Psycho: Ed Gein Docuseries Coming to MGM+
New Ed Gein documentary series Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein promises to tell the story of the Mad Butcher of Plainfield with “new reveals” through never-before-heard recordings of Gein himself.
Update: Watch The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein now on Amazon »
Ed Gein places to visit:
Murderer and grave robber Ed Gein was arrested in 1957 after the body of missing hardware store owner Bernice Worden was discovered in his dilapidated farmhouse just outside of Plainfield, Wisconsin. Also inside his home were the remains of bar owner Mary Hogan, who vanished years earlier, and many unidentifiable pieces of bodies he exhumed from freshly buried graves in local cemeteries.
Related: Mass grave of Ed Gein victims found
Gein spent years using human remains to make furniture and other craft projects inspired by pulp magazine stories of Amazon headhunters, as well as a full female skin suit.
His crimes were horrendous, the residents of Plainfield remain scarred to this day, and the memory of it is burned into our collective consciousness.
After all this time, is there really anything new to learn about Gein?
Apparently so, as the upcoming MGM+ docuseries Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein promises new details and never-before-heard audio recordings of Gein himself.
From the synopsis:
This MGM+ original docuseries follows the horrifying grave robber and serial killer Ed Gein whose crimes inspired such iconic films as Psycho and The Silence of the Lambs. With new reveals and never-before-heard recordings, viewers will be transported to late-1950s Middle America and submerged in Gein’s perverse mind. The series explores Gein’s upbringing and twisted relationship with his mother, his early grave robbing and murders, and the police’s discovery of his terrifying house of horrors.
MGM+ has previously released documentary series about Charles Manson (whose son grew up in Eau Claire, btw) and the true story of the Amityville Horror, both of which were fascinating. So this one has the potential to be a fresh and enthralling look at Wisconsin’s own backyard boogeyman.
The title comes from the novel (and subsequent Hitchcock film) Psycho, which was penned by Wisconsin author Robert Bloch, who lived near Plainfield in 1957 when Gein’s crimes were revealed.
Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein premieres September 17, 2023.
In the meantime, watch this quick tour of Gein-related locations in Plainfield:
