Netflix’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story isn’t afraid to play loose with details from Ed Gein’s life—from expanding his relationship with neighbor Adeline Watkins, to at least partially attributing his obsession with body dismemberment to war criminal Ilse Koch.
Then, in the final episode, Monster hints at one final major twist: Gein helping authorities in the pursuit and apprehension of infamous serial killer Ted Bundy.
Inquisitive viewers might wonder if Gein, the “Butcher of Plainfield,” really did play a role in Bundy’s arrest, or if this is just another alteration for dramatic effect. Here’s what we know about any connection between the two criminals.
How is Ted Bundy portrayed in Monster?
In the eighth and final episode of Netflix’s Monster, titled “The Godfather,” Gein—institutionalized after his 1957 arrest—is shown assisting investigators in the capture of Bundy.
Gein speaks with FBI agents John Douglas and Robert Ressler and offers the agency several important tips based on knowledge from his own crimes. These include predicting the kind of saw Bundy might use to decapitate victims, as well as sharing a letter he receives that includes Bundy’s first name and the make and model of his car.
Later in the episode, police do catch Bundy—who in real life admitted to killing at least 30 women during the 1970s—and attribute their success to an anonymous source. From the context of the episode, this is understood to be Ed Gein.
In real life, Gein has no known connection to Bundy’s capture
While the thought of one killer working to identify another is intriguing—and actually did happen in real life with Bundy and Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer—Gein’s involvement is entirely fictional. As Forbes points out, there is no record the FBI ever interviewed Gein.
Police initially arrested Bundy in 1975 after searching his car during a traffic stop, finding burglary tools like a crowbar and face mask. Bundy later escaped custody twice, fleeing from a courthouse library and escaping from his prison cell, before he was finally apprehended for good. He was eventually convicted of three murders and executed via the electric chair at Florida State Prison in January 1989.
Gein was diagnosed with schizophrenia and remained institutionalized until his 1984 death, so it’s impossible to know if he ever imagined any similar events in real life. Showrunners have hinted they included the plot line with Bundy to reinforce the latter’s lasting influence on true and fictional crime—implying the possibility his murders and grave robberies may have inspired other real killers.
However, there is one element from this sequence that is true.
Robert Ressler and John Douglas are real figures who researched Bundy
The two agents speaking to Gein, Ressler and Douglas, really did work for the FBI and were groundbreaking figures in the field of criminal profiling during the 1970s. According to NPR, they actually coined the term “serial killer.”
During his research, Ressler conducted face-to-face interviews with a number of infamous killers, including John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Bundy. He once revealed Gacy even gifted him a portrait of his likeness in clown makeup with a personalized note.
Perhaps the pair will appear again in a future edition of Netflix’s Monster—though not in season 4, which is already confirmed to be about Lizzie Borden.
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.
