In the violent history of serial killers, one name seems to stand out among
the others. Ed Gein, known to the townsfolk of Plainfield, Wisconsin, as a
shut-in, was found to have murdered a local woman named Bernice Worden. What
followed were some of the most gruesome and shocking discoveries in American
serial killer history, as a collection of female body parts, some used to make
a “woman suit,” were found by local police. The nature of Ed Gein’s crimes would
go on to inspire other horrific fictional characters in contemporary pop culture.
What can drive someone to commit such strange and terrible acts? Was this a case
of a severe mental illness or were his crimes more volitional in nature?