Edward Theodore Gein - America's Most Infamous Murderer
Although tallying just two deaths, Ed Gein is one of America’s most infamous murderers. His notorious killings are remembered as being among the most perverse of any this century. His lunatic atrocities were magnified by the number of victims who fell prey to his sick deeds and who also fueled his numerous habits of cannibalism, necrophilia of women, and his obsession with the female body, especially his mother, Augusta Gein. Although clearly guilty for the acts Gein committed, psychiatrists were confident in their conclusion of his insanity. As is in many cases, Gein’s birth of insanity started in childhood.
Edward Theodore Gein was born on August 27, 1906 in the town of La Crosse, Wisconsin to George and Augusta Gein. He had an elder brother, Henry, who was four years older. His father, George Gein was an inept farmer with a serious drinking problem. On the other hand, Augusta was a strong willed Christian who viewed life based on her religious beliefs. The more dominant influence in Ed's upbringing was naturally his mother. Augusta sternly instilled in her boys the innate “…immorality of the world and the twin dangers of alcohol and loose women” (Schechter, p.27). She preached endlessly to her boys about the sins of lust and “carnal desire” and depicted all women as whores, expect for herself obliviously. Augusta's strict view of life initiated Ed’s sexual confusion as an adolescent; “he was very ambiguous about his masculinity” (Fisher) and had considered transsexual surgeries on many occasions. His natural attraction towards girls clashed with his mother's threatening of never-ending damnation. A naturally shy and slightly effeminate boy, Ed never dated girl...
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...t and respiratory failure, he was suffering with cancer. He died aged 77. He was laid to rest in the only available plot in Plainfield - next to his mother Augusta Gein.
The life story of Ed Gein depicts his numerous brutal acts as illustrations of his insanity and madness. His deranged childhood, especially his relation to his domineering mother led to his psychosis and ultimately to the horrible killings we still fears today. He is the killer whose fiendish fantasies inspired many movies such as, PSYCHO, Silence of the Lambs, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre all of which focused on gruesome and bizarre acts beyond all imagining. Ed Gein was evidently guilty as all the evidence obviously pointed to him. Yet I believe the psychiatrists were without a doubt in my mind, accurate in declaring Ed Gein insane at the time he committed the perverse and evil acts.
The reasons or categories for committing filicide include: altruistic filicide, acutely psychotic filicide, unwanted child filicide, accidental filicide, and spousal revenge filicide. The cases that will be discussed in this paper will fall under the altruistic filicide, acute psychotic filicide, and unwanted child. One case that was highly publicized and brought filicide to the forefront of America’s minds was Andrea Yates. Andrea murdered all five of her children by drowning them in the bathtub in her home. Prior to this incident, Andrea had been in and out of hospitals and mental health institutions for depression and psychosis (West).
After his father died of a heart attack in 1940, the Gein brothers started working at odd jobs to help with expenses. Both brothers were reliable and honest to the community. While both worked as handymen, Ed Gein also babysat for neighbors. He loved babysitting because he related to children better than adults. Henry Gein let his mother's view of the world out of his head and began worrying about his brother’s attachment to her. He spoke ill of her around his brother so that Ed would do the same thing to let the overly obsessive attachment go. (http://murderpedia.org/male.G/g/gein-edward.htm).
Gein did not take the time to plan them or to cover his tracks. BBC (2008) states that the murders were more “spur of the moment” than actual planning. With this is mind Gin only confessed to two murders, but he was later accused and suspected of four more. These were an eight-year-old girl who went missing on her way back from school, a 15-year-old girl who was abducted while babysitting, and a pair of hunters that went missing after leaving the local tavern. These four victims did not fit in with the pattern Gein had established. All the body parts and remains found in Ed Gein’s house belonged to women, in particular, he sought older middle-aged women whom reminded him of his mother. Another factor to take into account is that Gein complained of memory deficits. He was able to recall and confess to the murders of Mary Hogan and Bernice Worden as well as talk about other of his activities with the “trophies” he took almost as if he was simply recalling any other event or story (Radford University,
away in 1998 at the age of 91. His son gave him a well commemorated funeral, and
Edward Theodore was born on August 27, 1906, to Augusta and George Gein in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Eddie was the 2nd of two children. Eddie's mother was a fanatically religious women, who was determined to raise the boys according to her strict moral code. Eddie's mother repeatedly warned her sons of the immorality and looseness of women, hoping to discourage any sexual desires the boys might have. ( In the Beginning)
An analysis of the most famous murderers and serial killers in the Chicago area shows varying degrees of psychopathy or mental illnesses, which ultimately contribute to homicidal comportment. Analysis also shows that...
resulted in respiratory failure, while hospitalized at Baptist Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. He was interred next to his wife in
In the last fiscal year alone, marijuana brought 70 million dollars in tax revenue in the state of Colorado. Colorado was the first state to legalize marijuana recreationally in the fall of 2012, and since then three other states and the District of Columbia have legalized the plant. Based off of sales in states that have legalized marijuana recreationally, if all fifty states legalized marijuana, they would bring in a combined 3 billion dollars in tax revenue yearly. That much money from sales of the plant alone could help to stabilize the suffering economy. Moreover, the American Government would be able to control the plant and distribute it how ever they see fit. The economic growth marijuana legalization could bring to the United States outweighs any argument against
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What would cause an individual to behave in this rather heinous and macabre manner? Using Robert Pickton as a case study, this paper will explore the phenomenon of serial murder and apply research literature to help explain his behaviour and examine issues such as psychopathy, mental disorder, and substance abuse relevant to the Pickton case. In addition, the paper will explore the sexually sadistic nature of Pickton’s murders. Finally, the paper will explore the reasoning behind Pickton’s selection of drug addicted prostitutes as victims that enabled him to conduct his murders in relative anonymity. ...
On August 27, 1906, Edward Theodore Gein was the second son born to his alcoholic father George Gein, and his religiously fanatic mother Augusta Gein in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His older brother, Henry Gein, was 7 years older than him (BBC, 2008). Despite the children and Augustans contempt towards George, who was drunk and unemployed most of the time, they stayed together as divorce was not an option because of the family’s religious beliefs. Augusta did however run a small grocery store and when Ed was around the age of 8 they bought and moved to a farm in Plainfield where the nearest neighbors were over a mile away. This was because Augusta wanted to get the kids away from the evils of society
Introduction: On the spectrum of criminal activity, serial killers are rather rare. Rarer still is a serial killer like Ted Bundy. Bundy confessed to killing 28 women in the 1970s in ghastly fashion and some believe he may have killed far more. It is hard to imagine what could cause any person to cross the mental boundary into such macabre behavior as Bundy perpetrated. Nevertheless, it is important to try to understand that behavior because only though such an understanding would society be able to identify and deter mass murderers in order to save lives.
Fifty years ago, a person breaking the law would either be called crazy or a criminal. Today, the mental health community has much more specific diagnoses. However, the explanation of certain behaviors may be difficult because there is much overlap among mental conditions. In Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho, the protagonist, Patrick Bateman, is apparently simply a psychopath. However, Bateman can be diagnosed with other mental illnesses such as Asperger’s syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, narcissism, and antisocial personality disorder. In both the book and film adaptation, Bateman’s actions can be understood more accurately when analyzed in light of modern psychology.
The Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest known stories, recounts the tale of the reckless King Gilgamesh and his adventures with his friend Enkidu, a natural man created by the gods from clay to humble and teach Gilgamesh to become a better ruler. Through Enkidu’s death, the once fearless Gilgamesh becomes fearful of his own inevitable demise and journeys to find immortality. However, by finding compassion for his humanity, he is able to come to terms with his mortality and continue living wholeheartedly as the ruler of Uruk. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh learns to accept his mortality by gaining compassion for himself.
Edward Gein’s was a man from the 1950’s. His mother was verbally abusive, very religious and strict. His father was an alcoholic. He was found to be mentally sane and have an average IQ. But it was not until his mother dying that he went nuts. He had an obsession with the women autonomy, Nazi experiments on people and a desire to change his sex. Gein’s started out robbing graves to support his desires. But later he started killing. He would kill and take a cooling off period. His signature was with every killing he would take a trophy from his victims along with mutilate their bodies and bury them on his farm (Rhodes, 2012).