The Silence of the Lambs

The Silence of the Lambs has been a horror classic since its debut in 1991. In fact, as of 2021, it is only horror movie to ever win an Oscar for best picture. However, not many people know the gruesome crime that inspired it.

Ed Gein is a name that not many know. Yet, he is one of the most twisted men to ever haunt America. Gein’s crimes gained many nicknames. Such as, the Butcher of Plainfield and Plainfield Ghoul. But to the people of Plainfield, Wisconsin he is known as one thing: a monster. On November 16th 1957, hardware store owner, Bernice Worden, was declared a missing person. Tt around 5 P.M, Bernice’s son, went to his mother’s store only to find blood stains, an open cash register, but no Bernice. As police began their investigation, they learned that the store’s truck was seen leaving the store at approximately 9:30 A.M. Berince had written a receipt that morning for a gallon of anti-freeze for a man named Ed Gein. Frank Worden, Bernice’s son, claimed that Gein had also been in the store the night before his mother’s disappearance. On the same day Bernice went missing, Gein was arrested at a grocery store in Plainfield, Wisconsin. What they found in his home was nothing short of horrifying.

Gein had a shed in his backyard where Bernice Warden’s body was found, but it was not a normal crime scene. Bernice was shot with a rifle and hung upside-down from a bar on the ceiling. Her hands and ankles were tied, she was also mutilated post-mortem. But the atrocities didn't stop there. Nobody was prepared for what was discovered inside Gein’s home. When investigators searched the residence they found, whole bones along with some fragments, a trashcan made of human skin, chairs upholstered with the skin of humans, skulls on his bed posts, the skulls of females (some with the tops sawn off), human skulls turned into bowls, a corset of stitched together skin, leggings made of skin, female heads turned into masks, a paper bag with a face inside, along with the same victim’s skull in a box, Bernice’s head thrown in a burlap sack and her heart in a bag in front of his stove, an old shoe box filled with nine vulvae, a dress with two vulvae that were believed to all come from young girls, a belt made of nipples, four noses, a shade drawstring made of lips and lastly, fingernails. A long and disturbing list of evidence to show for Gein’s heinous crimes.

While it is not much of a relief, Gein only admitted to murdering two women, a local bar owner named Mary Hogan and Bernice Worden. The other remains were reportedly exhumed by Gein at three local cemeteries where he would break into at night and steal remains. He claimed to make 40 of those visits, leaving with remains ten of those times. He told investigators that the remaining times, he exited the cemetery feeling dazed and confused. A crime laboratory worker, Allan Willivosky, reopened three graves that Gein claimed to have robbed. Just two feet below the ground, Gein robbed the contents of the caskets after the funeral was held but before the grave was closed. Gein confessed the motive behind his actions. While he did not have any sexual motive behind his crimes, he was attempting to make a “woman suit” in the image of his late mother. The goal of this was to give him the ability to literally crawl back inside her. During his first interrogation, conducted by Sheriff Art Schley, he confessed to the crimes he was arrested for. However, Schley based Gein’s face into a brick wall, rendering the confession inadmissible. Shortly before Gein’s second trial, Art Schley died of heart failure at the young age of 43. According to colleagues, he was apprehensive about testifying at Gein’s upcoming trial, he worried that he would be questioned in regards to Gein’s assault. Additionally, working the horrifying case led to an array of mental health issues. Many have suggested that the combination of these two stressors led to Art’s early death in 1968.

At the end of November 1957, Gein was diagnosed with schizophrenia. This led to his not guilty by reason of insanity plea when he was faced with only one count of first degree murder of Bernice Worden. Initially, this plea worked, resulting in him being sent to a psychiatric facility. However, 11 years later, doctors decided that Gein was actually fit enough to be tried for the murder(s). Consequently, a trial began almost exactly 11 years after his initial arrest on November 7th, 1968. During this trial, the defense called a psychiatrist to the stand who testified that Gein had no idea what he was doing when he killed Bernice. In fact, they claimed that Gein was unsure if the murder of Bernice was intentional or not. Claiming he did not remember anything he did after he shot her. The jury found him guilty one week after the trial began. Gein’s defense requested a second trial to determine Gein’s mental state, this time without a jury. Surprisingly, this trial did not yield results that the doctors anticipated. Judge Robert H. Gollmar found Gein not guilty by reason of insanity and sentenced him to be committed to Central State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Later, he admitted to also killing Mary Hogan.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Buffalo Bill, or Jame Gumb, was created in Gein’s image. The movie used this case as inspiration to create the horror classic. While Buffalo Bill’s crimes were quite different, the movie used a lot of similar details. The biggest one being that Gumb was attempting to make a woman suit in the likeness to his mother. The director created a story that Buffalo Bill struggled with his identity and his absent mother. This eventually led to his desire to actually become her. To do this, he would kidnap overweight women, starve them, then use the loose skin to create this suit. Gumb would watch countless hours watching home videos of his mother before he would commit a murder, it became his ritual. Although Gein does not kill as many women as Gumb’s character in the film, the idea of trying to become his mother stems directly from Gein’s motives. However, Gein had a different relationship with his mother. Growing up, Gein’s mother, Augusta, isolated Gein to the extent where she was one of the few people had contact with. Gein was not permitted to leave the secluded farm they lived on. Luckily, she allowed Gein some contact with the outside world by allowing him to attend school. But, a combination of his lacking social skills stemming from the isolation, along with Augusta punishing him when he tried to make friends, Gein grew anti-social with absolutely no friends. Augusta was incredibly pious and was faithful to the Luthren church. She taught both Gein and his brother Henry that all women, besides herself, stemmed from the Devil resulting in inherent promiscuity. Effectively manipulating Gein that she was the only acceptable woman on Earth, crushing any future desire to find a wife. Eventually, both his father and brother died (separate events) leaving Gein alone with his mother. It must be noted that Augusta and Henry, did not have the same relationship that Gein had with her. Henry held feelings of contempt for his mother which strained their relationship. The only thing Henry’s death did was further detach Gein from society and into his mother’s arms. While it has never been proven, I speculate the possibility of Gein being involved in the death of his brother. Whether it was to “punish” him for his disdain towards their mother, or to be Augusta’s only living relative and her only support. There was never any evidence of foul play, his death has been attributed asphyxiation and ruled an accident. Nonetheless, the circumstances of his death do raise questions. At the time of his death, Henry had been discussing moving out of the house to live with a woman he had been dating. While I can’t find more information on it, I would assume that Augusta was not at all pleased about this. On the day of his death, Henry and Ed were burning vegetation near a marsh on their land. Somehow, the fire escalated and become uncontrollable. Eventually when firefighters were able to suppress the flames, Ed reported Henry as missing, several hours after the fire broke out. A search team found Henry face down with no visible injuries or burns. Not long after Henry died, Augusta suffered a stroke, leaving her with paralysis. Subsequently, Gein dedicated all of his time to cater to her needs. Unfortunately, a year later she suffered yet another stroke, she died shortly after. After Augusta passed away, Ed boarded off all of her areas on the home as an effort to keep them in the condition she left them in. He did however continue to live in the rest of the house, where he eventually began committing his crimes.

While Ed Gein’s relationship with his mother revolved around his obsession of her, Jame Gumb’s relationship with his mother was quite different. He was infatuated by her, but had no real relationship with her. He probably also blamed her for his mental health issues he suffered, attributing them to her abandoning him. However, the director had that relationship manifest into something very similar to Ed Gein’s story.