Before Norman Bates, Leatherface, or Buffalo Bill, there was Ed Gein—the quiet Wisconsin farmer whose nightmarish crimes changed horror forever. Netflix’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story has revived fascination with the real man behind Hollywood’s most enduring monsters.

Thanks to Netflix’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story, the “Butcher of Plainfield” is once again haunting the headlines.Ed Gein’s name has become synonymous with madness, isolation, and the grotesque.