- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Pocket Books; Reprint edition (1 Feb 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0671025465
- ISBN-13: 978-0671025465
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.5 x 1.7 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 170,137 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
"Top-drawer true crime."
-- "Booklist"
Product Description
Known for meticulously researched and brilliantly detailed accounts of horrific true crime legends, Harold Schechter takes readers inside the very heart and mind of true evil. Here is the grisly truth of Ed Gein, the killer whose fiendish fantasies inspired Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho' - the mild mannered farmhand bound to his dominating mother, driven into a series of gruesome and bizarre acts beyond all imagining. In chilling detail, DEVIANT explores the incredible career of one of the most twisted madmen in the annals of crime - and how he turned a small Wisconsin farmhouse into his own private playground of ghoulishness and blood.
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First Sentence
Wisconsin, the natives will boast, is a garden state, and as you head north on the highway from Madison on a limpid spring day, you see at once that the claim is simple truth. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Wisconsin, the natives will boast, is a garden state, and as you head north on the highway from Madison on a limpid spring day, you see at once that the claim is simple truth. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a well-researched book about Ed Gein, the mild mannered, Midwestern psychopath from Plainfield, Wisconsin who, in the nineteen fifties, would shock the nation with his gruesome crimes. Ed Gein would become the basis for the best selling book by Robert Bloch, "Psycho", as well as for the Hitchcock film of the same name. Accounts of Ed Gein's heinous crimes would also enter the consciousness of a young Tobe Hooper who, as an adult, would write and direct the classic, cult film, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre".
The author writes a cogent, factual account of the life of Ed Gein and the grisly crimes that shocked the nation at the time of their discovery. It details the hold that Ed's domineering mother had on him, a hold that would manifest itself in unimaginable ways. It is almost hard to believe that this small, inoffensive man could be such a madman, but who but a madman would do what he did? Ed Gein, it was discovered, had turned his small farmhouse into a gruesome charnel house, replete with furnishings adorned with human flesh and bones.
Aficionados of true crime will find this book fascinating, as it is a well-written account of one of the most horrifying and bizarre series of crimes ever to be committed. Eight pages of photographs are included in the book and serve to provide the reader with a brief, visual glimpse into the life of Ed Gein, a man with a secret hobby so depraved that it would shock the entire nation when it came to light. Lovers of true crime accounts will be fascinated by this well researched foray into the life of a seemingly innocuous man from America's heartland who ended up being so deviant from the norm.
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When I read this book I was absolutely amazed that I'd never heard of Eddie Gein before, even though his crimes have influenced some of the greatest films ever made (Silence of the Lambs, Psycho and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre). Ed was extremely sick and the things he did aren't fit to be discussed here but his story is fascinating. Harold Schechter writes in such a way as to not glorify killing but at the same time tell us of the murderer's tragic life. You really end up sympathising with Ed who is really just a simple man beaten in submission by a ferocious mother and a hard life. Schecter gets this across perfectly without forgetting the victims and te truly horrifying things Ed did. A compelling read and highly reccomended for those with the stomach for it.
28 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a great read. It has all the facts on Ed Geins crimes and alot of valuable insight into his childhood and his life as an adult in the village of Plainfield. This book has everything you could possibly want to know, actually, this book has everything THERE IS to know, about Ed Gein and his crimes. Despite the fact that this book has so much information in it, it never gets boring and you never feel like your being bogged down with facts, due to the writers style, this book is gripping from start to finish, it feels as if you are reading a real novel. As a matter of a fact, when I finished reading the last page, I remember thinking "no!!I want more!" I wanted the book to go on and on even though it couldn't,of course, because there is no more of Ed's life story to tell, he's dead. After reading this book I was left feeling really sorry for Ed Gein, or "the little batchelor" as he is so affectionatley referred to in this book, because the writer portrays everything so well, the way Ed was belittled constantly by the mother he loved so much and who gave him absolutley no love back, the way he was treated by the people of Plainfield, constantly taken advantage of and the butt of all jokes, never shown any real friendship or kindness, it just makes you feel really sorry for him, like he gave gave gave and never got anything back at all, he was just left alone to go crazier and crazier and crazier untill..well..you know.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Grave Robber from the 1950's
Harold Schecter's book 'Deviant' is extremely well written-yes, there really did exist in the heartland of America a 'Bogeyman' not in your worst nightmare would've any dreamed... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mr. B. Fraser
Eddie, he's a little eccentric but harmless really...[Kindle Edition]
I have read a couple of books over the years about Ed Gein and have to start off by saying that this is the best researched and written account of Geins darker activities I have... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Smithy
This is one of the best books i have EVER read.
This book is a real must for any true crime reader, its so easy and smooth to read, and the horrific gore / crime commited is gross. Read more
Published on 10 Jan 2010 by Jason Duckworth
Two strikes, Mr Schechter, and you're out.
This is my second outing with Mr Schechter and I have met with the same disappointment and frustration as I did on the first occasion with his book 'Deranged'. Read more
Published on 21 Oct 2006 by S. M. Williams
The texas chainsaw massacre!
Well at least 3 major hollywood blockbusters have been based on this man! These being 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre', 'Ed Gein' and 'American Psycho''. Read more
Published on 21 Jun 2006 by J. Clarke
A REAL LIFE PSYCHO...
This is a well-researched book about Ed Gein, the mild mannered, Midwestern psychopath from Plainfield, Wisconsin who, in the nineteen fifties, would shock the nation with his... Read more
Published on 28 Feb 2004 by Lawyeraau
Pyscho was not just a film - he existed!
Harold Shechter (author) has once again delivered another superb written account of the crimes committed by Edward Gein. Read more
Published on 2 July 2001 by Paula Lees
Alfred Hitchcock's 'Phycho' fictional? Think again!
This is a great book for true crime fans who like the events told as a type of story, but an average book for others who want specific details of Ed Gein's crimes. Read more
Published on 12 Oct 1999
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