In the house they found - two shin bones, four human noses, a quart can converted into a tom-tom by skin stretched over both top and bottom, a bowl made from the inverted half of a human skull, nine masks made from preserved skin from the faces of women, ten female heads with the tops sawn off above the eyebrows, bracelets of human skin, a purse made with a handle of human skin, sheath for a knife made in human skin, a pair of leggings made from human skin, four chairs with the seats being replaced by strips of human skin, a shoe box containing nine salted vulvas of which his mothers was painted silver, a hanging human head, a lampshade covered with human skin, a shirt made of human skin, a number of shrunken heads, two skulls for Ed's bedposts, a pair of human lips hanging from string, Ed's full woman body suit constructed with human skin and complete with mask and breasts, a heart in a pan on the stove, and the refrigerator which was stacked with human organs (Martingale, 1995)
.
After Ed was arrested, he went through examinations at the Central State Hospital for the Criminally insane. He was proven insane (Schechter, 1989). Doctors said the reasons for his actions were because of his unhealthy relationship with his mother. Ed's mother, was a fanatically religious woman, was determined to raise her boys according to her strict moral code. Sinners inhabited his mother's world and she instilled in her boys the teachings of the bible on a daily basis. She repeatedly warned her sons of the immorality of women, hoping to discourage any sexual desires the boys might have. Though Ed's father was in the household, Augusta took it upon herself to not only raise the children according to her beliefs but also to provide for the family financially (Martingale, 1995). .
How does a child evolve into an Ed Gein? A look at the psychological explanations of crime should answer some questions on this topic.
