Did Ed Gein really kill his brother? Netflix’s ‘Monster’ Season 3 explores killer’s dark past and secret GF
Netflix released ‘Monster: The Ed Gein Story’ on October 3, the newest addition to Ryan Murphy’s true-crime anthology that dramatizes the lives of some of history’s most notorious killers. The series follows the success of 2022’s ‘Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,’ which became one of Netflix’s most-watched titles of all time, as per Tudum. This latest season shifts the focus to Plainfield, Wisconsin, decades before Dahmer’s crimes gripped Milwaukee. Unlike Dahmer, Gein admitted to only two murders. But his crimes extended far beyond.
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Investigators discovered he had robbed multiple graves, fashioning human remains into household objects and grotesque costumes. His shocking acts inspired horror classics like ‘Psycho,’ ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,’ and ‘The Silence of the Lambs.’ Now that the series is out, viewers are zeroing in on two unsettling questions the show raises: Was Ed Gein responsible for his brother’s death and did he ever truly have a girlfriend? The opening episode suggests Gein murdered his older brother, Henry, during a fire on their property.
In the dramatization, Henry’s growing resentment toward their strict mother pushes Gein (Charlie Hunnam) to attack him with a blunt object, later disguising the death as an accident. But the historical record is murkier. The real incident took place during a spring brush fire in 1944, as reported by USA Today. Henry’s body was found badly burned, with the coroner ruling the cause of death as heart failure from smoke inhalation. While there were rumors of suspicious injuries, authorities at the time did not pursue foul play. Gein himself never admitted to k*lling his brother. However, decades later, when his other crimes came to light, some in the community began to wonder if Henry’s death was truly accidental.
Another storyline grabbing attention is Gein’s supposed romance with a woman named Adeline Watkins. In the show, their relationship is portrayed as a long-standing companionship. In reality, Watkins later clarified that their connection was brief and overstated. While she described Gein as kind and bookish, with a fascination for cultural traditions he read about in magazines, she said they only spent time together for about seven months in the mid-1950s. They occasionally went to the movies, but she denied ever visiting his home or being romantically involved to the extent some reports suggested.
