Ryan Murphy's new Monster is the most disturbing story in true crime history.

If like me, you're still processing Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, then you might not be ready to hear this, but another season (and monster) has just arrived.

In 2024, co-creator Ryan Murphy announced the grisly story of Ed Gein would be the inspiration for the next instalment of the Monster anthology.

This one's leading man? Sons of Anarchy heartthrob Charlie Hunnam, playing Ed Gein, which is, umm … sure.

Murphy and Ian Brennan's Monster: The Ed Gein Story follows "the godfather of serial killers," who inspired countless horror movies.

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Gein was a twisted man who terrorised rural Wisconsin in the 1950s, killing and desecrating the bodies of multiple women.

His crimes inspired classic horror films like Psycho and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

When the first trailer dropped, it was worse than anyone could imagine.

Watch the trailer (if you're brave enough) and we'll discuss below.

The teaser largely takes place at Gein's home as the police are left beyond disturbed by what they find. In flashes, we can see body parts and human skin before the trailer ends on what looks like a human face. Ughhhhhh.

I'm going to need a minute.

I did not expect the series to show just so many of the gory details from Gein's crimes. This is a tale that many viewers won't be able to stomach.

The series premiered on Netflix on October 3.

This story is expected to be the most disturbing series in the entire Netflix anthology — and err, that's saying something.

The second season of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story relayed the case of the brothers who were convicted in 1996 for the murders of their parents, José and Mary Louise 'Kitty' Menendez.

The dramatised adaption saw Cooper Koch as Erik, Nicholas Alexander Chavez as Lyle, Javier Bardem as José and Chloë Sevigny as Kitty.

The second season was just as controversial as the first season.

In season one's DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Evan Peters portrayed serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer and Niecy Nash was Glenda Cleveland.

The first iteration of Murphy and Brennan's anthology was a huge success on the streaming app, drawing in 1 billion hours of viewing in its first 60 days.

The second season rivalled the success of the first, with 2.7 billion minutes watched during the show's first week of availability on Netflix.

Can luck strike thrice for co-creators Murphy and Ian Brennan?

The third season's subject, Gein, became known as the "Butcher of Plainfield" in the 1950s. Despite only being convicted of one murder, he was suspected of many more and gained notoriety for collecting women's body parts.

Who was Ed Gein?

Edward Theodore Gein was born on August 27, 1906, in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Gein grew up in a dysfunctional family with an alcoholic father and a domineering mother. After the deaths of his father, brother, and mother, Gein lived alone on the family farm near Plainfield, Wisconsin.

It was during this period of isolation that his mental state deteriorated, leading to horrific crimes.

Ed Gein is escorted to the county jail after confessing to two murders. Image: Getty.

He gained notoriety for his gruesome crimes in the 1950s, becoming known as the "Butcher of Plainfield" or the "Plainfield Ghoul".

Gein's disturbing acts shocked the world and his macabre fascination with corpses is said to have inspired fictional killers like Norman Bates from Psycho and Buffalo Bill from The Silence of the Lambs.

What were Ed Gein's worst crimes?

Gein's criminal activities came to light in 1957, when police investigated the disappearance of hardware store owner Bernice Worden. Gein confessed to killing two women: Worden in 1957 and tavern owner Mary Hogan in 1954.

Upon searching Gein's property, authorities made a series of shocking discoveries.

Between 1947 and 1952, Gein admitted to making up to 40 nocturnal visits to local graveyards, exhuming recently buried bodies of middle-aged women who resembled his mother.

Trooper Dave Sharkey looks over some of the musical instruments found in the home of Ed Gein in 1957. Image: Getty.

Police found a horrifying array of items made from human remains in Gein's house.

They found skulls used as soup bowls, chairs upholstered with human skin, a belt made of human nipples, a lampshade made from a human face, and a "woman suit" created from tanned human skin.

Gein's ultimate goal was to fashion a "woman suit" that would allow him to "become" his deceased mother.

In 1968, Gein was found guilty of first-degree murder in Worden's death but was deemed legally insane. He spent the remainder of his life in psychiatric institutions until his death in 1984.

The case of Ed Gein remains one of the most disturbing stories in American history.

Who will play Ed Gein in Ryan Murphy's Monster: The Ed Gein Story?

Charlie Hunnam will play Ed Gein in the third season of Netflix's Monster anthology series. Weird flex, but okay!

An unlikely Monster?? Image: Getty.

The 41-year-old English actor is best known for his role as Jax Teller in the motorcycle drama Sons of Anarchy, and he has also appeared in films such as King Arthur: Legend of the Sword and The Gentlemen.

Hunnam dove deep into the sick mind of this man, listening to Gein's recordings to shape the character.

"I wanted to get as close as possible to who Ed was, to do him justice, and for this thing to feel authentic," Hunnam told Tudum.

"This is going to be the really human, tender, unflinching, no-holds-barred exploration of who Ed was and what he did. But who he was being at the center of it, rather than what he did."

The rest of the cast is rounded out by: The Idol's Suzanna Son as Adeline Watkins, Feud: Capote vs. The Swans' Tom Hollander, Lady Bird's Laurie Metcalf as Augusta Gein, Phantom Thread's Vicky Krieps as Ilse Koch and The Sixth Sense's Olivia Williams as Alma Reville.

When will season three of Monster: The Ed Gein Story be released on Netflix?

Production for the third season of Monster began in October 2024. Monster: The Ed Gein Story premiered on Netflix on October 3, 2025.

Feature image: Netflix.