Ed Gein did babysit children in real life. After his father's death, Gein took on various odd jobs in his local community, including babysitting children while their parents ran errands. He was considered somewhat reliable by the local residents, and children reportedly liked him. However, there is no evidence that he ever took these children to his home or harmed them, unlike some dramatized portrayals in media such as the Netflix series "Monster: The Ed Gein Story" which exaggerate or fictionalize these events. The show depicted him taking children to his home and frightening them with human remains, but this is not supported by historical evidence. Additionally, the series portrays Gein as killing a babysitter named Evelyn Hartley, but this is fictional. In reality, Evelyn Hartley disappeared in 1954 under unknown circumstances, and Gein was investigated but cleared of any involvement in her disappearance. Her case remains unsolved. In summary, Ed Gein did babysit kids as one of his jobs, but the more sinister portrayals of how he interacted with them in popular media are largely fictional.
