Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘Monster: The Ed Gein Story’ dramatises the real crimes of the notorious killer, Ed Gein. Over the course of eight episodes, we witness his descent into murder and madness, as he becomes increasingly solitary, especially after his mother’s death. There is only one person who remains his close friend despite everything: Adeline Watkins. Her relationship with Ed is revealed to be a complex one that borders on love with a touch of macabre. While the show presents a twisted take on their bond, a lot of stuff in it is presented through a fictional lens. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Real-Life Adeline Watkins Claimed to Have a Relationship With Ed Gein
The character of Adeline Watkins in ‘Monster: The Ed Gein Story’ is based on a real woman who came into the public spotlight in 1957 after Ed Gein’s horrific crimes came to light. She gave an interview to the Minneapolis Tribune, which was printed in the Wisconsin State Journal on November 21, 1957. At the time, she was 50 years old and was living in an apartment in Plainfield, Wisconsin, with her mother. She claimed that she had a two-decade-long relationship with Gein, during which he was a “good and kind and sweet” person. Her statement was seemingly corroborated by her mother, who also called Gein a “sweet, polite man,” and said that he always brought her daughter home before her 10 pm curfew.
Adeline also said that Gein was so nice about doing the things that she wanted that she sometimes felt she was taking advantage of him. Speaking of the time they allegedly spent together, she said that they would often go to the movies, and that she would have to drag him to a bar to have a drink because he much preferred a milkshake. She said that they also bonded over their love for reading, though they didn’t necessarily read the same things. She said that he preferred books about “lions and tigers and Africa and India,” which she wasn’t really interested in.
Adeline claimed that they also talked about every murder they heard about, and Gein would pick out the mistakes the murderers had made. According to her, on February 6, 1955, which was the last time they went on a date, he proposed to her “not in so many words.” She said that she refused his proposal not because she thought something was wrong with him, but because she thought something was wrong with her. She said that she was afraid she “wouldn’t be able to live up to what he expected” of her. She said, “I loved him and I still do.” Despite her claims of love and friendship, Ed Gein never confirmed any of it. This left a shadow of doubt over her claims, which was strengthened by the statements she made a few days later.
Adeline Watkins Claimed Her Relationship with Ed Gein was Exaggerated
About two weeks after Adeline Watkins’ interview with the Minneapolis Tribune came out, she gave another statement, which was published in the Stevens Point Journal on December 3, 1957. In it, she claimed that her words were “blown out of proportion” by the Tribune, and the article contained “untrue statements.” She said that while she had known Gein for twenty years, their interactions were few and far between, most of which took place after 1954. In this short period of time, she said that they had gone to movies at the Plainfield Theatre a couple of times, and he had sometimes stopped by her house. She claimed that while he did appear to be a quiet and polite person, she and her mother never called him “sweet.” She also mentioned that she had never been to his house.
The conflicting statements from the two interviews made it difficult to determine the exact nature of the relationship between Adeline and Gein, especially since he never publicly spoke about it. For the creators of the Netflix series, this ground of uncertainty was enough to create a fictionalised plot line where Adeline is not only Gein’s only true friend, but she is also somewhat dark and weird like him. The part about her passion for crime scene photography, her knowledge about Gein’s crimes, and even taking pictures of the dead body in his house are all made up to serve a message to the audience. Co-creator Ian Brennan told Netflix Tudum that through Adeline’s character, they wanted to tell the audience to “be careful what you look at and be careful what you watch.” Her journey with Gein represents the rabbit hole of “something quiet dark and quite scary.”
Since Gein’s relationship with Adeline is not confirmed, the show’s creators considered the idea of summing it all up to the killer’s imagination. Given his schizophrenia, they thought about making his friendship with Adeline something he had made up in his mind. Actor Charlie Hunnam, who plays Gein in the show, interpreted Adeline as a part of the protagonist’s fantasy. He said that for Gein, Adeline is “this sort of kindred spirit who can relate and understand these primal urges and instincts that he has.” After careful consideration, the show’s creators decided not to make Adeline Gein’s imaginary friend a concrete fact. They thought that it would undermine the emotional depth built up throughout the show and strip away the importance of Adeline from his story.
Read More: Where is Monster: The Ed Gein Story Filmed? All Shooting Locations
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