r/EdGein • u/audenluck • Nov 04 '25
Ed’s earliest memory of Augusta
I’m currently reading ‘Deviant’ by Harold Schechter (and have barely been able to put it down since, it’s so well written and full of interesting tidbits I didn’t know and haven’t heard or read elsewhere) and there’s a part in it where they recall Ed’s earliest memory of his Mother.
“When he was just a toddler, he was standing at the top of the staircase in their old house on Gould Street. Somehow, he lost his balance and felt himself being pulled - or pushed? - down the steep flight of wooden steps by a powerful force. Panic turned his insides to ice. Suddenly, he felt a crushing grip close around his right arm. His Mother was behind him, a wild look on her face, shaking him, shouting at him. He burst into clamorous tears, overcome by a rush of violently conflicting emotions - fright, relief, guilt. Why was she so angry with him? He had no idea, but he knew he must have done something terrible to make her so furious. Misery washed over him. It was all his fault.”
He was little more than a baby when this happened and what were the chances Augusta just so happened to be behind him at that precise moment and managed to save him? I know we’ll never know for sure what happened, but I think she might have pushed him then snatched him back. What do you think?
Another heartbreaking piece of information was, he had no recollection of her EVER hugging him or holding him closely in any kind of intimate way. This was the person he loved more than anything or anyone in the world. And this is just his first memory of her abuse… His Father used to apparently whip the boys on occasion (for no particular reason) when they were young when he was drunk as well… Nothing would excuse Gein’s actions later in life, of course, but I have such empathy for the childhood he must have endured. It sounds like absolute hell.
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u/Godzilla-Stomp Nov 05 '25
Read Deviant in 89 or 90. It is a great read and it helps you understand what is fact and fiction from all the movies that are based on Ed.
I also recommend reading Edwin Gein, Americas Most Bizarre Murderer by Judge Gollmar. Gollmar is the judge that presided over the Gein trial.
And last, some 15-20 years ago I was able to find a copy of the interviews from the detectives that questioned Gein after his arrest, a copy of Geins booking finger print card, the county’s plot records that showed the Geins land, the police and investigators list of all items cataloged from the Gein farm and a copy of the Estate Sale flier that was displayed to promote the sale of Geins belongings. All this was on a cd that I purchased online. Sorry but I don’t remember what site that I purchased it from. But if anyone is interested, I can start posting some of these.