Chilling mystery behind Ed Gein's killing of his brother and girlfriend Adeline Watkins

The horrific history of Ed Gein has been a nightmare to Hollywood, and the dreadful historic is the fodder of a chilling classic, such as Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs and new movie Monster: The Ed Gein's story.

However, his own life includes a mystery of its own that became a reality before he turned into the prototype of the most horrifying characters in movies: the death of his brother and the possible existence of a woman called Adeline Watkins who just might have died an early death in his hands.

Later in May 1944, Gein and his brother Henry were burning brush in their Wisconsin farm when the fire got out of hand. The next night Henry was discovered dead, face down, unburned, with a conspicuous head of bizarre bruises.

The coroner had found Ed had died of an accident, but in the village folk were whispering that Ed had killed his brother after a fierce quarrel over their domineering mother, Augusta. Henry had started doubting Augusta of her dominion on Ed - and it was a dangerous step in their sickly family game. Ed became even more isolated after the mysterious death of Henry.

It was then, that the rumors started to circulate about a local waitress known as Adeline Watkins who supposedly had been friendly with Gein. People in the town wondered whether Ed had more to tell than he had managed when she disappeared without any evidence in 1947.

There is no official record connecting Adeline to Gein - but her name would come to symbolize fact and fiction in the most macabre true-story in American history. It is not clear whether Gein murdered his brother (or Adeline).

Yet this much is certain: the spores of his hideous infatuation were planted many years before the murders which were to make him the gruesomest of Hollywood inspirations.