Monster: The Ed Gein Story posits that the titular killer helped the FBI catch Ted Bundy, raising questions about the true story. The Ed Gein Story is the latest installment of Netflix’s serial killer anthology series, offering true-crime enthusiasts a glimpse into some of modern history’s most notorious criminals through a dramatized, fictional lens. The series is created by Ryan Murphy, who’s also developed similar titles like Feud and American Crime Story.
The Ed Gein Story’s eight episodes take viewers on a biographical trip through various points in Gein’s life, from his experience with his mother, Augusta Gein, to his confirmed and speculative crimes in the 1950s, to his time in a mental institution, leading up to his death. This includes a segment where Ed Gein solves the Ted Bundy case for the FBI. When examining such controversial figures, the real-life context is all the more important.
The Historical Context Behind ‘Monster: The Ed Gein Story’s Ted Bundy Connection
To answer the big question, no, Ed Gein did not have any involvement in the Ted Bundy case, nor did he meet with psychological profilers from the FBI. Gein was also never pen pals with other infamous serial killers. In fact, a significant proportion of Monster: The Ed Gein Story is fictional, but there’s plenty of thematic, historical, and cultural context to dive into.
The season finale, titled “The Godfather,” begins with a scene depicting Ted Bundy, the infamous serial killer who was active in the mid-1970s. Consistent with his M.O., Bundy tricks a young woman by politely asking her for help before quickly pivoting to a brutal kidnapping scene. If the episode’s title were any hint, The Ed Gein Story tries to suggest that Gein was a trailblazer for other killers like him, inspiring their methods.
In truth, there’s no reason to believe Ted Bundy was even inspired by Ed Gein in any particular way. The same can be said for many of the serial killers shown in the finale, who appeared in Gein’s visions, applauding him for his terrible deeds. The series attempts to cast Ed Gein’s influence as a sinister shadow over American criminals and crime media, but many of the suggested connections are fabricated.
Ed Gein was an influence for famous horror films like Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. There are also notable parallels in his crimes with other killers like Jeffrey Dahmer and Ed Kemper, but there are no public records of outward displays of applause or admiration for Ed Gein.
Why ‘Monster: The Ed Gein Story’ Makes This Up
It wouldn’t be untrue to say that Ed Gein’s actions were exploited by the media in a way that’s quite horrifying. However, the series goes the extra mile with this line of thought, pushing the idea of his influence to the point of blatant falsifications. Monster: The Ed Gein Story wants to examine the titular character as a sympathetic figure, suggesting that he was a man plagued with mental illness, who had no control over his actions.
Thematically, there’s some compelling questioning here, as there’s a reason Ed Gein was legally deemed insane and unfit to stand trial. Instead of pursuing it more deeply and examining his psychology, the show takes a different direction. The Ed Gein Story drives its narrative home with inaccuracies, romanticizing his intolerable violence by presenting him as an eccentric guy who was simply misunderstood by the evil men who followed him.
The cameo appearances of infamous criminals like Charles Manson, Richard Speck, and, of course, Ted Bundy, ultimately bring nothing to a biographical exhibition of Ed Gein’s life. They play as if they’re backdoor pilots to future sequel shows, like one might see in a Marvel or Star Wars project.
Sure, one could make an argument that much of what Ed Gein sees in the finale is a projection of his schizophrenia, with him wanting to believe he solved Ted Bundy’s case. The series might also suggest that he views himself as the one who influenced all these killers, which is why the pseudo-Mindhunter duo would want to interview him, displaying it all as narcissistic delusion. After all, the show’s penultimate episode saw Gein killing a nurse at his institution, which was later revealed to all be in his head.
Monster: The Ed Gein Story also attributes several murders to Gein that were never proven in real life. The series takes matters of ambiguity and speculation surrounding Gein’s life and, at every turn, chooses the option that would generate more shock value. More often than not, the answer is, “It’s just for the drama.”
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