Jessica Moskowitz
Leverett Butts
ENGL 2150
16 November 2014
Development of the Ed Gein Trope – Rough Draft Horror struck the small town of Plainfield, Wisconsin in 1957 as police officers arrested Ed Gein for murdering two local women. Police officers later discovered the gruesome contents of his home: decapitated and skinned bodies, preserved organs, skin lamps, skull bowls, and more. These horrifying findings inspired the creation of iconic horror characters: Norman Bates of the Psycho franchise, Leatherface of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, and Buffalo Bill of The Silence of the Lambs franchise. Of these characters, Norman Bates from the Psycho novel is the most believable portrayal of Ed Gein, while Buffalo Bill is the most accurate …show more content…
The Psycho movie franchise consists of Psycho (1960), Psycho II (1983), Psycho III (1986), and Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990). The franchise follows the central character of Norman Bates, as adapted from the Psycho novel. The Norman Bates’ of the novel and the movies share multiple similarties and differences with one another, and with Ed Gein. Bates is played by Anthony Perkins, a tall, slim, handsome man, differing greatly from Ed Gein’s short, effeminate figure. The childhoods of the Norman Bates and Ed Gein differ greatly, according to Psycho IV. In that film, Norman’s living mother murders a girl who wants to have sex with Norman. Later in life, Norman murders his mother and her lover, along with two local females, prior to the murder of Marion Crane and all murders following hers. Ed Gein’s mother was not a murderer, nor did Gein murder his mother. Throughout the Psycho movie franchise, Norman is an only child, while Gein had an older brother, Henry, whom he plausibly murdered. Additionally, Norman’s father died from bee stings, while Gein’s father died from …show more content…
Norman’s (movie) mother suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, while Ed Gein’s mother is only confirmed to have suffered from bipolar disorder. Multiple references are made toward Ed Gein in the Psycho movies, especially in Psycho IV. When Norman phones in to the radio station and is asked for his name, he lies and gives the moniker ‘Ed’ instead of his real name. Another reference is that Norman burns down his mother’s house at the conclusion of the movie. Ed Gein’s house was burned down by an arsonist shortly following his arrest. While Norman Bates of the Psycho films shares many similarities with Ed Gein, the character is an overdramatized, caricature-like, ‘Hollywoodized’ adaptation of Ed Gein, and is not nearly as realistic as the Psycho
Leverett Butts
ENGL 2150
16 November 2014
Development of the Ed Gein Trope – Rough Draft Horror struck the small town of Plainfield, Wisconsin in 1957 as police officers arrested Ed Gein for murdering two local women. Police officers later discovered the gruesome contents of his home: decapitated and skinned bodies, preserved organs, skin lamps, skull bowls, and more. These horrifying findings inspired the creation of iconic horror characters: Norman Bates of the Psycho franchise, Leatherface of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, and Buffalo Bill of The Silence of the Lambs franchise. Of these characters, Norman Bates from the Psycho novel is the most believable portrayal of Ed Gein, while Buffalo Bill is the most accurate …show more content…
The Psycho movie franchise consists of Psycho (1960), Psycho II (1983), Psycho III (1986), and Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990). The franchise follows the central character of Norman Bates, as adapted from the Psycho novel. The Norman Bates’ of the novel and the movies share multiple similarties and differences with one another, and with Ed Gein. Bates is played by Anthony Perkins, a tall, slim, handsome man, differing greatly from Ed Gein’s short, effeminate figure. The childhoods of the Norman Bates and Ed Gein differ greatly, according to Psycho IV. In that film, Norman’s living mother murders a girl who wants to have sex with Norman. Later in life, Norman murders his mother and her lover, along with two local females, prior to the murder of Marion Crane and all murders following hers. Ed Gein’s mother was not a murderer, nor did Gein murder his mother. Throughout the Psycho movie franchise, Norman is an only child, while Gein had an older brother, Henry, whom he plausibly murdered. Additionally, Norman’s father died from bee stings, while Gein’s father died from …show more content…
Norman’s (movie) mother suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, while Ed Gein’s mother is only confirmed to have suffered from bipolar disorder. Multiple references are made toward Ed Gein in the Psycho movies, especially in Psycho IV. When Norman phones in to the radio station and is asked for his name, he lies and gives the moniker ‘Ed’ instead of his real name. Another reference is that Norman burns down his mother’s house at the conclusion of the movie. Ed Gein’s house was burned down by an arsonist shortly following his arrest. While Norman Bates of the Psycho films shares many similarities with Ed Gein, the character is an overdramatized, caricature-like, ‘Hollywoodized’ adaptation of Ed Gein, and is not nearly as realistic as the Psycho