Netflix has finally released the third installment of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan's hit true crime anthology series Monster. It's titled Monster: The Ed Gein Story, and it's a chilling dramatization that explores the life and crimes of real-life notorious murderer and grave robber Ed Gein.
Across eight gripping episodes, viewers witness Gein's disturbing journey from his early life to his infamous criminal acts. But while the series centers on him, many of the other characters in Monster: The Ed Gein Story are also based on real people who were connected to him or inspired by his horrific crimes. Discover who these characters are below!
Spoilers are ahead from Monster: The Ed Gein Story.
Alfred Hitchcock
In the Netflix series, Alfred Hitchcock is portrayed as an English filmmaker who decides to make Psycho, a film inspired by Gein. This is true to history. The Hitchcock character is modeled on the legendary director himself, who would later earn an Oscar nomination for his direction of the iconic 1960 horror classic. There's also a scene in the series where Hitchcock talks to another character, Robert Bloch, about making the film. This Robert character is based on the real-life author of the same name, who wrote the Psycho book that the movie is adapted from.
Adeline Watkins
When we meet Adeline Watkins in Monster: The Ed Gein Story, she and Gein are good friends before they enter into a relationship. Due to Adeline's fascination with death, she and Gein got along well. However, she ends up turning on him after his arrest. This Adeline character is based on the real-life woman of the same name, who reportedly claimed in November 1957 that she had a long-term romantic relationship with Gein, only to retract her statement days later, insisting that they were merely friends.
Ilse Koch
Ilse Koch is another character in the show that's based on a real person. As depicted in the series, Ilse really was a Nazi war criminal in real life who gained notoriety for her extreme cruelty toward Jewish prisoners. She would subject them to brutal treatment, and allegedly even use their skin to create objects like lampshades. In Monster: The Ed Gein Story, Ilse ended her life while in prison by hanging herself with a bed sheet. This also happened in real life.
Augusta Gein
Augusta Gein is the name of Gein's mother in the series, and she's based on a real person as well. Like in Monster: The Ed Gein Story, the real-life Augusta was a deeply religious woman who often lectured her sons about the dangers of sin and her rigid and fear-driven beliefs that women were a corrupting influence. It is also true, as depicted in the show, that Gein idolized his mother and became obsessed with her, a fixation that had a profound effect on his psyche and later actions.
Bernice Worden
Bernice Worden was really one of Gein’s real-life acquaintances, the owner of a local hardware store, who became one of his victims. As shown in the series, it is true that her mutilated, decapitated body was found on Gein's property. Her body was treated like a hunted animal, with the internal organs removed. It was also hung upside down by the legs, with the wrists tied, in a grotesque display. In addition, it's true that Bernice's son, Frank Worden, a police officer, led the investigation.
Mary Hogan
Another character in the series, Mary Hogan, a bar owner, is also based on the real person of the same name. Besides Worden, she is the only other confirmed victim of Gein that he confessed to murdering. In addition, the character, Evelyn, who is shown as a babysitter in Monster: The Ed Gein Story, is based on the real-life Evelyn Hartley. Evelyn was a 14-year-old girl who went missing while babysitting a professor's young daughter in October 1953. Gein would later be questioned about her disappearance, but he denied any involvement, and no evidence linking him to her case was ever found.
Here are three other characters in Monster: The Ed Gein Story that are based on real people:
- Richard Speck - A mass murderer infamous for killing eight student nurses in their home in 1966. In the series, he's shown as being inspired by Gein's crimes. However, there's no evidence that Speck was actually influenced by Gein.
- Ted Bundy - An American serial killer who entered a sorority house in Florida in 1978, where he brutally attacked and murdered several young women. In Monster: The Ed Gein Story, Bundy is depicted as idolizing Speck. However, there's no proof that Bundy ever explicitly expressed admiration for Speck.
- Christine Jorgensen - Jorgensen was an American transgender woman who gained international fame in the 1950s as one of the first people in the United States to undergo sex reassignment surgery. While the series depicts Gein and Jorgensen talking via a Ham radio, this didn't actually happen in real life. However, there are reports that police found books about Jorgensen’s surgery on Gein’s shelves when they investigated his house.
All eight episodes of Monster: The Ed Gein Story are now streaming on Netflix.