The Chilling Connection Between Ed Gein and Alfred Hitchcock’s 'Psycho'

The story of American serial killer Ed Gein, aka the “Butcher of Plainfield,” is one that continues to live on through written word and TV portrayals, even though his crimes date all the way back to the 1940s. Perhaps his story remains so intriguing because it’s just so darn hard to wrap your head around how a person could be so cruel and disturbed, and it draws you in, making you want to understand how and why someone could turn out that way.

Gein’s mother is often cited as the root of his disturbing behavior. His crimes, including murder and grave robbing, focused on taking body parts from women who resembled her. While his story is known to have influenced Texas Chainsaw Massacre, many also wonder if Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 thriller Psycho was based on Gein’s story, and whether Hitchcock and Gein ever crossed paths. After all, Hitchcock is portrayed as a character in Netflix’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story. Here’s the connection.

Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 film Psycho, starring Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates and Janet Leigh as Marion Crane, was influenced by Ed Gein’s crimes but is not entirely based on his life. While Hitchcock never outright admitted that Gein inspired the film, Psycho was adapted from Robert Bloch’s 1959 novel of the same name, which did draw from Gein’s story, per TODAY. So, there’s a clear connection and influence. But just how much of Gein’s life is reflected in Psycho?

The main character, Norman, shares several standout characteristics with Gein. Both have an unhealthy obsession with their mothers, allowing them to dominate their thoughts and lives in ways far beyond what’s considered normal. They’re soft-spoken, presenting themselves as gentle men, while covering up the monster inside. Both also live in isolated settings: Gein on his large farm in Plainfield, Wis., and Norman at the Bates Motel, which he ran after killing his mother.

These locations serve as the backdrop for their crimes, all influenced in some way by their relationships with their mothers.

For Gein, this obsession reportedly led him to target women who resembled his mother, and he even made a “woman suit” out of human skin. Norman, on the other hand, dressed up as his mother and developed a split personality, referring to the other side of himself as “Mother.”

In both cases, the mother figure is domineering and critical, yet both men overvalue her role, using it to justify their fear and mistrust of other women. In their eyes, women are dangerous, and the only woman they should value is their mother.

Unlike Gein, Norman does not dismember his victims or craft items from human remains in the film. However, Bloch’s original novel Psycho included far more gruesome details. It seems the filmmakers chose to tone down the gore for Hitchcock’s movie adaptation.

Gein did not personally know Alfred Hitchcock, so they never had a direct relationship. However, Robert Bloch, who based his novel Psycho on Gein’s story, lived just 50 miles from Gein’s farmhouse, according to TODAY.

So why is Hitchcock featured in the 2025 Netflix series Monster: The Ed Gein Story, played by Tom Hollander? It’s to highlight the influence Gein has had on Hollywood cinema. “Hitchcock is the center of one of Monster’s most surprising subplots: Gein’s influence on Hollywood cinema,” Netflix’s Tudum explained.