Ed Gein, full name Edward Theodore Gein, was an American murderer, grave robber, and suspected serial killer born on August 27, 1906, in La Crosse County, Wisconsin. He gained worldwide notoriety in the 1950s after it was discovered that he had exhumed corpses from local cemeteries and fashioned keepsakes from their bones and skin. Gein confessed to killing two women: Mary Hogan in 1954 and Bernice Worden in 1957. He was also suspected in other disappearances and murders, including that of his brother. Due to his gruesome crimes and disturbing behavior, he was found legally insane and confined to psychiatric institutions until his death in 1984. Ed Gein's story has significantly influenced popular culture, inspiring famous horror films such as Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho," "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," and "The Silence of the Lambs." His crimes have been widely studied in criminal psychology and forensic science and have left a lasting legacy in both true crime and horror genres.