The Ed Gein Experience

The Graveface Museum is home to the only public display of authentic artifacts from the Ed Gein case.

In this exhibit, you will see unpublished material from the investigation, original documents from the polygraph expert who interviewed him at length, original and never-before-seen crime scene photos, and the only remaining piece of evidence from the case is housed in this collection.

You will also be met with the dramatized version of the case— the Hollywood version, if you will. Due to the bizarre nature of the Gein case, several popular horror movies drew a lot of inspiration from Gein’s heinous crimes. The case is over 50 years old and there have been many misconceptions about the case that will be explained and debunked on the first floor.

Read more about the case and our exhibit below!

Ed Gein was arrested in November 1957 for the murder of Bernice Worden in Plainfield, Wisconsin. It was later discovered Gein murdered at least one other woman locally but robbed the graves of an additional nine. All of the victims reminded him of or physically resembled his abusive mother in some capacity.

What shocked the nation wasn’t just the brutal murders and his habitual body-snatching, but he was fashioning their skin and body parts into pieces of furniture, accessories, or clothing to be worn. Notoriously he made several masks out of his victim’s faces.

If this all sounds familiar but the name “Ed Gein” doesn’t ring a bell, you’ve likely seen or heard of horror movies this case inspired after it broke such as Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or Silence of the Lambs to name some bigger ones.

Fictionalized versions of the case arose in addition to misinformation from day one which has made discerning fact from fiction challenging. We at the Graveface Museum have access to a trove of original documents and artifacts from the case which has provided unparalleled insight into the case that we are glad to share publically.