A Morbid Obsession

what's now known as the Golden Age of comics. Throughout World War II, Captain America, Wonder Woman, and many others joined the heroic ranks. Together they provided a hopeful, pace, priotic distraction to readers. These were the good guys. After the war, superheroes continued to dominate the market, but there were challengers on the horizon. Nostalgic westerns competed with science fiction.

Archie and his Riverdale friends lived out the teenage experience, and of course, Whalt Disney entered the fray with Mickey Mouse.

and horror. For a single dime, America's children ravenously consumed titles such as Tales from the Crypt and Seduction of the Innocent. In the night mares of these parents, comics were leading their children down a dark path. By nineteen fifty four, the State Subcommittee convened two hearings on comic books and what to do about them. In response, the industry adopted a voluntary code of conduct that outlined but

could and could not be published. For example, it said that all lurid, unsavory, gruesome illustrations shall be eliminated, and no comic magazine shall use the words horror or terror in its title. Scenes of excessive violence were also prohibited, as were of any storylines that suggested any kind of sympathy for those convicted of a crime. Horror had no place in society. They thought, even with tales from the imagination, there was always a chance it could leap from the

pages into real life, and sometimes it did. I'm Lorn Vogelbaum, Welcome to American Shadows. Eddie wasn't even seven years old, but his mother entrusted him with an important task. She sent him to the nearby German bakery for a fresh loaf of bread. She gave him some coins and told him to come right home. When little Eddie arrived at the store, he realized something awful. The coins had fallen out of his pocket. His mother was going to be furious.

He slunk back home to face the consequences. If only he could atone for his sins, then maybe he would learn how to be responsible. But any hopes he might have had were dashed as soon as his mother saw his empty hands. In a tone more cutting than angry, Augusta admonished her son, you, dreadful child, Only a mother could love you. And it was just that the potential to be loved that Eddie longed for. To be worthy of the love of his mother, the most or a

woman in the world, was the dream. As he grew up, his mother's words seemed to be true. His father abused him and his older brother, Henry. Their father, George, had been orphaned by a flash flood and raised by his loveless grandparents. It was a rough, demanding environment for a child.

ninety nine. You can't help but wonder what their first Christmas was like, if they had any hopes or dreams for not just a new life together, but a new year, a new century. But if there was a spark, it fizzled as quickly as it came.

of nineteen oh one. Five years later, their second child, Edward, was born on August twenty seventh of nineteen oh six. It didn't take long for baby Eddie to become Augusta's favorite. While in Lacrosse, the Guenes managed a grocery store. At first, George was in charge as things were done, but whether perceived or real, his ineptitude left Augusta no choice but to take take over more and more responsibility. Eventually, she owned and operated the store, and George became her employee.

The Green family moved to Plainsfield, Wisconsin in nineteen fourteen. They settled on a farm outside of town. As business owner, Augusta had penny pinched and now in her hands. She held a deed to almost two hundred acres of land and a two story farmhouse. It was in her name and she was going to turn it into a safe haven from the outside world. Eddie hoped that his mother would finally be happy, that she could relax in the isolation of their remote farm. But as the boys grew,

so did Augusta's fixation on carnal sin. Her boys were coming into adolescence, and she feared for their souls. The farmstead had once been a place of hope, but by the end of the nineteen thirties what had been new and promising had become decrepit and squandered, tarnished by time, by failure by sin. They thought no matter what they did, the farm just wouldn't yield. Augusta continued to pray, and as the farm struggled, young Ed and Henry did as well.

Both received abuse from their parents, but Henry saw life beyond the farm and ways other than his mother's. Ed, however, adored her and bought in completely. He had no want or need for any other perspective. To him, his mother was as godlike as a person could be, and not to be challenged. George died on April Fool's Day in nineteen forty, an ironic end as far as Augusta was concerned. He had been unable to work for years due to the tolls of abuse, and addiction. Perhaps he found peace,

but grief only exacerbated Augusta's paranoia. As they tended the failing farms dead together, Henry mustered up the nerve to voice his concerns to Ed. He had worked odd jobs away from the family and had seen a little bit of the world beyond Augusta's clutches. But perhaps, he suggested to Ed, their mother was judging people a little too harshly. Maybe the world outside their house wasn't pure evil and

she was wrong. Day in day out, Henry had seen firsthand just how deeply Ed admired their mother, how attached he was, and how he clung to every word she said, no matter how biting or cruel. But they were brothers and had been through so much abuse together. Ed would have to understand, or so he thought. Unfortunately, Ed did not see reason in Henry's words. He was devastated, shocked

that his brother could question their divine mother. Augusta had picked her favorite child well, and when tested, he proved to be completely loyal. Soon thereafter, the farm caught fire. According to Ed, the fire was started intentionally too clear a field, but it got out of hand, and in their efforts to contain it. Henry went one way while Ed went another. Night came on quickly and the fire was soon contained. But when Ed went looking for Henry,

he had disappeared. With no telephone, Ed drove into town to get help. Once back at the farm, Ed allegedly walked them directly to Henry's lifeless form in the field, untouched by flame. Two days later, the County Corner filled out Henry Gane's deaths.

read well comic books and horror stories. After experiencing two strokes in quick succession, Augusta was bedridden and reliant on Ed. It was thankless work, but his mother needed him. She always knew to look out for signs of sin and evil that she was aware of, but Augusta hadn't modernized her fears enough. It was then, and the backbone of the family incapacitated, that she finally took note of the materials ed loved to read. He devoured dark stories, and

she who knew him best, was uneasy. For a brief moment, ed had everything he dreamed of and his pure mother all to himself, but before he could settle in, she was gone. Augusta died in December of nineteen forty five. For the first time in his life, Edward Theodore Gheen was completely alone. Bernice Warden had worked at Warden Hardware and implement Company since the nineteen twenties, and she worked

it well. Widowed, young, she wound up expanding the original offerings and pushing the boundaries of what women business owners achieved. She was beloved by the Plainsfield community. The year that the local paper started running a column honoring a citizen of the Week, Bernice was the first to receive the title. She was close to her family in every way, particularly

doting on her grandkids. Although she was busy, she often made time for her favorite hobby fishing, But on one dreary morning in November of nineteen fifty seven, Bernice probably didn't mind staying at the shop. It was the first day of hunting season, and someone was bound to have forgotten something if they pulled up to the store only to find it closed. While that would be a real disappointment, the days had been getting shorter. Back on his farm,

Ed didn't have electricity, heating, or any living company. A winter was coming and it would be nice to get out before the cold made it terribly unpleasant to do. So he left the farm that morning with a short to do list in hand.

no matter the season. The plainsfield had essentials that he didn't, specially since he had completely given up on the farm after his mother died. That had been twelve years ago, and he was dependent on the modern meanses that only the town could offer. Warden's Store was the place for just about everything, and by some accounts, Ed had taken a liking to Bernice. Later that evening, Bernice's son, Frank,

returned from his hunt, empty handed and somewhat confused. He had heard through a friend that the Warden's Store had been closed all day, which was strange. He couldn't think the reason why his mother would leave the shop on such an important day of the season. When Frank arrived at the store, he immediately knew something was wrong. There was blood on the floor, and he saw that the cash register was missing, and next to the empty space

was the receipt book. He glanced down at the last line, where his mother had made a note of the last sale anti freeze to one ed Gean. It all came back to Frank in a rush. The night before, he and his mother had been in the shop when Ed walked through the door. Ed had inquired about the price of anti freeze and had casually asked.

When he and his sister got there, they found Ed covered in blood, but it was hunting season, and Ed said that he was dressing a deer to Bobby, who had gone hunting with Ed a number of times, this made sense.

look for him. They knew he had a history of helping around the Hills farm, so they started their investigation on Irene's doorstep.

began their search. They had a lead for a missing woman, and it took them into Ed's most private world for the first time in years. Outsiders freely moved about the interior of the green property. While Ed was away, Art pointed his light into the outdoor summer kitchen and discovered a sight that would haunt him to the end of his days. There hung the headless corpse of Bernice Warden, carved, empty skinned, and suspended from the ceiling. Art somehow made

it out before vomiting. That wasn't the worst of it. In their search, they discovered evidence of macab crafting a box of genitalia, a full suit made of human skin. Inside the house, they peered around at masks made from human faces, a bowl fashioned out of a skull cap, and chairs upholstered with flesh. Art and Lloyd went about the gruesome task of finding the rest of Bernice inside the home. Her heart was found wrapped in a plastic bag by the stove. Other organs were found wrapped in

newspaper and stuffed into an old suit. Her head was found in the corner of a room and threaded with string as if to hang it up too. Though they felt they could take no more, they entered one last room, behind a closed door. It had an air of reverence and quiet dust sat undisturbed. It was his mother's room, which he had kept as nothing short of a shrine. Ed's compliance at the squad car was just the beginning

of his amenability with law enforcement officials. He proved to be forthcoming and confessed to having murdered Bernice Warden as well as Mary Hogan years earlier, but when asked about the other remains, he denied having killed more than twice. He was adamant, so where did the other body parts come from? Who did they come from, and how did Ed get them? To everyone's horror, Ed finally admitted that perhaps he had a habit of grave robbing.

ash heap, the rest of Mary Hogan burned up. After he had harvested what he wanted from her. Ed Gean was escorted to wapon Wisconsin, where he was admitted to the Central State Hospital for the criminally Insane. Once there, the month long evaluation period began. Meanwhile, with lightning speed, sensational headlines appeared in local Sunday editions. Soon national papers caught on, and one could argue they never really stopped. Many details emerged from this period of intense pressure, paranoia

banned anticipation. Ed himself cited memory issues to a doctor in the hospital. A professional noted Ed's abnormal attachment to AUGUSTA Life magazine published a juicy detail that Ed had always wanted to be a woman fanning the selacious flames. In the meantime, Plainsfield was left to reckon with the nature of Gene's confession. The townsfolk were reluctant to believe it. The neighbors had accepted gifts of venison from him, and now they weren't sure whether it had been venison at all.

The rug had been pulled out from under their feet and hidden beneath it, heard the desecrated corpses of their neighbors, their loved ones, their friends. Plainsfield Cemetery had more visitors than usual on November twenty fifth of nineteen fifty seven. Of the nine graves that had named as his targets, authorities had picked three to exum. The grave of Eleanor Adams was chosen as the starting point, so they got to work. When the shovel hit something more solid than dirt,

everyone at the grave side perked up. After a couple more swipes, the lid of a casket came into view. However, when the lid was opened, there was nothing inside except for dust and the crowbar. Thirty yards away, Mabel Eversin's grave was similarly disturbed, although her cast held an assortment of bones, dental plates, and a golden wedding band. With two of the three graves checked, Wisconsin, authorities decided that

Dean was telling the truth. He had killed Mary Hogan and Bernice Warden, but the other remains had truly been sourced from the grave. In January of nineteen fifty eight, Ed's observation period at Central State was over. The Sanity hearing brought all evidence to bear, and experts weighed in. He was declared insane and therefore unable to stand trial for his crimes. Disappointment spread through Plainsfield. It seemed there

was no justice in sight. As Ed got settled back at the hospital, affairs were settled at the home that he had never see again. In the first few months of nineteen fifty eight, papers were still driving curious readers to Plainsfield and that worn down farmhouse seven miles outside of town. Just as Ed had delighted in tales of terror. These tourists arrived in droves quickly, overwhelming Plainsfield's infrastructure, banned its residence. Geiner's, as they were called, were criticized for

macabre voyeurism. But it didn't start with Edgyane's House of Horrors in Plainsfield, and it certainly didn't end there. And so when news spread that AD's property and belongings were going to be auctioned off, and stomachs throughout Plainsfield churned with dread. Then, in the pre dawn darkness of March twentieth of nineteen fifty eight, when even the reporters were in bed, the fire destroyed Ed's home. The Wisconsin Crime Lab had already removed all necessary elements from the crime scene.

Just the day before, clean up crews had burned trash in a heap seventy five feet away from the house. The papers officially reported the deputy fire Marshal's opinion that lingering flames or burning embers could have started the fire. On March thirtieth of nineteen fifty eight, the auction of what was left of the gue and homestead took place. One of his vehicles was purchased by a sideshow manager, Bunny Gibbons, but Midwestern audiences who turned up for his

other acts apparently felt this one cross the line. If someone was behind the fire, they must have been pleased. The tourism to Plainsfield and the tangible relics of ed Geen were largely destroyed. They may have thought that if the shrine of evil was gone, no one would want to make the pilgrimage, and the town could put all of this behind them. But it was too late. The horror wasn't contained in the house. It lived in the papers and in the minds of those who read them.

The rumors were in Plainsfield and they were beyond it. Ed tucked away in his grim farmhouse, reading scary stories by candle or Lamplight, was a perfect villain, a superb creature in the night. He was a phantom haunting graveyards and brought horrors from books and stories to life right

there in Plainsfield, USA. Desecration of the dead is a taboo that transcends time and place, and to learn that a small statured farm boy hid such a monster under his checked hunting cap was something that no purification by fire could undo. Ed finally did go to trial in nineteen sixty eight, almost eleven years to the day that he had killed Bernice Warden. He was found not guilty

by reason of insanity and institutionalized again. For everyone else, it had been a decade of waiting for justice, and after just one week, the ghoul of Plainsfield was back inside the state hospital, guilty but not guilty, imprisoned but not suffering from accountability. Ed's return to the public eye was brief, but long enough to remind people why they had been grossly fascinated all those years before. In early nineteen seventy four, Ed wanted to leave the hospital a

citing of full mental recovery. His petition was filed and he held out hope, but by the summer it was rejected. In the eyes of the law, Ed was a risk they were not willing to take. After this rejection, Ed appeared content in the hospital once again. By all accounts, he was a good patient, and that makes sense because for the first time in his life, Ed was getting

used to receiving good, consistent care. Though Ed was confined to the hospital, the world outside found its way in filmmakers Errol Morris and Werner Herzog had been introduced by a mutual friend when they found something else in a shared interest in the story of Ed Geen. Of all the rumors about Ed, from cannibalism to serial killing, one seemed more plausible than the rest. Ed had confessed to grave digging already, but he had denied desecrating the most

significant grave of all. So Errol and Werner formed a plan to meet in Plainsfield and dig up the grave of Augusta Geen. When they agreed, upon evening arrived. Werner waited at the Plainsfield Cemetery shovel in hand, but Errol never showed up. The film project never materialized, but Errol eventually spent about a year in Plainsfield. What he found was an uptick in murderers in the town. After Ed's secret was discovered, some speculate that it was ed who

made the town murderous. In the late nineteen seventies, ed was transferred from his longtime home in wapon to a mental health institution in Madie, Wisconsin. On July twenty sixth of nineteen eighty four. Ed Geen died from respiratory failure. The next morning at six a m attendants buried his remains in Plainsfield Cemetery, the place he had disturbed numerous times before. They buried him in the designated plot between

his brother Henry and beloved mother Augusta. Ed's life and crimes have been covered at nauseum, but they still make for good media to this day, having inspired the likes of Norman Bates and Leatherface. It's difficult to imagine a world without ed Geen. He's given us nightmares beyond even his wildest dreams, and that's really saying something. There's more to this story. Stick around after this brief sponsor break

to hear all about it. In the fall of two thousand and five, James Fallon had on his desk not one but two major research projects. Before him sat a stack of brain scans from serial killers and another for Alzheimer's research. The latter pile included images of james brain along with the brains of his loved ones. James had been working with the University of California, Irvine to map

out patterns between psychopathic brains. He had spent hours with scans from everyone from everyday depressives to prolific serial killers. But what he didn't expect was to find clear signs of psychopathy in one of the scans from the Alzheimer's pile. There it was clear as day a brain that showed the hallmarks of psychopaths diminished empathy, morality, and impulse control, and it belonged to someone in his family. James backtracked, but the machine that had taken the images was in

working order. He had to know who it was. Anonimity be damned. James looked up the code from the image and put a name to the brain, and there on the screen he had his answer. He himself was a psychopath.

He had never done anything really wrong and certainly didn't get the mold of.

to steadfast, supportive familial support. A loving childhood enabled a psychopath to find a fulfilling, beneficial career and build a loving family of his own. It's undeniable that James was dealt a good hand in life, and his nurturing likely made a big difference for him. The same can't be said for members of the rest of his family. Looking back at his family tree, James noticed something striking in his lineage. He counted seven convicted murderers, including Lizzie Borden.

American Shadows is hosted by Lauren Vogelbam. This episode was written by Taylor Haggerdorn and Robin Minatter and researched by Taylor Haggridorn, with fact checking by Jamie Vargas. It's produced by Jesse Funk and Trevor Young, with executive producers Aaron Menke, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. To learn more about the show, visit grimminmild dot com, and for more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.