The latest season of Netflix’s Monster series has people talking, and not just about the chilling true crime story it tells. Created by Ryan Murphy, the show has faced criticism before for not sticking perfectly to the facts. This time, the focus is on its portrayal of infamous killer Ed Gein.
The show’s first season launched in 2022, centering on Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer. While Niecy Nash also starred, that season drew fire because the families of Dahmer’s victims said they were never asked for their input. It left many feeling exploited.
The second season, covering the Menendez brothers, brought similar pushback. Erik Menendez spoke out against how Murphy depicted him and his brother Lyle Menendez. Interestingly, Erik later softened his criticism, though he still took issue with any hints of incest. Murphy even argued that the series sparked new interest and support for the Menendez case. Despite their initial strong words, Erik and Lyle eventually pulled back from their public criticism of the show, focusing only on the incest parts. They were denied parole separately.
Now, Ed Gein is the subject of the third installment, with Charlie Hunnam stepping into the dark role. This season looks at Gein’s journey from a regular person to a convicted murderer. It also paints him as a suspected serial killer and grave robber. The series explores how Gein’s gruesome deeds left a lasting mark on pop culture, inspiring horror classics like Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs.
The creative minds behind the show aim for a deeper conversation. Showrunner Ian Brennan told Tudum in October 2025, "This whole series puts the camera right in front of us." He added, "What you watch and the images and stories you take in really matter. They stay with you and truly make an impact." Hunnam echoed this thought, asking, "Who was the monster? This poor boy, abused his whole life and then left completely alone, suffering from mental illness that was never diagnosed? Or the many people who made his life into a spectacle for entertainment, perhaps making the American and global mind a darker place in the process?"
Monster wants to highlight Gein’s disturbing story and its wide influence on society. But to do this, the series made some notable changes to the actual events. The show is currently available on Netflix. Let’s break down where the series strayed from the real facts to create its dramatic television narrative.
Did Ed Really Kill His Brother?
The opening episode of the season shows Ed (played by Charlie Hunnam) in a fight with his brother, Henry Gein (Hudson Oz). Ed hits Henry on the head, supposedly leading to his death. The series goes on to show Ed trying to cover up the death, making it look like Henry died in a forest fire. The show leaves no doubt about Ed’s guilt in this matter.
However, the truth is less clear-cut. Henry died in 1944. The official cause was suffocation, which led to heart failure. While he did have bruises on his head, no autopsy was performed at the time. Authorities didn’t consider his death a crime until Ed’s arrest in 1957. Ed, who was the one who found his brother’s body, never actually confessed to being involved in Henry’s death.
The Fictional Life of Adeline Watkins
Throughout the season, Ed has a relationship with his neighbor, Adeline Watkins (Suzanna Son). They even get engaged. The storyline sees Watkins moving to New York before returning to Wisconsin, but she doesn’t stay with Ed in the end. The show portrays her as the one who introduced Ed to grave robbing. It also suggests she knew about his murderous urges. After Ed’s capture, the on-screen Watkins publicly denied their relationship.
The real Adeline Watkins, however, gave interviews where she clarified things. She said the public claims of a two-decade-long relationship were simply false. She stated they didn’t even meet until 1954, by which point Ed’s troubling behavior had already begun. Watkins also maintained that their contact was only occasional, lasting about seven months. She insisted she never visited his home or knew about his crimes.
Ian Brennan told Tudum that the show used the real Watkins’ name as a starting point. He mentioned that she initially spoke of being a couple with Ed, planning to marry, but then later changed her story. Hunnam and the show’s writers admitted they were torn. They debated whether the Watkins character in the series was truly based on a real person or if she was a creation of Ed’s mind, used to drive the on-screen story.
Fictionalizing Other Crimes
In reality, Ed Gein only confessed to killing two women: tavern owner Mary Hogan in 1954 and hardware store owner Bernice Worden in 1957. He was certainly suspected of more crimes in his Wisconsin hometown of Plainfield. Gein also admitted to digging up several graves and making gruesome items from the bodies he exhumed.
Netflix’s Monster stretches these facts. It shows a traumatic babysitting incident where Ed takes children to his horrifying home. The series also depicts him murdering his regular babysitter, Evelyn (Addison Rae). This character is based on the real Evelyn Hartley, whose death was never solved. The show also mentions the disappearances of hunters Victor Travis and Raymond Burgess, suggesting Ed’s involvement.
The Unproven Ilse Koch Connection
The series implies that Ed’s horrifying interest in skinning his victims came from reading stories about Holocaust survivors. It specifically names Ilse Koch, a true Holocaust war criminal, as Ed’s inspiration. While both Koch and Gein were known for making items from human body parts, there’s no solid evidence proving Gein was actually influenced by Koch’s crimes.
The fictional character Watkins in the series is shown introducing Ed to graphic images from the Holocaust. This was likely the show’s way of creating a connection between Gein and Koch, even though no concrete link exists in historical records.
The Myth of the Chainsaw
Promotional images for Monster, and even a scene in the series, connect Ed Gein with a chainsaw. However, the real Ed Gein did not use a chainsaw in his crimes. He shot his first victim and dismembered his second victim using other means. This addition in the show is actually a nod to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a movie that Gein’s horrific story heavily inspired.
Ham Radio: A Creative ‘Trick’
After his arrest, the real Ed Gein was first deemed unfit for trial and moved to a mental health facility. In 1968, a judge ruled he was competent, and Gein was convicted of Worden’s murder. He was later declared legally insane and remained in a psychiatric institution until his death in 1984 at age 77, from respiratory failure caused by lung cancer.
During his time in the psychiatric hospital, Ed did have access to ham radio equipment. However, Monster takes a big leap here. It shows several fantasy scenes where Ed communicates with Ilse Koch and Christine Jorgensen (Alanna Darby), who was one of the first people in the U.S. to undergo gender confirmation surgery.
There’s no evidence that Ed ever spoke with Koch or Jorgensen. Murphy and Brennan explained this "trick" with the ham radio to Tudum. They said, "We thought: this is the perfect way to dramatize his relationships with those women. These conversations became the catalyst that led to understanding who he was, what he did, and how they influenced him."
Sexual Details of Gein’s Crimes
After his arrest, Ed Gein claimed he never had sex with the bodies he dug up. His reason? The smell, he said. However, Monster chose to ignore this detail. The series explicitly shows graphic scenes of Ed sleeping with corpses, presenting a more sensationalized version of his unspeakable acts.