By Jinks: 3 November 2025
Myth or Reality.
Which one of those do you prefer more?
If I was to ask that question to every person I encountered, I would probably get a myriad of answers. Some answering myth, others choosing reality, and a smaller group would probably choose a mixture of the two.
I guess I should probably explain what I mean by that question.
Recently I watched the latest season of the Monster television series, the one that tells the story of Ed Gein, and it left me with a lot of questions. Mind you, I have never been interested in serial killers or murder documentaries, so I honestly have no idea how much of the story was accurate. I also haven’t done any fact checking or verification, so most of this post will be speculation from the viewpoint of a writer.
Having said that, I should state that while I don’t have an interest in serial killers and murderers, I was drawn to this season because it was telling the story of the individual that inspired so many of my favorite fictional characters.
Leatherface.
Norman Bates.
Buffalo Bill.
I grew up in a household that would rather watch scary movies instead of cartoons, so it was only natural that I would be drawn to these characters. There was just something unique about them. They weren’t just characters that wanted to kill others, they wanted to kill for a purpose.
Leatherface killed to protect his family. He didn’t go looking for trouble. He stayed on his property and dealt with trouble when it arose. In that sense, he also didn’t waste what was in front of him. Just like how an individual can find a use for every part of an animal, he would manage to find a use for every part of a human. Skin included.
Norman Bates also didn’t kill for fun. He killed either to protect his mother or his mother killed to protect him. It was an interesting dynamic between personalities.
Same for Buffalo Bill. He killed individuals based on the quality of their skin, wanting to make a skin suit.
I know. It sounds weird that I like characters that want to wear the skin of others, and it definitely takes the phrase getting under their skin to a whole new place. But it is hard not to like these characters since they are so unique in their own ways.
Having said that, each of these characters combined still don’t add up to the uniqueness of Ed Gein. He was truly an individual that stood out, and that is the reason I wanted to watch the show.
I wanted to see who he was and how others were able to gather inspiration from him. It wasn’t difficult to find that answer, and the show was kind enough to directly talk about it, showing how Hitchcock and Hooper worked on their respective films. Simply put, they each were able to pull different parts and characteristics from Ed Gein to create their own unique characters and stories.
The show also included how other real people were inspired by Gein’s acts, which was another interesting tidbit.
Despite all of that, I was still left with my own question.
Who inspired the Ed Gein depicted in the Monster series?
Again, this all speculation from the mind of a curious writer and creator, so I plan to discuss how I would go about it.
If I were to write the story, I would start by gathering any documented information I could. I would dig up news reports, interviews, and other articles written at the time. Once I had that starting information, I would dive deeper, looking for specific answers to specific questions.
I would also try very hard to keep my own ideas out of it, but I would only be able to do that for so long since I know it would only be a matter of time before Leatherface and Bates start to influence my thoughts of the original man. As it is, my impression of Ed Gein is a combination of the character depicted in Monster, Leatherface, Norman Bates, and Buffalo Bill. I don’t think I can and ever will be able to separate the truth from the myth.
And I don’t want to.
In that way, I have invented my own character that is based on several different characters, and I am pretty sure that everyone else has done the same thing.
Moving along and slightly switching directions, this is an interesting topic from the viewpoint of a writer.
Can a person become a parody of themselves to the point where they are unrecognizable? Or can they become their own unique character that stands alongside the real person?
I think they can, and the show further helped me realize that. I also belief that a writer can take inspiration from everywhere when creating a character. That includes the real person and the characters inspired by the real person.
I know when I create characters, I tend to pull specific characteristics and traits from individuals, further combining them with other traits to create something new. So why shouldn’t a writer be able to consider the inspired characters as separate people to pull traits from?
I don’t know if anyone actually does that, or if anyone agrees with my thoughts, but this is, more or less, how I came to rationalize my thoughts around the question.
So, what is better, the myth or the reality? Is one really better than the other, or is there some sort of sweet combination of the two that calls out to you?
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