American serial killer (1907-1984).

An unwed, middle-aged farmer from Plainfield, Wisconsin, Gein confessed to stealing a dozen female bodies from the local cemetery in 1957. He returned most of the body parts to the graveyard after he dismembered the corpses, but he kept a collection of noses and sexual organs as souvenirs.

He ate some of the bits, saved ten of the skulls as keepsakes, and upholstered some of his furniture in human skin. He eventually graduated to murder, killing at least two local women for fresh body parts.

After his capture, Gein's neighbors recalled, with some revulsion, that he often brought them portions of venison to share. However, Gein told a psychiatrist that he had never shot a deer in his life.

Gein is perhaps the second most influential serial killer in history (after Jack the Ripper)--numerous films, including "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", "Psycho", and "The Silence of the Lambs" are loosely based on his exploits.