Ed Gein Timeline

Few crimes in history have captured the human imagination and horrified us quite like those committed by Ed Gein have. Gein lived alone with his mother for years in their dilapidated farmhouse. When Augusta died, the loneliness and isolation ate away at Ed’s already damaged mind, giving way to the murder, grave robbing, and other deranged acts that have become deeply ingrained on our collective unconscious.

The dates and events detailed below have been compiled from numerous sources to provide an accurate and concise history of Gein’s life and the continuing reverberations his crimes have on contemporary popular culture.

  • 1873

    George Philip Gein is Born

  • 1878

    Augusta Wilhelmine Lehrke is Born

  • 1901

    Henry George Gein is Born

  • August 27, 1906

    Ed Gein is born

    Ed Gein is born to grocery store owners George and Augusta Gein in La Crosse County, Wisconsin.

  • 1914

    Gein Family Moves to Plainfield

    George and Augusta sell their grocery store in La Crosse and move their family to Plainfield

  • April 4, 1940

    George Gein Dies

    Ed’s father George dies of heart failure at the age of 66

  • May 6, 1944

    Henry Gein Dies

    Ed’s brother Henry dies of apparent asphyxiation due to smoke inhalation while he and Ed were burning brush on the property

  • December 29, 1945

    Augusta Gein Dies

    Ed’s mother Augusta dies at the age of 67 following several strokes

  • 1947

    Ed Begins Robbing Graves

    Ed starts visiting local cemeteries at night to dig up the freshly buried remains of women who remind him of his mother.

  • 1951

    Hunters Vanish

    Victor Travis and Ray Burgess disappear in Plainfield, leaving only a jacket and their dog behind in the woods near Gein’s property

  • December 8, 1954

    Mary Hogan Disappears

    Ed shoots Mary Hogan at her bar in the town of Bancroft and takes her body back to his farm. Her disappearance remains unsolved until 1957.

  • November 16, 1957

    Bernice Worden Missing

    Hardware store owner goes missing on opening day of deer hunting season. Police find her body in Ed Gein’s house that evening. He shot her in the head with a .22 from the hardware store and took her home, where he gutted and beheaded her.

  • November 16, 1957

    Ed Gein is Arrested

    Ed Gein is arrested later that evening after the gutted and decapitated body of Bernice Worden is found in his home

  • November 21, 1957

    Insanity Plea

    Ed Gein is arraigned in Waushara County Court on one count of first degree murder, where he enters a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity

  • January, 1958

    Unfit to Stand Trial

    Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Ed Gein is found unfit to stand trial and committed to the Central State Hospital for the Criminally Insane in Waupun, Wisconsin

  • March 20, 1958

    House Burns Down

    Ed Gein’s house, rumored to become an attraction known as the “House of Horrors,” burns to the ground

  • March 30, 1958

    Gein Auction

    A public auction is held to sell Ed Gein’s property and possessions

  • July, 1958

    Ghoul Car Attraction Debuts

    Ed Gein’s car, purchased by Bunny Gibbons for $760 at the auction, makes its first public appearance as a sideshow attraction at the Outagamie County Fair in Seymour, WI. It was last seen later that summer at the Washington County Fair in Slinger before the sheriff shut it down. The car’s whereabouts today are unknown.

  • May, 1960

    Bones Found

    Human bones are discovered by men working on the Gein property

  • 1962

    Remains Buried

    The remains recovered as evidence from Gein’s house, as well bones later discovered on the property, are buried in an unmarked grave purchased by the state of Wisconsin in an undisclosed location presumably in Plainfield Cemetery.

  • November 7, 1968

    Trial Begins

    Deemed mentally competent, Gein’s trial for the murder of Bernice Worden begins

  • November 14, 1968

    Guilty

    Judge Robert H. Gollmar finds Ed Gein guilty of the murder of Bernice Worden

  • July 26, 1984

    Ed Gein Dies

    Ed Gein dies at the age of 77 of respiratory failure due to lung cancer in the Mendota Mental Health Institute and is buried in Plainfield Cemetery

  • June, 2000

    Gravestone Stolen

    Ed Gein’s headstone is discovered missing from the Plainfield Cemetery

  • May, 2001

    Gravestone Recovered

    The missing tombstone is recovered in Seattle in the possession of Ed Gein Fan Club founder Shane Bugbee.

  • April 4, 2006

    Property for Sale

    Mike Fisher, who inherited the Gein property from his grandfather Emden Schey, lists the land for sale on eBay for $250,000 under the heading “Ed Gein’s Farm … The REAL deal!”

  • April 8, 2006

    eBay Pulls Listing

    eBay removes the listing of Ed Gein’s property for violating a policy against the sale of murder memorabilia

  • February 28, 2015

    Zak Bagans Buys Gein’s Cauldron

    A cauldron supposedly bought at the 1958 auction of Gein’s possessions, and said to have been used by Gein to hold human entrails, is bought at a Wisconsin auction by Ghost Adventures star Zak Bagans.

  • April, 2017

    Cauldron Appears on TV

    Ed Gein’s supposedly haunted cauldron makes its television debut on Zak Bagans’ new series Travel Channel series Deadly Possessions

  • October 2017

  • April 9, 2021

    Paranormal investigation premieres on Discovery+

    For the Discovery+ exclusive Ed Gein: The Real Psycho Cindy Kaza and Steve Shippy investigate the Gein property, knives bought at an auction, Gein’s jail cell, and believe they make contact with Ed’s ghost

  • October 31, 2021

    The Paranormal Files episode premieres

    Youtube channel The Paranormal Files debuts their investigation of knives once owned by Gein, as well as the jail cell

  • June 6, 2023

    Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein

    MGM+ announces an upcoming new docuseries promising “new reveals” about the life and crimes of Ed Gein

We strive to provide complete and accurate timeline of Ed Gein’s life. Is something incorrect? Do you have something to add? Let us know in the comments below.

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