The Ed Gein Story’ Ending Explained—What Does The Final Scene Mean?

“Monster: The Ed Gein Story”

Courtesy of Netflix

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Monster: The Ed Gein Story and includes content that may be disturbing to some viewers.

Netflix’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story tells the grotesque true story of serial killer and grave robber Ed Gein, who confessed to killing two women and stealing more than 40 bodies from graves. The show explores Ed’s early life, his unhealthy relationship with his mother and what drove him to commit such horrific crimes. But how does The Ed Gein Story end, and what’s his connection to serial killers like Ted Bundy?

Starring Charlie Hunnam, The Ed Gein Story marks the third season of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s true crime anthology series, which previously focused on Jeffrey Dahmer and the Menendez brothers. This installment is perhaps the most disturbing yet, as Gein’s crimes were so heinous that they inspired some of the darkest horror films, from Psycho to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

At the root of Gein’s was his complicated relationship with his mother, Augusta Gein, a devout Christian. She instilled in her boys a hatred of women and discouraged them from dating or socializing with other children outside of school. After his death, he developed a sexual and romantic attraction to his mother, and dug up women who resembled her.

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After his mother’s death, Gein begins hallucinating that she is still alive in the house. He then slowly terrorizes women in Plainfield, including his two murder victims, Mary Hogan and Bernice Worden, and babysitter Evelyn Hartley. He also develops a romantic relationship with Adeline Watkins, who is fascinated by photographing crime scenes. She eventually discovers what Ed has been doing and even encourages him to have sex with dead bodies before she tries to move to New York.

While Ed was known around town as the weird but gentle type, he wasn’t on the police’s radar. That is, until he leaves loads of evidence at Bernice’s crime scene. The authorities are shocked when they enter his house of horrors. There is furniture made out of human skin, decapitated heads, a belt made out of nipples, human organs in pots and a headless Bernice gutted upside down in the barn. He’s arrested, but doesn’t stand trial because he was ruled to be mentally insane.

If you’ve made it to the end of Monster: The Ed Gein Story, you probably have a lot of questions — including what happened to Ed Gein at the end of his life and how the various serial killers in Episode 8 are connected to the “Butcher of Plainfield.”

Monster: The Ed Gein Story Ending Explained

In Episode 8, “The Godfather,” viewers witness another infamous serial killer, Ted Bundy, as he kidnaps, murders, and sexually assaults his victims. Bundy, who was reportedly influenced by Ed Gein, murdered dozens of women and girls during his four-year killing spree.

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FBI agents John Douglas and Robert Ressler — the real-life inspirations behind Netflix’s Mindhunter — seek advice from other serial killers in their hunt for Bundy. They interview Jerry Brudos (Happy Anderson), infamously known as the “Shoe Fetish Slayer.”

The agents then meet with Gein for help. Gein examines crime scene photos and offers insight into a serial killer’s mind — and what Bundy could be using to decapitate his victims. (In reality, there is no evidence that the FBI sought Gein’s assistance to find Bundy, though Gein’s crimes did influence the study of serial killers.)

Viewers also see Richard Speck in prison, the murderer who tortured, sexually assaulted and killed eight nurses in 1966 during a home invasion. One woman, Corazon Amurao, hid under a bed until morning and later helped convict Speck. He was sentenced to death, but after the death penalty was ruled unconstitutional, his sentence was changed to eight consecutive terms totaling 400 to 1,200 years in prison.

In the finale, Speck, serving his life sentence, boasts about being able to do drugs and have sex in prison more than he did on the outside. Ed receives a letter from Speck, in which he shares insight about Bundy. It’s revealed that Ted wrote a letter to Speck, expressing how much Speck meant to him. Speck includes Bundy’s letter, in which Bundy outlines his plans to kill a house full of girls and includes his first name, a significant clue for investigators.

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Ed Gein takes Bundy’s letter and shows it to a deputy from the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, hoping it will help authorities track the killer down. He explains that a man named Ted sent the letter to Speck. The next day, Gein sees on the news that the murderer has finally been caught, and it’s Ted Bundy.

Gein then falls asleep and dreams of being wheeled through the hospital’s hallways. He is surrounded by people — nurses, doctors, and serial killers who admired him, including Charles Manson, Jerry Brudos, Richard Speck and Ed Kemper. “It’s the most tonally challenging part of the show to me in that he’s not horrified by it,” co-creator Ian Brennan told Tudum. “He sort of loves the fact that he made a mark.”

Does Adeline Visit Ed Before He Dies?

When he wakes up, he learns that Alfred Hitchcock, the director of Psycho, has died. He also receives devastating news: he has stage 4 terminal lung cancer that has spread to his organs, leaving him with only a few months to live.

Ed is later visited by his former lover, Adeline (Suzanna Son). He confronts her for not writing to him and for the things she said about him in the press, but she admits that she, too, struggles with mental illness. Ed gently kisses her hand and tells her that he loves her. (In real life, Adeline admitted to having a two-decade romantic relationship with Ed before later backtracking and saying it actually lasted less than a year. There’s no evidence that she ever visited him while he was in the mental hospital.)

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Does Ed Gein Die At The End Of Monster: The Ed Gein Story?

Yes, Ed Gein dies at the end of Monster: The Ed Gein Story. Throughout the episode, he grows weaker and more fatigued. While on his deathbed, Ed has another vision of dancing nurses and ascends a staircase, where he’s greeted by his mother. In his final moments, Augusta praises him. “Eddie, you really made a name for us Geins, and I couldn’t be more proud,” she says.

In the closing scene, a group of teens attempts to steal Ed’s gravestone — a moment rooted in real life. (In June 2000, his gravestone was stolen from Plainfield Cemetery, and his grave remains unmarked today.) However, the teens are spooked by the ghosts of Ed Gein, Norman Bates, Buffalo Bill and Leatherface. Ed watches from a distance as the screen shows the final image from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre — Leatherface swinging his chainsaw and dancing.

“He’s sort of haunting the proceedings,” Brennan explained to Tudum. “In a way, you wanted it to really sort of pay off how influential he was.”

Before the credits roll, viewers see a flashback of Ed sitting beside his mother years earlier. “Only a mother could love you,” she tells him. Those haunting words held Gein captive until the end of his life.

What Does the Ending of Monster: The Ed Gein Story Say About Mental Health?

Monster: The Ed Gein Story ends on a reflective note, exploring how mental illness influenced Ed’s actions and how his diagnosis ultimately changed the course of his life.

Hunman told Tudum that they always wanted to end the story “with our exploration of the nature of mental illness and how it had affected Ed,” the actor said. “If he had gotten the right treatment sooner, [the question becomes] if he would’ve ever done the things that he did. I really wept inconsolably reading that scene for the first couple of times.”

Co-creator Ryan Murphy added that he was interested “in society’s obligation to the mentally unwell, people who are having mental crises.”

“Ed was the perfect person to talk about that because when he was apprehended, he [was] very quickly diagnosed, and he was given great care by a society,” he continued. “He was taken to different hospitals. He was treated well. He was given the correct medications.”

All episodes of Monster: The Ed Gein Story are streaming on Netflix. Watch the official trailer below.