Tobe Hooper's macabre film first released October 1974, and birthed a horror icon that paved the way for many more to come after him. Leatherface has cemented his place amongst the horror greats slaying his way through a 50 year franchise that featured numerous sequels, a prequel, games, comics, figures & collectibles, other kick-ass merch and a recent online multiplayer game- which, to be fair, is a pretty great game.
Gunnar Hansen was of course the first to don the skin mask, made the monster (so to speak) his own and delivered a truly disturbing performance. Hooper wrote the character taking inspiration from Ed Gein and his crimes during the 1950s. The tale of The Butcher of Plainfield also inspired writer Robert Bloch when writing Norman Bates in Psycho, and later Sir Alfred Hitchock in his 1960 film adaptation. Gein's story also inspired Jame Gumb (Buffalo Bill), portrayed by Ted Levine, in The Silence of the Lambs. And of course there's been a few other lower budget films such as 2007's The Butcher of Plainfield, numerous documentaries and most recently the upcoming Season 3 of Monster, where Charlie Hunnam will be playing him.
Read on and you'll see why such a fascination with this guy.
Who Was Ed Gein?
Ed Gein was born August 27th 1906 in La Crosse County, Wisconsin to Augusta Wilhelmine Gein and George Gein. He was the youngest of two, being born after his brother Henry George Gein. It was far from an ideal loving family environment in the Gein household- his father was an alcoholic who his mother hated and decided to vent her frustrations by being verbally abusive to both her sons, Ed in particular. They lived on a 155-acre farm in Plainfield, Wisconsin that was seemingly cut off to the outside world. Augusta took advantage of the farms isolation by turning away outsiders that could negatively influence her sons. Ed spent most of his time doing chores on the farm and only left to attend school.
To make matters worse, his mother was said to punish Ed if he attempted to make friends with anyone outside his immediate family. This combined with the unfortunate living environment, and his religious zealot mother, lead the boy to developing strange behaviour with little to no proper social skills.
Gein's father passed away April 1st 1940 from heart failure following years of alcohol abuse. May 16th 1944, his brother Henry died in mysterious circumstances following a fire that got out of control on the farm. Although Gein reported his brother missing to the police, he was able to lead them directly to the burned body when they arrived. Despite bruising being found on the victim’s head, police dismissed any possibility of foul play and the county coroner officially listed asphyxiation as Henry’s cause of death.
Ed and his mother now lived on the farm alone. Unfortunately, she suffered a stroke shortly after Henry's death which left her near enough paralysed. Ed then became her full time carer, and devoted himself to looking after. December 29th 1945 Augusta Gein died at the age of 67 leaving Ed devastated, according to biographer and writer Harold Schechter, he had "lost his only friend and one true love. And he was absolutely alone in the world." 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.
Following the death of his mother, Gein inherited the family farm. He received a farm subsidy from the federal government in 1951, as well as earning extra money from odd jobs and handyman work around town. One of these jobs would have most likely introduced him to hardware store owner Bernice Worden- who Gein would later murder.
His Crimes
November 16th 1957, Plainfield Hardware Store owner Bernice Worden disappeared. Her son (and Deputy Sheriff) Frank Worden came into the store later that day to find the cash register open and blood on the floor. Frank later told investigators that Gein was there the night before his mother's disappearance. Further investigation revealed revealed a sales slip for a gallon of anti-freeze to Gein himself.
Gein was arrested later that evening at Westfield Grocery Store. Waushara County Sheriff’s Department was then sent to search Gein’s farm as well as the surrounding area. A deputy made the unfortunate discovery of Bernice Worden’s body- she had been fatally shot then decapitated. She was found in Gein’s shed hung upside down by her legs (her torso dressed out like a deer), with a crossbow at her ankles and ropes around her wrists. Little did investigators know, this was just the beginning…
The Story Behind The Real Leatherface
The Sheriff's department aptly nicknamed Gein’s farm the ‘House of Horrors’ following further, more detailed searches of the property. Searching the house, authorities uncovered an entire treasure trove of disturbing items as well as Gein's second victim- Mary Hogan. Hogan was a tavern keeper in the town of Pine Grove, and hadn't been seen since December 8th, 1954.
Their various searches of Gein's house & property uncovered the following-
A waste basket made from skin.
Whole human bones.
Fragments of human and animal bones.
Skulls on Gein’s bedposts.
Four human noses.
Fingernails from females.
A belt made from female nipples.
Bowls made from human skulls.
A corset made from a female torso than had been skinned from shoulders to waist.
Several chairs upholstered with skin.
A young girl’s dress with the vulvas of two females, estimated to have been around fifteen years old.
Nine masks made from skin, most taken from female corpses.
A mask made from the face of Mary Hogan.
The skulls of ten females, some with the top removed/sawn-off. Hogan's was later found in a shoebox.
Various human organs in the refrigerator.
A pair of leggings made from skin.
A set of lips on a widow shade drawstring.
Nine vulvae (kept in a shoe box).
A lampshade made from skin.
Bernice Worden’s heart in a plastic bag- found next to Gein’s kitchen stove.
Bernice Worden’s whole head- intact and stored in a burlap sack.
All this evidence was detailed, photographed and logged accordingly and destroyed shortly after.
The Aftermath of Gein's
House of Horrors
When questioned Gein admitted killing both Worden and Hogan, but plead not guilty by reason of insanity. He was suspected of several other unsolved cases in Wisconsin around the same time, including the disappearance of Evelyn Grace Hartley in 1953. However, investigators never uncovered enough evidence to link any of them to him. After further questioning, Gein revealed he made regular trips to three local graveyards to exhume recently buried bodies of women.
He admitted that between 1947 and 1952, he had made as many as 40 nocturnal visits to three local graveyards whilst in a daze-like state. On the majority of those visits he admitted coming out of said daze whilst in the cemetery, leaving the grave in good order and returning home empty handed. However, on other occasions he would exhume recently deceased middle-aged woman, that he thought resembled his mother (Augusta Gein), and take them home.
Upon arriving home, he would then tan their skin and use them to make various items. Gein even took police to several of the graves he had exhumed. He denied engaging in any sort of sexual activity with the bodies, later recalling “They smelled too bad”. However, he did admit (in graphic detail) to the various mutilations and removal of various body parts/organs he performed. This included the construction of 'woman suit' he admitted began making after Augusta's death in 1945.
Gein was put on trial late November 1957, and found guilty of one count of murder in the first degree. Due to financial issues at the time, prosecutors only pursued prosecution for the murder of Bernice Worden. However, Gein was found mentally incompetent meaning he was committed to a State mental hospital for the criminally insane instead of being sent to prison.
The house and Gein’s possessions were set to be auctioned off end of March 1958, there were rumours of the house and land it stood on becoming a tourist attraction after the case gained worldwide notoriety. The house was destroyed by a fire early morning of March 20th, arson was suspected but never proven.
The Butcher of Plainfield spent the remainder of his life in a mental hospital. He died due to respiratory failure secondary to lung cancer July 26th 1984 at the age of 77. He now resides in Plainfield Cemetery in an unmarked grave between his parents and brother.
There you have it horror fans, the real life story and crimes of the monster that partly inspired such horror greats such as Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, American Horror Story, The Silence of the Lambs, House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects and many more.