Did Ed Gein kill his brother? The true story behind Henry Gein's death in Monster

15 October 2025, 16:46

By Sam Prance

Ed Gein shockingly kills his brother in Monster: The Ed Gein Story but how did Henry Gein actually die?

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Netflix's Monster: The Ed Gein Story explores many of Ed Gein's horrifying crimes but did he actually kill his brother?

Just like past seasons centring on Jeffrey Dahmer and The Menendez Brothers, Monster: The Ed Gein Story is based on real-life. However, both miniseries included some fictionalised events and storylines and the new Ed Gein season is the same. Scenes involving Adeline Watkins and Ted Bundy have little basis on things that actually happened.

One key scene in the show involves Ed Gein murdering his brother without realising. What is the true story though?

Read more: Monster actor Charlie Hunnam defends "humanising" Ed Gein following criticism

Watch the Monster The Ed Gein Story trailer

In Monster: The Ed Gein Story episode 1, we see Ed Gein (Charlie Hunnam) meet with his brother Henry Gein (Hudson Oz). Henry tells Ed that he married a woman against his mother's wishes. Henry says he's going to leave and tells Ed to leave too. Ed then grabs a log and hits Henry over the head leaving him bleeding on the floor.

Ed then envisions Henry wasn't hurt and survived. However, he later returns to find Henry's dead body. Ed takes his body out into the snow, covers it in wood and lights a fire to get rid of it. Police later find Henry's body but Ed isn't treated as a suspect and he gets away with the murder unscathed.

What happened to Henry Gein? How did he die?

So what happened in real life? Well, it's well documented that Ed and Henry often had arguments over their mother Augusta. Like the show depicts, Augusta had strong views against sex and Henry did fall in love with a woman and keep it secret from his mother. He also intended to move in with her and Ed did not approve of the relationship.

As for how Henry died, the details are a bit different to what we witness in Monster. On May 16, 1944, a fire spread across Gein land and Henry went missing. His body was later found unburned but dead with bruises on his head. There was never an investigation into his death or an autopsy but authorities ruled that it was an accident.

What happened to Henry Gein? How did he die? Picture: Netflix

Years later, Ed Gein confessed to murdering hardware-store owner Bernice Worden and tavern owner Mary Hogan. It was also discovered that Ed dug up multiple bodies from graves and transformed their body parts into furniture and keepsakes.

As a result, some people have speculated that Ed also killed his brother Henry but there's no official evidence to suggest that Ed was responsible.