Charlie Hunnam explains how Ed Gein from Monster was the inspiration behind iconic horror characters

The thesis behind every season of Ryan Murphy's Monster is the question, "Are monsters born or are they made?" This season, following the Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein, had the same notion in mind, and by the end of the season, a viewer might reach the same answer that Murphy himself does:

"I think in Ed's case, it's probably a little bit of both."

The conclusion that has been reached has a lot to do with the fact that Ed Gein was once a little boy who suffered abuse at his mother's hands and even went on to spend most of his life in isolation with an undiagnosed mental illness. The other major thing that forces the viewer to reconsider whether Gein is the only culprit is the blatant sensationalization of his life by the creators and the viewers of the American horror genre.

Here's what Charlie Hunnam, who played Ed Gein on the show, had to say about the way his character inspired a legion of horror characters.

Charlie Hunnam on the legion of horror characters inspired by Monster's Ed Gein

There is something specifically interesting about how Ed Gein's story has trickled down through the ages and genres of culture. From Hitchcock's Psycho to The Silence of the Lambs, Gein's influence on the genre has been unparalleled.

Hunnam talks about this influence in a conversation with Netflix, referring to Gein's effect as a complete reimagination of the genre.

Murphy illustrates his character's effect on popular culture by listing some of the more influential movies of the horror genre. He reveals that for all of these movies, the killer is, unbeknownst to the viewers, based on Gein's story.

He is probably one of the most influential people of the 20th century, and yet people don’t know that much about him. He influenced the Boogeyman and Psycho. Norman Bates was based on him. He influenced The Silence of the Lambs. He influenced The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. He influenced American Psycho.

Gein's influence on Psycho is explored in Murphy's show as well, as an attempt to focus on the man's effect on the genre of films that have been created since his incarceration. Charlie Hunnam explains:

"It's the story of Ed Gein, the original American serial killer, the man who inspired many, many films. The Silence of the Lambs, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Psycho, American Psycho. And so we tell the story of Ed Gein, whilst telling the story of the films he inspired and how that changed our cultural relationship with monsters writ large."

Hunnam talks about the actual difference that Ed has had on this genre. He explains that before Gein's incarceration, the killers in our stories were otherworldly. They were vampires like Dracula or inhuman creatures like Frankenstein's monster or werewolves, but they were never your next-door neighbor.

"Prior to Ed Gein, particularly in films, monsters were depicted as monsters. Frankenstein, werewolves, and Dracula. So, the films in which Ed Gein inspired had a real change in that cultural relationship with monsters. And we became the monsters."

The show's parallel of Ed's story and Psycho, along with the award-winning The Silence of the Lambs' behind-the-scenes footage where Ted Levine dances to "Goodbye Horses" as Buffalo Bill, a character created by author Thomas Harris who was also inspired by Gein, makes Ed's influence in the genre clearer than ever.

All episodes of Ed Gein's story are now available to stream on Netflix.

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