Ed Gein- The Original Psycho

Wisconsin Legends Podcast

It was the crime that shocked 1950s America, Ed Gein was born in Wisconsin in 1906 and grew up on a farm desperately attached to his strict, religious mother. When she died, his isolation and terrifying obsessions led to stealing corpses from graves and making trophies and keepsakes out of their lifeless bodies. In 1957, he was arrested for murdering two women and was arrested and institutionalized for the rest of his life. However, many believe that his spirit never left the property where he committed his atrocities. To this day, there have been reports of strange noises and sightings of a dark figure lurking around the place.

His gruesome work sensationalized the small town of Plainfield, Wisconsin to its core. For years afterwards, people spoke in hushed tones about the man who had turned his farmhouse into a slaughterhouse. The inspiration for Robert Bloch's popular novel and Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece, Psycho, Gein's real story, his psychiatric diagnoses, and his impact on (as well as being a victim of) Twentieth Century Culture is much more fascinating than just his crimes.

Wisconsin Rapids native, Jeff Finup is the mind behind Badgerland Legends, which explores Wisconsin's mysteries and fascinating history, a post at a time. Legends, lore, history, cryptids ,and more from the Badger State. Find his work on Instagram and Facebook.

Mike Huberty, hailing from the town of Big Bend, near Milwaukee, is the owner of American Ghost Walks, a haunted history tour company with locations in Maine, California, Illinois, Minnesota, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and started in our very own Badger State of Wisconsin - with tours in Lake Geneva, Milwaukee, Madison, Waukesha, Bayfield, and the Wisconsin Dells. Find out more at AmericanGhostWalks.Com.