was adeline real in the ed gein story

Adeline Watkins was a real person connected to Ed Gein's story, but her relationship with Gein is somewhat ambiguous and controversial. She initially claimed in a 1957 interview with the Minneapolis Tribune that she had a decades-long romance with Ed Gein, describing him as "good and sweet" and saying they shared a close bond, even mentioning an unaccepted marriage proposal from him. However, she later retracted those claims, stating that their relationship was purely platonic and lasted less than a year with only intermittent contact. She also denied having visited Gein's home or having the intimate connection previously described. In the Netflix series "Monster: The Ed Gein Story," Adeline (portrayed as Adeline Watkins) is shown as a significant figure in Ed Gein's life, though the show interprets some aspects of her character, leaving open the question of whether she was partly a figment of Ed's imagination. The series creators debated confirming her as imaginary but ultimately presented her as real for emotional effect. Overall, Adeline Watkins was a real neighbor and acquaintance of Ed Gein whose exact relationship with him remains partly disputed between claims of romance and friendship.