Meet the cast of Ryan Murphy's 'Monster: Ed Gein' and the real-life people they play

Ryan Murphy's 'Monster' is coming back for a third season!

After the success—and subsequent controversy—surrounding Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Ryan Murphy got busy creating a third season of his hit series, this time focusing on serial killer Ed Gein. (A fourth season, centered on Lizzie Borden, is already in the works, too.)

Today, Netflix shared two new posters for the upcoming series, giving us a better look at Charlie Hunnam as the titular monster and teasing his influence on pop culture, including films like Psycho and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

The latter is no surprise. When the cast was originally teased, both famed director Alfred Hitchcock and his wife were announced, along with Laurie Metcalf, out actor Tom Hollander, and Olivia Williams, who join Hunnam (Queer as Folk). But new casting announcements reveal a much larger picture of Gein’s cultural impact, including TCM director Tobe Hooper.

That’s not all. Netflix also announced casting for several other real-life people who were directly in Gein’s life, including his long-time girlfriend, one of his victims, and the police who finally tracked him down.

The new season will focus on Gein, "a friendly, mild-mannered recluse" who lived in 1950s rural Wisconsin on a farm that became the definition of a house of horrors. This season will not only tell his story and how isolation and an obsession with his mother led to his heinous crimes, but also how it went on to shape the vision of an American nightmare for decades to come.

Gein is notorious for grave robbing, murder, and creating a “woman suit” out of skin so he could become his mother. His crimes inspired not only Psycho but also The Silence of the Lambs, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and even Murphy’s American Horror Story: Asylum.

Monster: Ed Gein debuts on Netflix on October 3. Watch the trailer below.

Scroll through to find out more about Ed Gein’s crimes and check out the actors and real-life people they are playing.

Charlie Hunam as Ed Gein

Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hannam is set to play the notorious serial killer and grave robber Ed Gein. After Gein's brother, father, and the mother he was obsessed with died, he was left alone and became increasingly deranged. He left his mother's room untouched while the rest of his home fell into squalor, but he was able to support himself as a handyman and babysitter. He began robbing graves and making things out of the dead remains, and a little more than a decade later, he was caught by police who found the dead body of a woman he killed in a shed on his property.

What crimes did Gein commit?

Gein admitted to police that he killed two women, Mary Hogan, who ran a local tavern that he frequented, and Bernice Worden, who owned a hardware store. Gein is often called a serial killer because he is suspected of killing many more people who went missing in Wisconsin, but it has never been definitively proven.

When police searched Gein’s property what they found has been fodder for horror movie writers and directors ever since. Not only did they find Warden’s dead body, but inside, they discovered chairs covered in human skin, skulls on his bedposts, make made from women’s heads, a belt made out of human nipples, a lampshade made from the skin of a human face, as well as leggings and a corset made from women’s skin.

Was Gein convicted of his crimes?

He was charged with first-degree murder but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia and sent to a maximum-security psychiatric hospital. In 1968, doctors determined Gein was fit to stand trial. He was later found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed back to the same hospital where he lived out the rest of his life.

Laurie Metcalf as Augusta Gein

Roseanne star Laurie Metcalf plays Gein's mother Augusta, who the killer was obsessed with. Gein idolized and was obsessed with his mother, who was a religious woman who preached to her sons about how women were naturally promiscuous and the work of the devil. Many books and movies based on this true crime case blame Augusta for her son's murders and desire to create a woman suit to look like her.

Tom Hollander as Alfred Hitchcock

Tom Hollander, who starred in Ryan Murphy’s other series, Feud: Capote vs. The Swans as Truman Capote, is playing iconic horror and thriller director Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock cemented his place in the annals of horror history by directing an adaption of Robert novel Bloch’s Psycho, which was based on Gein’s life.

Olivia Williams as Alma Reville

The Sixth Sense star Olivia Williams will play Alfred Hitchcock’s wife, Alma Reville. Like many women throughout history, Reville’s role in making her husband’s films has been largely erased, but her inclusion in the cast of character means that maybe she’ll finally get the credit she’s due for being Hitchcock’s closest confidant and working as his story consultant, script editor, continuity person and sounding board.

Production is just heating up on this new season and we can't wait to see how it turns out!

Suzanna Son as Adeline Watkins

Out actress Suzanna Son, who recently starred in the Netflix original Fear Street: Prom Queen, will take on the role of Adeline Watkins in this series. Watkins was Gein’s long-time girlfriend, and the two nearly married. She described Gein as “good and kind and sweet” in an interview with the Wisconsin Tribune. She also said, “I loved him and I still do.”

Vicky Krieps as Ilse Koch

Vicky Krieps is playing another infamous monster in the series, German war criminal Ilse Koch. Also known as "the concentration camp murderess," she was an infamous Nazi accused of making lampshades from tattooed prisoners.

Joey Pollari as Anthony Perkins

Out actor Joey Pollari, who previously starred in Murphy’s American Crime, this time takes on the role of closeted actor Anthony Perkins. Perkins’ most infamous role as Norman Bates in Psycho was inspired in part by Gein.

Tyler Jacob Moore as Sheriff Arthur Schley

Tyler Jacob Moore, who previously starred in Shameless and Perry Mason, will be making a grisly discovery in Monsters. He is set to star as Sheriff Arthur Schley, the law enforcement officer investigating a series of missing women that led him to Gein’s house, where he found horrific evidence of his crimes.

Charlie Hall as Deputy Frank Worden

After starring in Monsters: The Lyle & Eric Menendez Story, Charlie Hall is back for another season of the series. This time, he takes on the role of Deputy Frank Worden. Frank was the son of Gein’s final victim, Bernice Worden, whose remains he discovered alongside Sheriff Schley when they entered Gein’s home.

Will Brill as Tobe Hooper

Out actor Will Brill is taking on the role of a master of horror in the series, director Tobe Hooper. Hooper’s first film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, launched him as one of the greats of the genre and introduced audiences to his chainsaw-wielding villain Leatherface—another character inspired by Gein, his story, and his house of horrors.

Mimi Kennedy as Dr. Mildred Newman

Mimi Kennedy is set to star as Dr. Mildred Newman, a famous psychoanalyst in New York in the 1950s. She is recognized as the originator of the contemporary self-help industry, which she began with her book How to Be Your Own Best Friend. It’s unclear how her story connects to Gein’s, but we’re excited to find out.

Robin Weigert as Enid Watkins

Robin Weigert has been cast as Enid Watkins, another real-life person who seemingly did not have a connection to Gein. She was a soprano singer and dancer who famously performed Native American dances in Chicago in the 1910s.

Lesley Manville as Bernice Worden

Lesley Manville, who previously starred alongside co-star Vicky Krieps in Phantom Thread, will be starring in Monsters as Bernice Worden, Gein’s final victim. Bernice was the owner of the local hardware store who went missing. The investigation into her absence led authorities to Gein and the eventual discovery of his crimes.