Ed Gein Psychological Theory

In this paper I will be applying the psychological theories to serial killer Ed Gein. Ed Gein was a prolific serial killer in the 1950’s. He murdered and robbed graves for body parts to make furniture and clothing. He was apprehended in 1957, where he stood trial and was institutionalized. Edward Theodore “Ed” Gein was born August 27th, 1906 to George and Augusta Gein. He was the youngest of two children. A growth on his left eye caused him to have a lazy eye, which subjected him to teasing. His father was a abusive, raging alcoholic and his mother was fanatically religious. Him, his mother and his brother were regularly abused by his father, George. I believe this was a building block to his psychosis. His first instance of the

After his mother’s death Ed’s mental started began to degrade. He stopped bathing and boarded up all the rooms in the family home but 2. He also experienced frightening hallucinations. 18 months after he death, Ed dug up his mother’s body, removed her head and shrunk it. This was his first experience in grave robbing. Between 1947-1951 he began robbing graves of middle aged women who reminded him of his mother. Taking their body parts. Though he never sexually abused the corpses, his compulsions for dead human flesh classifies him as a necrophiliac. Ed’s upbringing and the seclusion from others by his mother’s deceit and fanatic religious practices influenced his behavior greatly. He never had a girlfriend or a wife, so he was not good with women. He was quiet and shy. His familial situation was a big contributor to his psychosis. In 1946 he began stalking and abducting victims in Plainfield. The first believed to be Victor Travis, the only man known to be killed by Ed Gein. Next was Evelyn Hartley, 15, her body was never found. These were his “practice kills” before killing the middle aged women who reminded him of his mother, strong and

The verbal abuse from this mother and physical abuse from his father shaped Ed into the man he became. His education level could have played a factor as well, but the fact he could read made him educated criminal. Ed’s subservience to this mother also played apart in making him introverted. He was taught that women were dirty and evil, which made his mother a saint in his eyes. His mental state was damaged as a child and later released as an adult. The events in his life, made it highly likely that would commit a crime or crimes as an adolescent or adult. Schizophrenia was the roots cause of his compulsions and delusions. Schizophrenic individuals often exhibit illogical and incoherent thought processes, and they often lack insight into their behavior and do not understand reality. A person with paranoid schizophrenia also experiences complex behavior delusions that involve wrongdoing or persecution. He was not delinquent as a child, it wasn’t until late adulthood did he began to show signs of deviant behavior. Robbing grave, stealing body parts and murdering women. His ten year crime spree and heinous acts earned him the title of prolific. So much so that many horror movie villains were based on