Was Ed Gein’s Girlfriend Adeline Watkins A Real Person?

If there’s one thing Ryan Murphy’s going to do, it’s release a somewhat controversial Netflix series.

Last week, he dropped Monster: The Ed Gein Story – a retelling of the Butcher of Plainfield’s life and murders.

The inspiration behind iconic horror films like Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and the Silence of the Lambs, Gein was convicted in the 50s of the murder of two women and the defilement of nine graves in his hometown of Plainfield, Wisconsin.

He was also suspected of killing seven other women and girls during this period.

Murphy’s series doesn’t just focus on Gein’s crimes, but provides a context for them. Set in the aftermath of World War 2, Gein has a fascination with the Holocaust and the inhuman atrocities committed in concentration camps.

But it wouldn’t be a Ryan Murphy show without some historical liberties. Throughout the series, Ed has a relationship with Adeline Watkins, a woman privy to his body snatching and murderous ways.

But is Adeline real, and did the pair actually plan to get married before Gein was caught? Well, yes, she was! But the extent of their relationship is up for debate.

Following Gein’s arrest in 1957, Adeline came forward and told the Minneapolis Tribune that she and Ed had a 20 year relationship, culminating in her rejecting a proposal from the serial killer.

In a statement that was later recounted, Adeline said that Gein was “good and sweet and kind” – an opinion shared by her widower mother, with whom she lived at the time.

Adeline said she and Ed would discuss crime together. They bonded over this, as well as their mutual love of reading.

“I guess we discussed every murder we ever heard about,” she said. “Eddie told [me] how the murderer did wrong, what mistakes he had made. I thought it was interesting.

“Eddie and I discussed books. We never read the same ones, but we liked to talk about them anyway.”

Adeline added that although she turned down Gein’s marriage proposal, at the time of his arrest, she still loved him.

“I turned him down, but not because there was anything wrong with him,” she said. “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.

“Eddie was so nice about doing things I wanted to do that sometimes I felt I was taking advantage of him. I loved him and I still do.”

Later on, Adeline recounted this interview and stated that she had known Ed in a platonic manner only. Gein died in a mental health facility in 1977 due to respiratory failure.