We all know that Ed Gein was the inspiration behind movies like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Psycho; but how much do you really know about Ed Gein? Sensational crimes spawn even more sensational horror films. But often times the real crimes are far more brutal than anything directors can dream up. We have dug into the background of five murderers who were the basis for terrifying flicks.


Ed Gein

Ed Gein is probably the most notorious art-imitating-life killer. Three of the all-time greatest horror films were inspired by Gein's story: Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Silence of the Lambs. Despite these infamous film portrayals, Gein was not a psychopath; he was an emotionally stunted, emotionally disturbed momma's boy. Gein was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin in 1906. His father was a drunk and his mother was an abusive, domineering religious fanatic who moved the family out to an isolated farm in Plainfield. Ed and his brother Henry were not allowed to leave the farm except for school, and their mother taught them that all women are evil. As such, Ed became a momma's boy, constantly trying to please her - though nothing would. Ed's family died within five years of each other: his father of a heart attack in 1940; his brother in a fire in 1944 (though investigators were never able to prove it, they suspected Ed killed his brother); his mother of a series of strokes in 1945. That was when the trouble really began.

It wasn't until 1957, when a shop owner went missing, that Gein's mania came to light. He was the last person seen with Bernice Worden, so the police investigated. They found her at Gein's house, decapitated and eviscerated like a deer. They also found the human remains that made Gein famous: a belt made of nipples, bowls made from human skulls, chairs upholstered in human skin, and dozens of miscellaneous body parts. Gein confessed to a second murder, several years earlier, but the rest of the body parts were apparently stolen from corpses. Gein did not stand trial until 1968, more than a decade after his arrest, because he was not found competent until then. He was only tried for the murder of Worden, because it would have been "too costly" to try him for both. Gein was found guilty, but insane, and was sent to a mental hospital, where he died in 1984 from cancer.

In addition to Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Silence of the Lambs, Ed Gein was the basis for lesser-known (and lesser-quality) films like Three on a Meathook, Deranged, Maniac, Motel Hell and several direct-to-DVD quickies that are simply called Ed Gein.


Henry Lee Lucas

The basis for the chilling Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Henry Lee Lucas seemed destined for a life of depravity. The youngest of nine children, Lucas was born to alcoholic parents. Mom was a prostitute who abused Henry, his siblings, and her own husband. Shortly after his father died in 1949, Henry dropped out of school and ran away. He was 13. Henry claims his first kill was a 17-year-old in 1951, but the earliest kill authorities can pin on him was the 1960 death of his mother. Henry claimed it was self-defense; her official cause of death was listed as a heart attack. He spent 10 years in jail for second-degree murder. Henry was in and out of prison for most of his life. But as depicted in Portrait of a Serial Killer, Henry is most notorious for the time he spent traveling the country with Ottis Toole.

Lucas and Toole met in 1976 (some reports state it was 1978). Lucas struck up a sexual relationship with Toole's 12-year-old niece Becky, as well as one with Toole. The trio travelled the country, killing and raping as they went (though it seems Becky was never implicated in any murders). Toole claims that he and Lucas killed 108 people, but the two were never actually convicted of a murder together. Their relationship was dissolved in 1982 when Henry and Becky ditched Ottis. In a rage, Toole allegedly went on a six-state killing spree, culminating in a murder/arson for which he was sentenced to life in prison. Shortly after the trio broke up, Lucas killed Becky, raped her corpse and cut her into nine pieces. He was a suspect in Becky's murder, and in that of Kate Rich, a woman who let them live on her commune for a time, but he was actually arrested for illegal possession of a firearm. Once in custody, the circus began. Lucas admitted to, at varying times, between 300 and 600 murders. A Lucas Task Force was opened, and hundreds of unsolved murders across the country were "cleared" - many done just to have them closed. Lucas recanted and re-confessed continually. In the end, he was convicted of 11 murders. Some criminologists believe 40-50 murders can be attributed to Lucas; others believe that only three murders can definitively be pinned on Lucas: his mother, Becky Powell, and Kate Rich.

Lucas was sentenced to death in Texas in 1984. Ironically, then-governor and former president George W. Bush commuted Lucas's sentence to life imprisonment - the only commuted sentence in a career that oversaw more than 150 executions. Lucas died of heart failure in prison in 2001. Toole died in prison of liver failure in 1996.


Gertrude Baniszewski

In 1965, carnies Lester and Betty Likens asked Indiana divorcee Gertrude Baniszewski to board two of their five children, 16-year-old Sylvia and 15-year-old Jenny, while they traveled with the carnival. The Likens were to send $20 a week to Gertrude for compensation, but when the money stopped showing up, the trouble really began. Gertrude wasn't equipped to deal with more kids. She was married thrice to two different men, and was raising an illegitimate infant from a third abuser who left her shortly after she had the baby. In all, Gertrude had seven children. She was a chain smoker with a host of health problems.

At first, Gertrude's abuse of the Likens girls was more akin to severe corporal punishment - spankings and slaps across the face. Jenny was disabled from polio, so she escaped the brunt of the abuse. Sylvia was not so lucky. Gertrude accused her of stealing, prostitution, and poor hygiene, and the beatings escalated. Sylvia was made to live in the basement and was often thrown down the stairs. She was burned with cigarettes and scalding water so much her skin was peeling off - then had salt rubbed in the wounds. Gertrude raped her with a soda bottle on at least two occasions, and regularly kicked her in the groin so frequently that Sylvia became incontinent. Sylvia had the phrase "I am a prostitute and proud of it" branded into her stomach with a hot sewing needle.

More shocking that the abuse was the abuser - or rather abusers. At least three of Gertrude's biological children and half a dozen neighborhood children were implicated in Sylvia's torture and eventual death. Gertrude condoned - even encouraged - the children to beat, kick, burn and humiliate Sylvia. Abusing Sylvia almost became an after school hobby. Sylvia finally died on October 24th, after three months of hell. One of the Baniszewski children, Stephanie, panicked and made her boyfriend call the police. Gertrude tried to convince the cops that Sylvia had run away and got her injuries elsewhere, but Jenny whispered to the cops, "Get me out of here and I'll tell you everything." Gertrude, three of her kids, and two neighbor boys were eventually charged with Sylvia's murder, while four other neighbor kids were arrested for "injury to person." Gertrude was the only one convicted of first-degree murder; manslaughter verdicts were given to the other murder defendants and the "injury to person" charges were dropped. The public expected Gertrude to get the death penalty, but instead she got a life sentence. Despite public outcry, Gertrude came up for parole in 1985. She was a "model prisoner" and admitted that, though she had no memory of the crime, she was "probably guilty" because she was on drugs at the time. Gertrude was released, moved to Iowa, and died five years later of lung cancer.


Bradley John Murdoch

The tale of three backpackers who are stalked, tortured, and killed in the Australian outback is loosely based on the real-life ordeal faced by Joanne Lees and Peter Falconio. In 2001 the couple were driving across the outback when a mechanic named Bradley John Murdoch pulled them down, claiming to have noticed sparks coming off their rear. Murdoch and Falconio went to the back of the van to check it out, and Lees claims to have heard a gun shot. Murdoch collected Lees at gunpoint, bound her, and locked her in his car. It is believed that Murdoch then went to deal with Falconio's body. During that time, Lees escaped and hid in the wilderness for five hours before Murdoch gave up the search. She finally made it to the highway where passing motorists came to her aid. Murdoch was convicted of murder and assault, and sentenced to life imprisonment, where he resides today. Falconio's body has never been found.


But that wasn't the only inspiration for the film. Actor John Jarratt based his killer character Mick Taylor on real-life serial killer Ivan Milat. Milat was convicted in the stabbing and shooting murders of seven backpackers in New South Wales in the 1990s, and is currently serving seven consecutive life sentences. He attempted a prison escape a year after his conviction. The next day Milat's cellmate was found hanged to death, and Milat was transferred to a super-max prison, where he resides today.


Ilse Koch

"The Bitch of Buchenwald," as she was known in her days as chief overseer of the Buchenwald concentration camp, was the inspiration for Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS. Ilsa is the notorious 1970s exploitation flick that is considered one of the most repulsive of the Nazi-sploitation sub-genre. Koch herself was one of the most repulsive Nazis to come out of WWII. Horrifyingly, the events in the movie were not embellished much.

Ilse joined the Nazi party in its infancy where she met and married Karl Koch, who would later become the Commandant of Buchenwald. She herself rose through the ranks to become the chief overseer of the female guards in the camp. The sadistic guard was known to ride through the camp on a white horse, beating prisoners as the whim struck. She would sic angry dogs on prisoners carrying burdensome loads. She was well known as a nymphomaniac, and frequently raped prisoners of both sexes. But Ilse is best known for her decorating prowess. During her horse rides, she would often have prisoners stripped so she could be on the lookout for tattoos. When she saw one she liked, she would have the prisoner killed and harvest his skin, using the tattooed area as a focal design point. She was best known for having turned tattooed human skin into lampshades and a handbag, but she was also said to have made gloves and bound books with skin. In addition, she was said to collect shrunken heads of her victims.

Koch was arrested and tried three separate times: first by the Weimar leader for the crimes of embezzlement and murder of prisoners "to prevent them from testifying" (she was acquitted; her husband was sentenced to death); then the Americans tried her in a military court for the mass murders at Buchenwald. She was initially sentenced to life imprisonment, but the sentence was later reduced to a mere four years because a new judge found no credible evidence that Koch had killed for tattooed skin. She was arrested again due to public outcry, was convicted of (among other things) incitement of murder , and sentenced to life in prison. Koch hanged herself in prison in 1967, after having spent nearly two decades behind bars.

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