Ed Gein Sparknotes

Harold Schechter is Professor Emeritus at Queens College, where he taught classes in American literature and myth criticism. He is the author of multiple essays and books. The book I chose, Deviant: The Shocking True Story of Ed Gein, the Original “Psycho,” is about the true story and life of Ed Gein. A notorious killer who shocked all of America with the evil he committed while diving into his life before, during, and after these horrendous acts. It also goes into the impact of these crimes and how they influenced the horror genre, especially the creation of the movies: Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Silence of the Lambs. Schechter’s reasoning for writing this book was based on research he was doing for another book he was writing on

He did add humanity to Gein, but did not diminish his awful crimes. The crimes were not the only thing mentioned by Ed Gein. In fact, there are several instances when the author talks about admirable qualities Gein had and how he was still liked in the community despite not fitting in. This is seen here, “who regarded Gein as ‘the most dependable person in the country,’” (37). This quote shows that there is no bias since they are still mentioned in the book on how he was seen as a good man. The entire idea of him committing these crimes was a complete shock to the town as they saw him as this dependable man who was quiet. He even babysat multiple times throughout the town as he was seen as trustworthy. Yet he did not only describe Gein in a nice way by bringing up the troubles he had or the praises Gein did receive. Schechter did not skip over details or try to lighten the severity of his crimes. You can see this here, “The masks were actually human facial skins that had been painstakingly peeled from the skulls of nine women,” (80). This quote shows there is no bias because he does not skip around the bush or try to hint at what has