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41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gein still shocks after all these years, December 30, 2003
In the autumn of 1957, the nation learned of a nightmare unfolding in the little rural town of Plainfield, Wisconsin. A local recluse and simpleton by the name of Edward Gein murdered Bernice Worden, the owner of the local hardware store. A murder, even in 1950's America, wouldn't grab the attention of most folks, but this crime did. Local police searching Gein's farmhouse uncovered a soul shattering house of horrors. Not only did they find murder victim Worden in the most degrading condition, the police also discovered pieces of human bodies inside the house. Gein had fashioned soup bowls out of human skulls, masks out of human faces, and furniture out of human flesh. Every hour spent in the farmhouse turned up even more horrors, enough to make even the most hardened cop sick to his stomach. As the official inquiry deepened, America learned that a human monster lived in the most unlikely of settings, a man who embodied virtually every ghastly psychopathology known to modern science. The name Eddie Gein became synonymous with evil and he quickly became part of the dark side of American pop culture. Author Harold Schechter, a professor of American culture at Queens College, decided to write a factual account of the horrendous crimes of Edward Gein in an effort to finally set the record straight about one of America's premier boogeymen. "Deviant" is the result.The author adroitly sums up Gein's family tree in a few pages. Despite what must have been a scarcity of information, Schecter reveals Ed's father as an orphan who went on to a successful career as an alcoholic and pest. The only thing Gein's father accomplished in life was his marriage to Augusta, Eddie's mother and an all around terror. According to "Deviant," the complex relationship between this overweening woman and her sons led directly to the seething mass of insanity that was Edward Gein. Augusta preached an ultra conservative Christian theology that saw all women in the world as inferior beings. She constantly railed about the sinfulness of the world to her two sons, making it clear that no woman would ever be good enough for her two boys. When not on a religious tirade, Augusta belittled her husband with a vigor rarely seen in the worst of marriages. After closing down a family run store in La Crosse, Augusta moved the clan to a farm near Plainfield. Ed's father died soon after, a shattered wreck barely missed by the rest of the family. His brother Henry died under mysterious circumstances while fighting a brushfire on the Gein property, a death many attributed to Ed because Henry had the temerity to question Augusta's iron rule. With the death of his mother shortly thereafter, Ed was left alone in the world for the first time. Plainfield residents always liked Ed Gein. Sure, the guy was a little strange, always walking around with a dopey grin on his face while making the most outrageous statements about shrunken heads and other oddball stuff, but people generally thought him harmless. Many of his neighbors appreciated Ed showing up and helping out when work needed doing, or volunteering to watch the kids when the parents headed into town (!). Not until the police exposed Gein's repulsive activities did anyone have an inkling of what this guy was really about. Once they knew, the questions and outrageous stories started. Ed became a lightening rod for every mysterious disappearance in Wisconsin and neighboring states during the previous fifteen years. Even though police later cleared Gein in all but two murders--Bernice Worden and Mary Hogan--investigators and citizens continued to suspect Ed in a series of crimes. Moreover, townspeople came forward with supposedly "true" tales about close calls with the now exposed killer. The media, writes Schechter, carries most of the blame for printing the most ridiculous stories in an effort to sell papers. These media accounts went a long way towards installing Gein as an enduring pop cultural icon, an icon who continues to exert an influence even today. I had a few problems with "Deviant" even though I consider the book well written and nicely researched. The biggest difficulty concerns the lack of footnotes. I imagine Schechter had to make a tradeoff with the publishing company since a book marketed to a general audience will not sell well if potential buyers see pages of citations. But a book from a scholar that purports to tell the facts behind the Gein case needs to contain citations so interested readers can reproduce his findings. I hate to harp about footnotes/endnotes since I like to avoid them whenever possible as much as the next guy, but a book that references this many public officials, newspapers, and public documents should have the notes. "Deviant" does do a good job in several areas. Schechter presents compelling evidence that Gein was not a cannibal, a revelation that may come as a shock to many who consider themselves knowledgeable about the case. Not that it really matters, of course, because Ed indulged in so many appalling excesses that removing one stigma does nothing to lessen the overall horror of his activities. Still, it is nice to see someone finally look closely at all of the case documents in order to write the most truthful account possible. "Deviant" is grim stuff, some of the worst accounts of human atrocities captured on paper, but true crime buffs will appreciate Schechter's attention to detail concerning the man who many consider to be one of the worst criminals in American history. I also recommend "Deviant" for first time readers with an itch to learn about the guy who inspired Norman Bates, Leatherface, and nearly every horror film psycho since the 1960s.
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36 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
OUT OF AMERICA'S HEARTLAND...., October 19, 2003
This is a well-researched book about Ed Gein, the mild mannered, Midwestern psychopath from Plainfield, Wisconsin who, in the nineteen fifties, would shock the nation with his gruesome crimes. Ed Gein would become the basis for the best selling book by Robert Bloch, "Psycho", as well as for the Hitchcock film of the same name. Accounts of Ed Gein's heinous crimes would also enter the consciousness of a young Tobe Hooper who, as an adult, would write and direct the classic cult film, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre".The author writes a cogent, factual account of the life of Ed Gein and the grisly crimes that shocked the nation at the time of their discovery. It details the hold that Ed's domineering mother had on him, a hold that would manifest itself in unimaginable ways. It is almost hard to believe that this small, inoffensive man could be such a madman, but who but a madman would do what he did? Ed Gein, it was discovered, had turned his small farmhouse into a gruesome charnel house, replete with furnishings adorned with human flesh and bones. Aficionados of true crime will find this book fascinating, as it is a well-written account of one of the most horrifying and bizarre series of crimes ever to be committed. Eight pages of photographs are included in the book and serve to provide the reader with a brief, visual glimpse into the life of Ed Gein, a man with a secret hobby so depraved that it would shock the entire nation when it came to light. Lovers of true crime accounts will be fascinated by this well researched foray into the life of a seemingly innocuous man from America's heartland who ended up being so deviant from the norm.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Best of Edward Gein, August 23, 2004
Edward Gein, pronounced Geen, is often credited as the a forefather of America's fascination with serial killers. Because Gein is credited as being the inspiration for such films as Psycho and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, many misconceptions exist about him. Harold Schechter sets the record straight in Deviant.
Schechter begins the story in Gein's bizarre childhood which is noteworthy because of his lazy and abusive father and dominating mother. It is his dominating mother that had the greatest influence on him. She taught him that women were evil. His mother's death left a void in his life that left him longing for her and the saintly image he placed on her. This led Gein to punish women less worthy than his mother to live by killing them. Gein only admitted to killing two people. The body parts that were scattered over his property would indicate more victims. Additionally, Gein believes he has the power to will his mother back to life. While he is unable to bring his mother back from the grave, he does remove many with similarities to his mother from their graves. When Gein's crimes were discovered, little known Plainfield, Wisconsin was forever changed into a tourist attraction for gapers.
Although Gein died largely anonymously in a mental health facility, the stories of his house of horrors prospered. While his story is often obscured in films and other books, Schechter sets the record straight. This is a thoroughly researched, commendable book. It is the best book available on Edward Gein
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