The past month, the world was set on fire with the latest Ryan Murphy release on Netflix: Monster: The Ed Gein Story. The reaction across the world was massive. Some learnt about Ed Gein and his deeds for the very first time and were absolutely appalled. Others knew the story well and were just curious to see what Ryan Murphy could cook up (no pun intended). And then there were the other extremes: those just looking for scary entertainment and fact-checkers noting every time Ryan Murphy took liberties. But as an online counselor, my fascination turned elsewhere.
For most of us, it’s pretty clear that Ed Gein’s actions (whether out of pure malice or insanity) were wrong. No person should fear getting brutally murdered or being desecrated after death. So, moral and societal expectations: check and check. But it’s the term “monster” that grabbed my attention. Here’s why:
The Monsters Underneath Our Beds
As children, we can all relate to the idea of having monsters underneath our beds, in the closet, behind the curtain… It’s all the darkest spots in our rooms that we cannot see that conjure up all sorts of horrifying images. It’s very much the same for the human psyche. The darkest parts we don’t truly understand are filed underneath the term “monster.”
This purposeful distinction we make is extremely interesting to an online counselor such as myself. Especially since there have been many studies done, proving that all humans (not just the one with a scary-sounding clinical diagnosis) are capable of terrible, terrible things.
The Monster Inside
Although very controversial, the Stanford Prison Experiment serves as a great example of how situations and settings can unlock the dark side of human behaviour. Even the Holocaust is an example of how we can justify our own evil by using a simple mental trick: dehumanisation. Ironically, dehumanisation is also one of the tricks up many a notorious’ killer’s sleeve.
And it doesn’t seem like our dark sides, or our “shadows” as they’re often referred to in psychology, only get unleashed in extreme situations. Delroy Paulhus has essentially dedicated his entire life to exploring our shadow sides, and what he found might surprise you. Humans don’t need to slash someone’s throat or sadistically torture someone to get their dark “kicks.”
In fact, Paulhus found that there is something called “everyday evil.” This is when our dark desires get free rein (just in smaller doses that won’t necessarily end with us in jail). Examples would be infidelity and online trolling. And the real clincher? Well, it comes from none other than the legendary Dr Jane Goodall herself.
Studies have shown that we have 98.8% of our DNA in common with chimpanzees. This makes them our closest “relative” in the animal kingdom. In Dr Goodall’s early research, she was absolutely enthralled with these incredible creatures. They looked and acted so much like us.
But as the years passed, and she realised that chimps were the only animal that would wage strategic wars and outright murder one another, her complete adoration also had to make way for something else: the acknowledgement and acceptance that evil is a concept we’re all inherently born with.
It’s only if and how it will come to light that remains an open-ended question in everyone’s lives. Therefore, the reality is that the monsters are not underneath the bed – they’re sleeping in them.
Why We Banish the Monsters to Places Underneath Our Beds
If studies have proven that we are all capable of monstrous acts, why do we still label people like Ed Geins “a monster”? Well, there are numerous reasons. And as an online counselor, I’ve found that they may differ and be a combination of reasons for various people. These are some of the main reasons:
It’s a Cognitive Shortcut
It doesn’t matter whether you consider yourself to be “lazy” or not; human beings are wired to simplify things. Our brains really struggle with overly complicated situations, so they often create a cognitive shortcut in the opposite direction: over-simplification. You can explore this theory even in your own life. Just think back to breakups where one of the two usually takes the brunt of the blame.
In the same way, it’s easier for us to box up behaviour such as Ed Gein’s as “monstrous” and leave it at that instead of having to dig into the complexities of things such as nurture vs. nature, the impact of education, the impact of our environments, clinical diagnoses and so forth.
We Enjoy Social Distancing
It’s hard to believe after having gone through COVID, but human beings actually enjoy social distancing. Not so much physically as we do mentally. We inherently don’t want to be associated with the “bad elements” in our society.
Whether it’s someone who’s just generally disliked. Or someone who did something “bad,” we want to create some distance between us. But even this is for various reasons:
- We don’t want to suffer the possibility of also being social piranha due to an association.
- We don’t want to be seen as seemingly condoning socially unacceptable behaviour.
- We wish to give ourselves some sort of moral superiority (only they will do such horrid things, not us).
- We try to protect ourselves against the potential dangers in the world.
We Tag On a Why
As an online counselor dealing with many a “why?” in every session, I can confirm that human beings need reasons. We need to understand the why for everything that happens to us in life.
Whether it’s to find closure, safeguard ourselves from it happening to us again, or assign blame, we need to find a resolution. An explanation as to why things played out the way they did. So, why did Ed Gein do what he did? Simple: he’s a monster. Case closed.
The Dangers of Boxes
For all the reasons we like to package things in labels and boxes, there are also particular dangers in doing so (both on a personal and societal level):
It Reinforces Stereotypes
Hindsight might be 20/20, but Ed Geins was known as a nifty handyman and wonderful babysitter in his community. So, ironically, by trying to package what the “monsters” out there look like to keep ourselves safe, we actually completely miss those ready to act monstrously.
Think about handsome and charismatic Ted Bundy. And Dennis Rader, a pillar of the community, but also the notorious BTK killer. Or the child abused by a close family member or beloved and trusted coach. Definitely not the creepy old man luring them with candy as so often depicted.
To be as safe as possible and keep our children as safe as possible, we need to embrace the realities of our world and deal with them accordingly.
It Stigmatises
There are truly wonderful people diagnosed with all sorts of disorders and conditions. As an online counselor, I can vouch for this first-hand. But every time we focus on the label rather than the person, we do a great disservice to these individuals.
For example, there was a South African doctor who suffered from Major Depression (which used to be referred to as Bipolar) who murdered her children. Most latched onto her official diagnosis and stigmatised the disorder as “this is what those people do.” But when one starts digging into the details of the story, one realises that she had a perfectly normal and very successful life with the disorder for many, many years. And the children (a result of IVF after fertility issues) were incredibly precious to her.
It was only after she stopped taking her medication on the advice of someone close to her in order to gippo the system to New Zealand’s immigration (they don’t tend to accept immigrants with disabilities or medical conditions) that the proverbial boat capsized. Now she needs to live with the tragedy that transpired at her hands.
In the same way, there are many diagnosed sociopaths and psychopaths who learn to manage and deal with their conditions on a daily basis and don’t go on nationwide killing sprees like Hollywood would have us believe.
Mental conditions call for deeper understanding and more empathy. Not the pre-conceived notions and judgments we so often see based on the actions of a few, where many other factors were also at play.
It Robs Us of Personal Growth and Understanding
It might not be the greatest feeling in the world to acknowledge and admit to yourself that you might be capable of terrible things under certain conditions. Still, it does open the door to a deeper understanding of oneself and others.
As an online counselor, I’m not advocating embracing your dark side and living your best wild west life. Rather, use the knowledge for good. Perhaps it helps you curb the urge to leave that nasty comment on someone’s social media post. Perhaps it gives you a bit more empathy and allows you to give a second chance to someone who really deserves one.
Or perhaps it really does keep you out of harm’s way since you’re focusing more on real red flags, rather than the image of some conjured-up boogeyman (or woman).
The Role an Online Counselor Can Play in Ed Gein’s Story
For obvious reasons, no online counselor will be able to change Ed Gein’s story. But we can make a difference in many other ways. For one, we can help others understand the complexities surrounding Ed Gein and his story beyond the “monster” label. We can support those struggling with their mental health (whether temporary or a permanent condition).
We can offer assistance to parents who might fear they’re raising another Ed Gein (even if the reality is just getting through the “terrible twos”). Whatever your reasons or questions, you’re more than welcome to reach out to us. You can either email us at info@personalonlinetherapy.com. Or complete the form below, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible:
