Was Ed Gein really a perverted murderer, or a “good and kind and sweet” neighbor? One woman claimed the latter—or so it seemed.
While the gory details of Gein’s grave-robbing fixation have been well-documented—and adapted into various horror media—a more mysterious part of the killer’s story is his alleged romance with a woman named Adeline Watkins. The nature of their relationship is explored in the Netflix anthology Monster: The Ed Gein Story, premiering October 3.
Watkins, played by Suzanna Son in Netflix’s new Monster season (Charlie Hunnam portrays Gein), gained notoriety in the days after Gein’s arrest when she revealed a two-decade-long courtship with the “Butcher of Plainfield.” It was a love story that seemed almost too wild to be true. As it turned out, any skepticism was entirely warranted.
A newspaper story claimed Gein dated Watkins and proposed to her
Following his arrest in November 1957, Gein admitted to the murders of 58-year-old hardware store owner Bernice Worden and 54-year-old Mary Hogan—the latter occurring three years prior. Details about his implicit activities emerged, along with morbid curiosity about his personal life.
Enter Watkins. According to a syndicated report in the Wisconsin State Journal from November 21, 1957, she gave an interview to the Minneapolis Tribune in which she offered details of her life with Gein. The article also included a photo of Watkins.
Titled “Plainfield Woman Nearly Wedded Gein,” Watkins, who lived with her widowed mother in a small Plainfield, Wisconsin, apartment, said she and Gein frequently went to movies and nearby taverns together. They shared a love of reading—with Gein reportedly a fan of books “about lions and tigers and Africa and India”—and, hauntingly, discussed murder cases together.
Watkins’ mother appeared to corroborate her claims, calling Gein a “sweet, polite man” who never broke Adeline’s 10 p.m. curfew.
Most shockingly, Watkins claimed Gein had proposed during their final date in February 1955, but she declined. “Not in so many words, but I knew what he meant,” she explained. “I turned him down, but not because there was anything wrong with him. It was something wrong with me. I guess I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to live up to what he expected of me.”
Watkins quickly refuted her romance with Ed Gein and said the Tribune story was “exaggerated”
These comments seemingly hinted at a softer side of Gein. However, their validity was soon called into question by an unlikely source: Watkins herself.
Around two weeks later, Watkins spoke publicly again for another report that appeared in the Stevens Point Journal on December 3. In the new article, titled “Woman Declares Gein ‘Romance’ Was Exaggerated,” she claimed the original Tribune story “was blown up out of proportion to its importance and containing untrue statements.” Specifically, she clarified she had known Gein for 20 years, but any regular interactions between them only occurred after 1954.
“Actually, Miss Watkins declared, Gein had called on her for only seven months, and then only intermittently,” the report read. “She said Gein during this short period stopped at the Watkins home on some afternoons or evenings and that the couple had attended shows at the Plainfield Theater ‘a few times.’”
Watkins refuted that she or her mother referred to Gein as “sweet,” but did confirm he seemed quiet and polite. She also asserted she was never inside the Gein home—where police eventually discovered Gein had kept human body parts and maintained a shrine to his late mother, Augusta.
Gein never shared any details of his relationship with Watkins publicly, meaning we’ll never know the full truth about how close they were.
Watkins is a major character in Netflix’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story
It’s not clear how Season 3 of Netflix’s Monster will incorporate Watkins into Gein’s story, and that’s seemingly on purpose.
Son spoke to Elle during filming but was unable to give details of her “top-secret” role. However, the Netflix cast list confirms the actor is portraying Watkins and has second-billing to star Charlie Hunnam—suggesting the character will have a significant presence throughout the eight episodes.
We don’t have to wait long to find out, as Monster: The Ed Gein Story begins streaming October 3 on Netflix.
Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.
