The Secret They Buried: How Ed Gein Got Away With Murdering His Own Brother
Did Ed Gein, America's most infamous grave robber and murderer, also get away with killing his own brother? This chilling question has haunted true crime enthusiasts for decades, and the Netflix series The Ed Gein Story has reignited the debate. While Ed Gein confessed to murdering two women and confessed to grave robbing, the suspicious death of his older brother Henry remains shrouded in mystery, with many believing it was no accident.
Ed Gein: The Making of a Monster
Edward Theodore Gein, born in 1906 in La Crosse, Wisconsin, would grow up to become one of America's most notorious criminals. His crimes, committed around his hometown of Plainfield, Wisconsin, gathered widespread notoriety in 1957 after authorities discovered that he stole corpses from local graveyards and fashioned keepsakes from their remains. The gruesome nature of his crimes shocked the nation and inspired some of the most influential horror films ever made, including Psycho (1960), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), and The Silence of the Lambs (1991).
Personal Details and Bio Data
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Edward Theodore Gein |
| Date of Birth | August 27, 1906 |
| Place of Birth | La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA |
| Date of Death | July 26, 1984 |
| Place of Death | Mendota Mental Health Institute, Wisconsin |
| Known For | Grave robbing, murder, inspiration for horror films |
| Parents | George Philip Gein (father), Augusta Wilhelmine Gein (mother) |
| Siblings | Henry George Gein (older brother) |
A Childhood Shaped by Isolation and Abuse
Ed Gein and his older brother Henry grew up in isolation on the family farm, only leaving to attend school. Their childhood was a perfect dysfunctional storm of beatings by their drunken father and their mother Augusta's fanatical fire-and-brimstone religious teachings. Augusta enjoyed the isolation that served as insulation to keep her sons from the outside world. She saw this isolation as a protective measure, but it created a toxic environment that would have devastating consequences.
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Augusta Gein was the dominant force in the household, controlling every aspect of her sons' lives. She preached about the evils of the world, particularly warning them about women and sex. This extreme religious indoctrination, combined with physical and emotional abuse, created a psychological foundation that would later manifest in horrifying ways.
The Suspicious Death of Henry Gein
The series The Ed Gein Story, which dramatizes the life of Ed Gein through actor Charlie Hunnam's chilling portrayal, wastes no time in presenting the idea that fratricide was part of Gein's horrifying legacy. But was this artistic license, or did Ed Gein really kill his brother?
On May 16, 1944, a marsh fire broke out on the Gein property. When the fire was extinguished, Henry Gein's body was found nearby. The official cause of death was listed as asphyxiation from the fire, but many details surrounding the incident raised suspicions. Henry's body showed signs of blunt force trauma to the head that preceded the fire, yet this was never properly investigated.
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Ed Gein was the only witness to the events leading to his brother's death. He claimed that he and Henry had become separated while fighting the fire, but the circumstances seemed suspicious. Henry had recently begun to question their mother's teachings and had even made negative comments about Augusta, which Ed found deeply troubling. Some investigators believe that Ed may have killed his brother to protect their mother's influence and maintain the isolated world she had created.
The Women Who Met Ed Gein's Wrath
While Ed Gein never confessed to killing his brother, he did confess to murdering two women in 1957. Beatrice Worden, a local hardware store owner, and Mary Hogan, a tavern operator, both disappeared under suspicious circumstances. Their disappearances initially didn't raise major alarms, but when authorities searched Gein's property after his arrest, they made horrifying discoveries.
The women were plump and middle-aged, doctors said, fitting the profile of the type of women Gein was known to target. He had nursed his mother through two paralytic strokes, and some psychologists believe he was seeking to create a "woman suit" to essentially crawl back into his mother's skin after her death in 1945.
The Investigation and Arrest
Ed Gein's father, George, died on April 1, 1940, leaving the family farm to Augusta and her sons. After Augusta's death in 1945, Ed's behavior became increasingly erratic. He began visiting local graveyards at night, eventually exhuming bodies that resembled his mother. The gruesome keepsakes he created from these corpses would shock investigators when they finally searched his property.
The investigation that brought Gein to justice began with the disappearance of Bernice Worden. Her son, Frank Worden, recalled that Ed had been in the hardware store the day before his mother vanished and had asked about antifreeze. When Bernice disappeared, antifreeze was also missing from the store. This connection led authorities to Gein's farm on November 16, 1957.
What they found there defied imagination. Worden's decapitated body was hanging upside down in a shed, her body "dressed out" like a deer. Inside the house, investigators discovered a nightmare collection: human skulls used as bowls, chairs upholstered in human skin, a corset made from a female torso, and numerous other body parts fashioned into household items.
The Grave Robber's Final Resting Place
Ed Gein was buried in a cemetery near Plainfield, Wisconsin, though his grave became the target of numerous thefts by tourists, and at one point, it was stolen for several years. The grave of Ed Gein is located in Plainfield Cemetery in Plainfield, Wisconsin. He was buried in the Gein family plot beside his mother Augusta, brother Henry, and father George, just feet away from one of the graves he had once robbed.
The desecration of Gein's grave became almost as notorious as his crimes. His headstone was frequently vandalized and was even stolen in 2000 by vandals who intended to sell pieces of it on the internet. The stone was recovered and is now kept in a museum to prevent further theft.
The Legacy of Ed Gein
Killer and grave robber Ed Gein helped inspire Psycho and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Read about the "Monster" series, his victims, hometown, and death. The impact of Gein's crimes on popular culture cannot be overstated. His story has been told and retold in books, documentaries, and dramatizations, with the Netflix series The Ed Gein Story arriving on October 3, 2025, and with it came a familiar question: Did Ed Gein secretly kill his brother, Henry?
The short answer is unresolved. While there is substantial circumstantial evidence suggesting that Ed Gein may have killed his brother Henry, there has never been conclusive proof. The official investigation into Henry's death was cursory at best, and by the time authorities began to seriously consider the possibility of foul play, Ed Gein was already in custody for other crimes.
Comparing Monsters: Ed Gein and Edmund Kemper
Years earlier, at the age of 15, Edmund Emil Kemper III, another notorious American serial killer, had murdered his paternal grandparents. Kemper, born December 18, 1948, is an American serial killer convicted of murdering seven women, including his own mother, and one girl between May 1972 and April 1973. While Kemper's crimes were more prolific and occurred decades after Gein's, both men shared a disturbing pattern of violence against family members and women.
The comparison between Gein and Kemper raises interesting questions about the nature of familial violence and how early warning signs are often missed or ignored. Both men came from troubled backgrounds with dominant mother figures and absent or abusive fathers.
The Enduring Mystery
Did Ed Gein really kill his brother, Henry Gein, or did Monster: The Ed Gein Story make that up? The answer remains one of the most enduring mysteries in the annals of American crime. While the Netflix series has brought renewed attention to the question, the truth may never be known with certainty.
What we do know is that Ed Gein's crimes were so horrific that they continue to fascinate and repulse us more than half a century later. His story serves as a grim reminder of how childhood trauma, isolation, and untreated mental illness can combine to create a perfect storm of violence.
The question of whether Ed Gein killed his brother may never be definitively answered, but the circumstantial evidence is compelling. The suspicious nature of Henry's death, Ed's controlling relationship with their mother, and his later crimes all point to the possibility that fratricide was indeed part of Gein's horrifying legacy.
As we continue to grapple with understanding the minds of serial killers and the factors that create them, the story of Ed Gein and the mystery of his brother's death remain powerful reminders of the darkness that can lurk beneath the surface of seemingly ordinary lives. The secret they buried with Henry Gein may indeed be the truth about his final moments and the identity of his killer.
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