Netflix has returned with another bone-chilling true crime drama — and this time, the streaming giant’s Monster anthology turns its lens on Ed Gein, the infamous murderer and grave robber who inspired some of Hollywood’s most terrifying villains. But beyond the horrors of his crimes, the series introduces a surprising figure from Gein’s personal life: Adeline Watkins, his neighbor and on-and-off girlfriend.
As true crime fans binge the eight-episode series, one question lingers: Who was Adeline Watkins, and how close was she really to one of America’s most disturbing killers?
Who Was Adeline Watkins?
Watkins was a Plainfield, Wisconsin woman who lived near Ed Gein. In 1957, after Gein’s arrest, she gave an interview to the Minneapolis Tribune in which she admitted to dating him for roughly two decades. Watkins described Gein as “good and sweet,” and even revealed that she had almost married the man who would later confess to horrific murders.
“Sometimes I felt like I was taking advantage of him,” she said, adding that he was “so nice about doing things [she] wanted to do.”
Were They Really in a Relationship?
Watkins claimed that while Gein never technically proposed, she understood his intentions. However, she turned him down, admitting to the newspaper that she was “afraid” she wouldn’t be able to “live up to what he expected of her.”
Despite his eccentric behavior, Watkins stayed close to Gein for years. In Netflix’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story, the show even depicts her helping him during a grave robbery — a dramatization that left many viewers wondering what was real and what was fiction.
In her 1957 interview, Watkins revealed that the two often discussed murders together. “We would talk about every murder [we] ever heard about,” she said, noting that Gein would dissect the cases in chilling detail, pointing out what the killers did wrong. “I thought it was interesting,” she added.
How Accurate Was Netflix’s Portrayal of Their Story?
Shortly after her initial interview, Watkins backtracked. She claimed her comments had been “blown out of proportion,” clarifying that she had only dated Gein on and off for seven months in 1954 and had never even been inside his home — where authorities later found human remains.
The Minneapolis Tribune interview, which included her quotes and photo, became the foundation of the “Ed Gein’s girlfriend” narrative. But later articles suggested their relationship was much less intense than early reports implied.
Monster: The Ed Gein Story takes creative liberties with Adeline’s role. The series paints her as a central figure in Gein’s life, but historical evidence suggests their relationship was more complicated — and possibly far less romantic — than the show suggests.
Gein’s real-life obsessions were rooted in his relationship with his domineering mother, Augusta Gein. This dynamic became the inspiration for iconic fictional killers like Norman Bates in Psycho and Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Gein died in a mental institution in 1984.
