# Ed Gein sucked

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-gein-sucked/91154>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [November 2, 2001, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-gein-sucked/91154 "2001-11-02T17:30:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 13\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-gein-sucked/91154/1 "2001-11-02T17:30:35Z")

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What a boring movie. Or at least the first hour; that’s all I could take. Something about his religious mother or something. How is it possible to make a movie about a real-life founder of all psycho killers and keep it mundane and non-scary? At least the character looked a little like him.

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**Author:** ![kaiju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a587f6/32.png) [@kaiju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaiju)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-gein-sucked/91154/2 "2001-11-02T17:50:50Z")

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By making it about a psycho from Wisconsin.

But seriously, there’s an Ed Gein movie? I grew up (in the 60’s) about 45 minutes from Plainfield. Ed was my favorite scary bedtime story.

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**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-gein-sucked/91154/3 "2001-11-02T18:06:59Z")

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Cecil did a piece on Gein:

[Was The Texas Chain Saw Massacre based on a true story?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_253.html)

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**Author:** ![Sunglasses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5fc32e/32.png) [@Sunglasses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunglasses)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-gein-sucked/91154/4 "2001-11-02T18:10:22Z")

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I agree. I couldn’t even make it an hour. I am addicted to (for whatever sick reasons) movies/books/TV shows about serial-killers/mass-murderers but, that movie bored me to tears.

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**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-gein-sucked/91154/5 "2001-11-02T18:18:27Z")

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Not exactly Oscar material there.

But… you did miss Eddie dancing around in a suit made of women’s skin in the moonlight along with a nice shot of his basement “trophies”  
(Incidently, the mental hospital where Eddie lived out the last ~30 yrs of his life sits not more than ½ mile from my house! My wife’s brother said he is going to come over some night wearing blue pajamas and pound on the windows. He’s a funny guy)

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**Author:** ![kaiju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a587f6/32.png) [@kaiju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaiju)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-gein-sucked/91154/6 "2001-11-02T18:31:07Z")

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I went to college in Madison and had a professor who went to Mendota (Ed’s last home)to do research on Mental patients for a play he was directing. He (the professor) had a nice conversation with a quiet, older gentleman, wondered what he was in for, and found out later that it was none other then Ed Gein.

I think the movie was dull because it followed the true story. Except for two murders, canibalism and graverobbing, Ed was like a lot of weird little old bachelor farmers. Even when my mom would tell the bogey man stories about him, I’d ask “What else? What else did he do?” There was nothing much to tell. The creepiness of the whole thing was that no one noticed anything strange about him until the day he was arrested.

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**Author:** ![The\_Mermaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@The\_Mermaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mermaid)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-gein-sucked/91154/7 "2001-11-02T23:35:48Z")

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I found [this Ed Gein site](http://www.houseofhorrors.com/gein.htm) very interesting.

It is claimed that he is the inspiration for dozens of horror movie characters and that Texas Chainsaw Massacre loosely based on his home.

I haven’t seen the movie though. Was it the one with Vince Vaughn?

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**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2001, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-gein-sucked/91154/8 "2001-11-03T03:05:41Z")

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**ZeGirl** wrote

> [@](#):
>
> I agree. I couldn’t even make it an hour. I am addicted to (for whatever sick reasons) movies/books/TV shows about serial-killers/mass-murderers but, that movie bored me to tears.

Me too. I hope we aren’t destined for the chair.

**kaiju** wrote

> [@](#):
>
> I think the movie was dull because it followed the true story. Except for two murders, canibalism and graverobbing, Ed was like a lot of weird little old bachelor farmers.

Good point.

**The Mermaid** wrote

> [@](#):
>
> I haven’t seen the movie though. Was it the one with Vince Vaughn?

It was this one: [http://us.imdb.com/Title?0230169](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0230169). I didn’t see Vince Vaughn in it. He was lucky to miss it, that’s all I can say.

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**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2001, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-gein-sucked/91154/9 "2001-11-03T03:32:17Z")

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Well, I haven’t seen the movie…but in general, he rocked. I mean, in terms of killers, he’s like the original psycho. He’s definitely my favorite.

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**Author:** ![Lockfist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/838e76/32.png) [@Lockfist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lockfist)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2001, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-gein-sucked/91154/10 "2001-11-03T03:36:21Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> ]How I’ve waited for you to come.  
> I’ve been here all alone.  
> Now that you’ve arived, please stay a while.  
> And I promise I won’t keep you long…
> 
> _I’ll keep you forever._

Lets not forget that Ed Gein is also the inspiration for **Slayer** ’s _Dead Skin Mask_.

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**Author:** ![Lucki\_Chaarms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lucki\_Chaarms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucki_Chaarms)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2001, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-gein-sucked/91154/11 "2001-11-03T04:58:27Z")

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Yeah! In the stage banter on the live CD the guy says "Let me tell you a little story about a MAN… NAMED… **ED**!!!

I laughed out loud when I heard that, which I’m sure is not what they were going for. Too cheesy, but I love Slayer.

LC

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**Author:** ![Bossk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@Bossk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bossk)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2001, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-gein-sucked/91154/12 "2001-11-03T06:18:40Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by The Mermaid \*  
> \*\*I found [this Ed Gein site](http://www.houseofhorrors.com/gein.htm) very interesting.
> 
> It is claimed that he is the inspiration for dozens of horror movie characters and that Texas Chainsaw Massacre loosely based on his home.
> 
> I haven’t seen the movie though. Was it the one with Vince Vaughn? \*\*

No, Steve Railsback played Ed. And he played Manson in HELTER SKELTER. He’s getting quite a nice serial killer acting pedigree.

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**Author:** ![arachnidlove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@arachnidlove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arachnidlove)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2001, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ed-gein-sucked/91154/13 "2001-11-05T03:47:02Z")

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Since I too have a fascination with serial killers and murderers…a tiny bit of Ed Gein info.

He had an arm chair made with _REAL_ arms.

He also had a belt made out of nipples :shudder:

_Dance with the dead in my dreams…_
