Did Ed Gein Kill His Brother? The True Story Behind Netflix’s Monster

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Monster: The Ed Gein Story.

Netflix did not tiptoe into Monster: The Ed Gein Story. It dramatizes, embellishes, and flat-out imagines pieces of Ed Gein's life to make a thriller out of a very messy, very murky set of events. And the first big swing? The show leans into the idea that Ed killed his brother. So, did he? Short answer: we still don't have a definitive answer. Long answer: keep reading.

First, what the show actually does

Episode 1, fittingly titled 'Mother!', starts with Henry Gein (Hudson Oz) slipping back to the farm after being away for a few days with his girlfriend, Ginny, who their mother Augusta (Laurie Metcalf) despises. In a private chat with Ed (Charlie Hunnam), Henry vents that he's tired of their mother's suffocating, ultra-religious control. He wants to marry Ginny, ditch the church, and get out.

Ed pushes back because Augusta claims Ginny is divorced twice, which, in her world, is unforgivable. Henry pushes harder: Augusta is making Ed peculiar and strange, and both brothers need to escape.

Then the episode drops its bomb: Ed picks up a freshly chopped log and smacks Henry in the head. Blood pools, Henry goes limp... and then things get weird. As Ed turns to leave, Henry suddenly stands up, laughs it off, suggests they do brush clearing and fires tomorrow before the weather turns, and promises to smooth things over with Mom. Ed beams. Henry shuts the barn doors. Ed trots home with his wheelbarrow like everything’s fine.

Except that scene is in Ed’s head. Reality returns the next day: Ed finds Henry’s body in the barn, drags him outside, piles up branches, douses them with gasoline, lights the brush, and runs back to tell Augusta there's an out-of-control fire and he can’t find Henry. He offers to drive into town for help; she insists on calling the police.

When the authorities and some locals arrive, Ed walks them straight to Henry’s corpse. At the morgue, a cop and the coroner question the stiffness of the body and note bruising on Henry’s head. The coroner ultimately rules the death accidental—smoke inhalation from a brush fire. Augusta is shattered, suffers a stroke that night, and Ed becomes her caretaker.

Now, what we actually know

The show isn’t pulling this one from nowhere, but it’s definitely filling in blanks. The real-world version is simpler and more frustrating:

• 1940: Ed and Henry’s father, George Gein, dies of heart failure.
• 1944: A routine burn of vegetation on the Gein property in Plainfield gets out of hand, drawing in the local fire department.
• After firefighters knock down the blaze, Ed reports Henry missing.
• A search party forms. Ed guides authorities directly to Henry’s body.
• Investigators note bruises on Henry’s head. Despite that, the death is ruled accidental—likely asphyxiation from the brush fire.
• No deeper probe follows. No charges. Case closed.

Given what the world later learned about Ed Gein, plenty of people believe he killed his brother. But because nobody built a real case in 1944—no thorough autopsy for homicide, no sustained investigation—we’re stuck with permanent ambiguity. It’s maddening, but that’s the historical record.

So did Ed kill Henry?

We can’t say for sure. The circumstantial stuff is ugly—Ed leading searchers straight to the body; the head bruising; the conveniently out-of-control brush fire—but legally and officially, Henry’s death was an accident. The show takes that fog and dramatizes it into a clear-cut murder, with the added touch of Ed’s fantasy sequence to visualize how he processes guilt and denial. It’s gripping, but it’s still speculation.

What about Augusta?

The show gets the aftermath right: Augusta did suffer a stroke following Henry’s death and relied on Ed for care. She improved for a time, then an especially infuriating run-in with a neighbor and his female guest (the series recreates it) preceded a second stroke. Her health declined, and she died on December 29, 1945, at age 67. After that, Ed retreated into isolation and kept her room sealed off like a shrine.

About those other dramatizations

If you’re clocking the show’s bolder flourishes—like the Ilse Koch thread or Ed’s supposed tie to the disappearance of Evelyn Hartley—you’re not imagining it. That’s the series doing a lot of narrative stitching to turn scattered facts, rumors, and later notoriety into a single, binge-friendly story.

The bottom line

Monster: The Ed Gein Story implies Henry was Ed’s first victim. The real case never proved that—and probably never will. If that drives you a little nuts, welcome to why this story keeps getting told.

Monster: The Ed Gein Story is now streaming on Netflix.