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Questioning the Story:
How much of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is based
on the real life murderer Ed Gein? Despite being heavily touted as "inspired by a true story," both Tobe Hooper's original 1974 film and the 2003 Marcus Nispel
remake are only lightly based on the real-life murderer Ed Gein, who is suspected to have taken several victims between 1954
and 1957. Perhaps the most recognizable similarity is the film's house, whose gruesome content was similar to that found in
Ed Gein's home (above right) in 1957. Did the real Ed Gein ever wear a human's face as a mask like Leatherface did
in the film?The
real Ed Gein did wear a human's scalp and face. The real Ed Gein did this however, to help quell his desire to be a woman,
not because of a skin disease as with Leatherface in the film. Also included in his uniform, Ed Gein wore a vest of skin complete
with breasts and female genitalia strapped above his own.
-carpenoctem.tv
Did the real Ed Gein use a chainsaw to kill his victims?
No, both of Ed Gein's identified victims, Mary Hogan and Bernice
Worden, were shot with a pistol. In November of 1957, police found Bernice Worden hanging from the rafters in a shed behind
Gein's house. Her body had been gutted like that of a deer, and the head had been removed. Ed Gein was also the suspect in
several other missing persons. The element of the chainsaw that was added for the film's story once again emphasizes the loose
connection of the film to Gein. -carpenoctem.tv
Who exactly was Ed Gein and why did he commit such atrocities?
Eddie Gein was the son
of Augusta and George Gein. Augusta was a deeply religious woman, who preached the Bible to Eddie and his brother Henry on
a daily basis. She warned them about the dangers of loose women, in an effort to keep them from being cast down to hell. She
was a strict, hard woman, who never wavered from her own beliefs, which she ingrained into the family. Eddie's father, George,
was an alcoholic, and Augusta viewed him as being worthless. She began a grocery business in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and when
she had saved enough money she moved the family away from the sin of the city to a farm in Plainfield, Wisconsin. Eddie grew
up shy and was ignored by the other kids at school, who saw him as quiet and feminine. If he did try to make friends, his
mother scolded him. As a result Eddie turned inward and began to reside in the dark corners of his mind.
He worshipped
his mother, and grew upset when his brother Henry criticized her. On May 16, 1944, while fighting a brush fire near the farm,
Eddie and Henry split up and went in different directions. After the fire had been extinguished, Eddie grew concerned because
his brother had not returned. When police arrived Eddie lead them directly to his "missing" brother Henry, who was lying dead
in an area untouched by the fire with bruises on his head. The shy and seemingly harmless Eddie was quickly dismissed as a
suspect, and the coroner listed asphyxiation as the cause of death. -crimelibrary.com
Were any other films
based on Ed Gein?
Both Norman Bates from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) and Buffalo Bill from The Silence
of the Lambs (1991) were also loosely based on Ed Gein:
ˇ Psycho (1960):
Norman Bates, the
main character in Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece, was loosely based on Ed Gein. Hitchcock had adapted Psycho from a
story by author Robert Bloch, who had modeled the character of Norman Bates after Ed Gein. The main similarities include the
feminine qualities of both Norman Bates and Ed Gein, as well as both individuals' attachments to their domineering mothers.
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ˇ The Silence of the Lambs (1991):
The movie famed killer from The Silence of the Lambs, Buffalo Bill,
perhaps most closely resembles Ed Gein. Buffalo Bill as well desired to be a woman, and he displayed actions that could categorize
him as a transvestite. They both skinned their victims and enjoyed parading around in garments of flesh. They both also preyed
on women. However, Buffalo Bill chose somewhat younger women for his victims than Ed Gein did |
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