Did Ed Gein Kill His Brother in Real Life? Henry Gein's Cause of Death

Ed Gein was a Wisconsin grave robber and serial murderer from Plainfield, who has inspired notorious fictional serial killers, from Norman Bates in Psycho to the Buffalo Bill character in Silence of the Lambs.

However, did he kill his brother Henry Gein in real life? That's the scenario shown in Ryan Murphy's Monster: The Ed Gein Story series on Netflix. Charlie Hunnam stars as Ed Gein, who was dubbed the "Butcher of Plainfield." It turns out that the answer is murky, although Henry Gein's cause of death was not murder.

According to TODAY:

• Ed Gein and his brother Henry were the two children born to parents Augusta and George Gein; Ed was four years older than Henry.
• Harold Schechter's book on Gein, which is called "Deviant," says Augusta Gein was a "domestic tyrant."
• The brothers differed on the domineering Augusta, with Henry criticizing her tyrannical hold on the household and Ed considering her saintlike, Schechter wrote, indicating that “Henry’s implied criticism of Augusta came as a real shock to Eddie." That sets up a possible motive for murder.

The Netflix series shows Henry Gein developing a plan to escape their mother and home, and Ed Gein then striking him with a log and killing him.

But did he really?

Whether Ed Gein Actually Killed His Brother Is Debated by Historians

Gein is documented to have killed two women. One, Mary Hogan, was a tavern owner, according to Biography.com. The second was a hardware store owner named Bernice Worden. Gein admitted to shooting the women, and when authorities went to his farmhouse, they discovered a house of horrors, including furniture made out of human skin.

The story about his brother is murkier. In contrast to the Hogan and Worden homicides, Gein never admitted to murdering his brother, according to USA Today.

(3/8) Ed's Brother - Henry Gein - died during a brush fire on the family property. Though officially ruled accidental, some speculated Edward’s involvement.

Augusta’s death in December 1945 left Edward alone. He preserved her bedroom untouched while the rest of the farmhouse… pic.twitter.com/qSaYJkFp16

— Tortured History (@TorturedHistory) October 2, 2025

The Netflix series shows Gein staging a brush fire to cover up his brother's murder. In real life, there was an actual brush fire, although it took place in the spring, USA Today reported, adding that "fires of that sort were common. Henry's body sustained serious burns, and the official cause of death was asphyxiation leading to heart failure."

However, the news site noted that Henry Gein's body "did exhibit some markings that could have been wounds," and, because Ed Gein reported the fire, there's always been suspicion that he might have murdered him.

Gein also dug up nine bodies in a local cemetery as well, USA Today reported.

Ed Gein Spent the Remainder of His Life at the Mendota Mental Health Institute

According to the Wisconsin State Historical Society:

• Between 1947 and his arrest in 1957, Gein "is believed to have robbed graves in three local cemeteries and killed at least two people."
• "Initially declared insane, he was found fit to stand trial in 1968 and convicted by Judge Gollmar; he spent the remainder of his life at the Mendota Mental Health Institute near Madison."
• Gein "is thought to have inspired the fictional killers depicted in the films Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."

Plainfield, WI Circuit Judge Robert H. Gollmar, who tried the Gein case, described Gein, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society:

"A bachelor, he lived a somewhat hermit-like existence on a lonely and isolated farm. A mild, meek appearing little man; no one suspected him of murder until a number of people disappeared. A search of his farm uncovered bodies and parts of bodies," said Gollmar.

"Among his other abilities, Gein was a taxidermist. Probably this led to his interesting hobby -- he made chairs and lamp shades out of human skin which he carefully tanned for that purpose. After Gein was transferred to the Central State Hospital for the Criminally Insane his farm was sold. There was a rumor that his home was to become a tourist attraction. Shortly after this was reported, the home caught fire one night and burned to the ground."

The state Historical Society's website has a number of historic photos of the real Gein that can be viewed online.