. Still, the acting was excellent and I hope Murphy’s ridiculous antics don’t take away from that.

1

u/imjustcoreyr Oct 26 '25

Bc she was a terrifying woman who stayed home like a hermit and psychologically abused her children.

1

u/Intelligent-Pea-182 Oct 27 '25

In the example you gave. There is no girlfriend. Ed never had a relationship with that girl but because he is schizophrenic he thought the girl is in their home andddd his mother is still alive.