The horrors that killer Ed Gein committed are all that people can talk about since the release of Netflix's Monsters: The Ed Gein Story, but it turns out our obsession with true crime could have a much deeper meaning.
After Ryan Murphy's latest addition to the Monster series was released on Netflix last week (3 October), people have been raving about it nonstop.
The eight-part show follows 'The Butcher of Plainfield', who was found guilty of murdering two women in the 1950s in Wisconsin, US.
His crimes, which included grave robbing and using people’s skin to make furniture and clothing, later became the inspiration for a number of Hollywood horror classics.
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The fascination with this case follows a long history of people’s obsession with serial killers, though Gein technically cannot be considered a serial killer, as he was only convicted of killing two people - Mary Hogan in 1954, and Bernice Worden in 1957.
To be a serial killer, you need to commit three or more murders with a 'cooling-off period' between each murder.
Even though he was suspected of more killings, nobody could prove the crimes.
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Since the release of Monsters, the question has been brought up as to why people are so obsessed with watching this kind of content, and criminologist professor David Wilson sat down on ITV's This Morning to explain why.
He explained that the fascination with Gein's case is ‘about the extremes of human psychology because he desecrates graves to make a suit out of the skin of women’.
The expert explained: “So, I think we're fascinated by these kinds of things because so often people want to know why.
"We might say this is true horror rather than true crime, but it is dealing with a real person who behaved in quite an extraordinary way.”
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He went on to add that it could be down to people wanting to find out as much as they can in a bid to protect themselves from the same fate.
Wilson added: “And I think people like to look at these kinds of extreme behaviours because they want themselves to know that they are different from what it is that they see. And they also want to know if this is happening, what can we do to stop it.”
As many have criticised the show and its portrayal of the horrors, Wilson went on to say that Monsters is also a critique of our culture.
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He said: “I know people will find some of this a hard watch, but this is a series that's actually holding a mirror up to society and saying, you know, why are you so fascinated with this? The best test I can say, the best reflection I can say is that this is more like Brett Eastston Ellis' American Psycho.”
He said it’s asking the viewers, ‘why are you so obsessed with this?’
He added: "’Look at yourself. Why are you so obsessed with this kind of material?’”
While he said men are statistically more likely to be the victims of ‘lethal’ attacks, he said that men will say that this type of thing will never happen to them.
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However, women will want to know how they can understand the psychology behind the crimes, how they can ‘predict’ who will cause them harm, and more.
Topics: This Morning, Ed Gein, Netflix
Britt Jones