Deviant: The Shocking and True Story of Ed Gein, the Original Psycho (Paperback)

~ Harold Schechter (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Pocket (May 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671644823
• ISBN-13: 978-0671644826
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,197,192 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting..., July 12, 2002

By	Laura Pavlik (Brooklyn Park, MN) - See all my reviews

I am from WI so Ed Gein was a household name. I had
read one book before, but this one was MUCH better.
It grabs you from the moment you start it. Even though
you know the ending, it gives you a lot of insight into
Ed Geins world, which was wicked. What you saw on the
outside. A man with no family left, a mother who taught
him women were evil. People made mention of the fact
that he was "weird" but just Eddie Gein. Little did
they know the evil inside his mind and his farmhouse.

Yes, he was mentally ill but I do believe he knew what
he was doing,as he made lampshades etc.
In a way you do feel sorry for him, only a little.
It took me one day to read. Lets just thank he was never
let out....

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OUT OF AMERICA'S HEARTLAND..., June 3, 2006

By	Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

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.