The truth behind the twisted crimes that inspired the films Psycho, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs... From “America’s principal chronicler of its greatest psychopathic killers” (The Boston Book Review) comes the definitive account of Ed Gein, a mild-mannered Wisconsin farmhand who stunned an unsuspecting nation—and redefined the meaning of the word “psycho.” The year was 1957. The place was an ordinary farmhouse in America’s heartland, filled with extraordinary evidence of unthinkable depravity. The man behind the massacre was a slight, unassuming Midwesterner with a strange smile—and even stranger attachment to his domineering mother. After her death and a failed attempt to dig up his mother’s body from the local cemetery, Gein turned to other grave robberies and, ultimately, multiple murders. Driven to commit gruesome and bizarre acts beyond all imagining, Ed Gein remains one of the most deranged minds in the annals of American homicide. This is his story—recounted in fascinating and chilling detail by Harold Schechter, one of the most acclaimed true-crime storytellers of our time.

So much to read, so little time? This brief overview of Deviant: The Shocking True Story of Ed Gein, the Original “Psycho” tells you what you need to know—before or after you read Harold Schechter’s book. Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and give you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader. This short summary and analysis of Deviant includes: Historical context Chapter-by-chapter overviews Profiles of the main characters Detailed timeline of key events Important quotes and analysis Fascinating trivia Glossary of terms Supporting material to enhance your understanding of the original work About Deviant: The Shocking True Story of Ed Gein, the Original “Psycho” by Harold Schechter: This true-crime classic profiles Ed Gein, the murderer and grave robber whose crimes inspired the films Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Ed Gein was a mildmannered midwestern farmhand—until his horrific crimes were uncovered. After a failed attempt to dig up the grave of his dead mother, Gein became a grave robber and then a murderer. What he did with the bodies of his victims was disturbing and gory beyond all imagination, and it leaves no doubt about what Ed Gein really was: the original psycho. The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.

Provides a biography on Ed Gein, the Wisconsin serial killer responsible for various atrocities, and offers an analysis of his psyche and describes how his childhood and mother influenced him to murder.

In 1985, Charles Ng and Leonard Lake were spotted shoplifting. Ng escaped, but Lake's capture led police to a concrete bunker in the Sierra Nevada foothills, where they discovered the grisly evidence of an orgy of sex crimes, torture and murder that claimed at least sixteen victims. Lake committed suicide: Ng fled to Canada, where he was tracked down and extradited to California. This 14-year, $10 million legal case was the costliest and longest criminal prosecution in California history.

Marion is lost on a dark and lonely road; she's tired and hungry and afraid. She thinks she's dreaming when she sees a motel sign shining in the darkness: Bates Motel. But for Marion the nightmare is just beginning ... To most people Psycho needs no introduction, but although Alfred Hitchcock's film was largely faithful to the book, in the novel itself you will find a story more nuanced and - if possible - even darker.

Tells the story of an insane Wisconsin murderer who butchered his victims, robbed graves, and committed a variety of psychotic attrocities

An in-the-room account of John Colt’s scandalous nineteenth-century murder trial from “America’s principal chronicler of its greatest psychopathic killers” (Boston Review). In this masterful account, renowned true-crime historian Harold Schechter takes you into the life and crimes of convicted murderer John Caldwell Colt, drawing parallels between John’s rise to notoriety and his brother Samuel Colt’s rise to fame as the inventor of the legendary revolver. With a killing that made headlines around the nation, John Colt became a cultural touchstone whose shocking villainy inspired and provoked such writers as Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, and Herman Melville. Unlike his brother, John lived a nomadic existence, bouncing from one job to another. His one distinction, writing a reference accounting book, would play a part in his fall from grace. For in New York City, on September 17, 1841, John murdered printer Samuel Adams with a hatchet during a heated argument over proceeds from book sales. A media circus ensued, galvanizing the penny press, which printed lurid headlines and gruesome woodcut illustrations. The standing-room-only trial created unforgettable moments in legal history, including such dramatic evidence as Samuel Adams’s decomposed head. The verdict and its aftermath would reverberate throughout the country and beyond, giving John Colt lasting infamy. “[Schechter] leads us through Colt’s trial with such precision that you can smell the cigar smoke in the courtroom. . . . Killer Colt succeeds in making us care about this story now by showing why it mattered to so many people then.” —HistoryNet