This is a timeline for my No Gein stories, about what if real life murder Ed Gein was never caught. Up to 1957, the events of the timeline are from real history. From there I venture into what I call pop culture alternate history, where movies and TV shows have turned out differently than they have in our world. Some entries are linked to specific chapters in the series. Minor spoilers are sprinkled throughout this timeline but no major ones. Enjoy.
1902
January 17th: Henry Gein is born to George and Augusta Gein.
1906
August 27th: Edward Theodore Gein is born to George and Augusta Gein.
1940
April 1rst: George Gein, father of Ed Gein, dies of a heart attack. His funeral is three days later.
1944
May 16th: Henry Gein, older brother of Ed Gein, dies during a brush fire on their property. Though never proven, it is long suspected that Ed murdered his brother.
1945
December 29th: Augusta Gein, mother of Ed Gein, dies at Wild Rose hospital. Her funeral is two days later.
1954
December 8th: Ed Gein murders Mary Hogan at her tavern in Pine Grove Wisconsin
1957
October 26th: Teenager Sally Kohl runs away from home and has a chance encounter with Ed Gein; leading to the events of the entire No Gein series.
November 16th: In our reality, this is the day Ed Gein murders Bernice Worden and is subsequently caught. This leads to a series of shocking events where it is revealed that Ed Gein had been robbing graves for years. His case is the direct inspiration for the novel Psycho and one of many influences on films The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Silence of the Lambs.
1974
October 11th: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is released in theaters. This film, about a group of youths on their way to a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert who run afoul of a family of hillbillies, becomes a cult classic, but never leads to any sequels.
1975
October 11th: a young George Kohler, along with his parents and sister, visit his Aunt Sally at Mendota Health institute.
October 26th: Sally Kohler commits suicide in Mendota Health Institute
1976
Date undisclosed: During a search for her long lost mother, Marylin and her husband confront Milton and his maniacal cannibalistic family. While this happens, a young George Kohler and his family move to Bethlehem Pennsylvania.
1978
October 28th: Halloween is released in theaters, in which unkillable psychopath Michael Meyers stalks Laurie Strode, who is played by Anne Lockhart. The film is a moderate success. It also featured Donald Pleasance as Dr. Gavin.
1980
May 9th: Friday the 13th is released in theaters. Though inspired by Halloween, the producers, shy about imitating what is only a moderately successful film, push for a monster to be the killer. Due to the location of filming, this franchise becomes about the Jersey Devil.
1981
May 1: Friday the 13th part 2 is released in theaters. In this movie, a new group of campers run afoul of the new Jersey Devil, who sets out to avenge the death of his mother in the previous film.
October 30th: Halloween II is released in theaters, ending the original Michael Meyers saga. Michael Meyers/A.K.A. the Shape, will not be seen again on the silver screen for over 25 years.
1982
August 13th: Friday the 13th Part Three is released in theaters. This entry is in 3D. During the course of the story, the Jersey Devil gets burned in the face, allowing the creature to sport an iconic new look designed by special effects master Tom Savini.
October 22cnd: Halloween III is released in theaters. As in our world, producers John Carpenter and Debra hill take the series in a different direction, with the intention of turning Halloween into an anthology series. This film features a deadly cult selling lethal Halloween masks to kids. In the world of No Gein, this movie is a moderate success, as audiences are not as tied to the character Michael Meyers of the two previous films and are more open to an original story for this Halloween sequel.
1983
June 3rd: Night Skies is released in theaters. Produced by Stephen Spielberg, this horror films about aliens features child star Heather O Rourke and her now famous line, “They’re here.”
1984
April 13th: Friday the Thirteenth Part Four: The Final Chapter is released in theaters. At the time, this was purported to be the final entry in the franchise. It stars a young Corey Feldman as Tommy Jarvis.
October 25th: Halloween IV: Return of the Wraith is released directly to VHS/home video, furthering producer John Carpenter and Debra Hill’s vision of continuing Halloween as an anthology series. This ghost story is one of the first big successes of the emerging home video market. It also starts a new tradition where every October teenagers rent each Halloween film and watch them in order, ending with the newest addition.
November 9th: Nightmare on Elm Street is released in theaters. Aside from Kane Hodder playing Freddy Krueger, this franchise moves along the same way it did in our reality.
1985
March 22: Friday the 13th Part Five: The New Beginning is released in theaters. This entry was controversial among fans of the franchise. Tommy Jarvis returns to the series as an adult character, with actor Corey Feldmen having a cameo in the opening nightmare sequence. This is the only entry in the series to have a plot twist, in that this film’s killer is not the Jersey Devil. Instead, it is a disgruntled special effects wizard using the Jersey Devil legend to terrorize a group of campers.
October 24th: Halloween V: Revenge of Samhain is released on home video. This film about the origins of Halloween is a big success on the home video market, as fans continue the October tradition of renting every Halloween movie.
1986
May 23rd, Night Skies II is released in theaters. This entry ties in Native American lore to the UFO/Alien Abduction phenomenon.
August 6th, Friday the 13th Part 6: The Devil Lives is released in theaters. The Jersey Devil returns, and, from here on out through the rest of the franchise, is a genuine supernatural threat. The film opens with a new set of villains; the Cult of Vorhees. Led by Elijah Vorhees, the cult kidnaps Tommy Jarvis, and forces him to resurrect the Jersey Devil.
1987
July 11th: The Werewolf TV series debuts on the inaugural season of the FOX Network. Unlike our world, this series lasts more than one season, concluding its storyline in the spring of 1991.
September 28th: Friday the 13th The Series debuts on television. This horror anthology is mostly the same as it is in our world, with two exceptions. One episode features a murderous cook at a summer camp. Another features a cursed hockey mask.
October 30th: Wanting to amplify the success of the previous Halloween home video releases, Halloween Six, Curse of the Werewolf, is released in theaters. It is the first entry of the franchise to be released in theaters since Halloween Three. It is a financial success which, along with the Werewolf TV show, makes werewolves hot for a few years. However, it is critically panned due to its confusing and incoherent story line. It also creates a split in Halloween fandom as some preferred the series to continue on home video. A directors cut with a more coherent story floats on the convention circuit for years and is given an official release in 2014.
1988
May 13th Friday the 13th Part Seven: A New Blood. Before filming began, producers attempted to make a crossover film where the Devil would meet Freddy Krueger of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. No progress was made, and Paramount was briefly approached about crossing the series over with the Werewolf character from Halloween Part 6. These talks also failed, and a script was written in which the Devil fights a psychic girl who previously had been victimized by the previous film’s Cult of Vorhees. Tommy Jarvis also appears in this entry.
June 10th Night Skies III is released in theaters, four months after child actor Heather O’ Rourke tragically died from illness. This entry is about a secret government facility housing alien bodies.
1989
July 28: Friday the 13th Part Eight: The Devil Takes Manhattan is released in theaters. The first film to take place outside of Camp Crystal Lake, this entry sees the Devil go to New York City. It includes sequences in Madison Sqaure Garden, the Brooklyn Bridge, and a spectacular scene where the Devil jumps off the statue of liberty.
Date unspecified-George Kohler leaves film school after his father won’t help him pay for it
1990
10/26: George Kohler meets author Robert Bloch at Hallow-Con in New York City.
1991
July 23: Robert Bloch visits the town of Plainfield Wisconsin, where he stumbles upon a terrifying secret.
1992
Aging author Robert Bloch publishes Psycho, which would end up being his last and most well- known novel. There is some initial buzz and controversy as some feel it is a rip-off of the 1991 novel American Psycho. However, these critiques are dismissed early on and Bloch’s novel is more critically acclaimed than the 1991 Bret Easton Ellis novel.
1993
August 13: The Devil Goes to Hell, the Final Friday is released in theaters. This entry further ups the supernatural aspects of the series. The cult of Vorhees returns, and the mysterious occult tome The Necronomicon, from H.P. Lovecraft stories, plays a role. In a shock to horror fans, Kane Hodder appears as Freddy Kruger, dragging the Devil down to hell during the films climax.
1994
September 23rd: As in our world, author Robert Bloch dies.
October 14th: As in our world, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare opens to a disappointing box office. Except for Kane Hodder playing Freddy, the movie is identical to the one we know. The difference is, in this world, after the low box office numbers, New Line Cinema agrees to sell the NOES franchise to Paramount, leading to speculation that a crossover between NOES and F13 is eminent.
Date unspecified: Night Skies IV Kayeri is released direct to video. This is a prequel set in the mid 19th century and features a Native American tribe and their encounters with extra-terrestrials.
1995
September 29th: Halloween Resurrection of the Vampire is released in theaters. This entry is not successful or loved by its fans, but is note-worthy for an action sequence where rapper/actor Tupac Shakur fights vampires. Tupac also has a song on the film’s soundtrack.
1996
April 21rst: Night Skies: The Legacy debuts as a TV series on the Showtime Network. This series is about the Legacy group from the films that attempts to fight off alien abductions. Though seen by some as a rip-off of the popular show X-Files, it garners a small fan base and airs for three seasons on Showtime followed by a fourth season on the Sci-fi channel.
1998
August 5th: Psycho is released in the theaters. Based Robert Bloch’s final novel, it is the directorial debut of George Kohler. Starring Vince Vaughn as Norman Bates, it is also first major role for actress Jamie Lee Curtis. Jamie Lee briefly tried being an actress in the late 70’s before going back to law school and becoming an entertainment lawyer. After playing herself in a few small scenes in various films of the early 90’s, she decided to give acting another go. Her mother, famed actress Janet Leigh, said of her daughter’s role as Marion Crane, “that was a part I would have died for in my day.”
October 30th: Halloween H20: debuts in theaters. This entry is about a monster in the ocean off the coast of a California town. Starring then washed-up actor Sylvester Stallone, who was attempting to revitalize his career after his failed attempts at comedy. The film is not a success. Jean Claude Van Damme teases Stallone in the media saying he was offered Stallone’s part first but turned it down, predicting the project would fail.
1999
January 1: At the stroke of midnight, the trailer for Halloween H2K airs on the sci-fi channel, and the Halloween: H2K website launches, kicking off an innovative online marketing campaign.
October 27: Halloween H2K is released on home video. This straight to video release would, unknowingly at the time, mark the final entry of the Halloween anthology series. It is a cyberthriller cashing in on Y2K fears. It’s home release contained a small booklet with puzzles and codes that could be entered on an H2K website which offered mini games and other promotions. The marketing for this movie included a game/scavenger hunt in which the winner would receive various props from the Halloween series, including an original Michael Meyers mask. Along with the Blair Witch Project, which was released in theaters the same year, H2K is cited as an early example of using the internet to promote a film and also an example of an Alternate Reality Game or ARG.
December 27: Franklin kills a young man over the prize of the H2K Contest.
2002
April 26: Devil X is released in theaters: The tenth entry of the Friday the 13th franchise takes place on an apocalyptic Earth. The Cult of Vorhees has survived into the future and has again brought the Devil to life, who, during the course of the movie, ends up in outer space.
Date unspecified: Sci Fi channel airs Night Skies the Beginning. This series is partially a spin-off of Night Skies Four, taking place in the mid 1800’s.
2003
April 25: A trailer drops online for George Kohler’s remake of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre
August 5: Human remains are accidentally unearthed on an empty plot of land in Plainfield, Wisconsin
August 15: George Kohler’s remake of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre premiers in theaters. While the original was about a group of kids on the way to a concert who run afoul of hillbillies, this remake is about a group if youth’s investigating unearthed graves who run across a maniacal and cannibalistic family. Hugely successful and critically acclaimed, it is not without controversy. Critics claim Kohler distastefully took inspiration from the Dhamer murders from the directors home state of Wisconsin. George denys these rumors, but will not reveal where his inspiration came from.
October 17th: Freddy vs the Devil is released in theaters. After years of being in development hell, the Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th franchises finally cross over in this Paramount picture. Kane Hodder reprises his role as Freddy Krueger and actor Robert Englund wears the prosthetic suit and heavy makeup for his role as the Devil.
2004
June 11: Two recent high school graduates are murdered in the Plainfield cemetery, where, that same night several graves have been desecrated. The remains were spelled out to form the word “ED.”
That same night, the Gein Ghoul House, a roadside attraction opens off of Interstate 39 outside of Plainfield.
October 29: Psycho II is released. George Kohler’s follow up to his 1998 slasher has a controversial ending which some fear could derail the franchise. George stands by his creative decisions in this film, insisting it’s what Psycho author Robert Bloch would have wanted.
November 2nd: George’s sister and her husband are murdered. George subsequently leaves Hollywood and disappears from public view. George’s whereabouts become a mystery in the fan community.
2005
Date Undisclosed: A book is published about director George Kohler, who has disappeared from the public eye. The book covers the brief career of the young successful director and offers much speculation as to what happened to him regarding his disappearance.
2007
Dates unspecified: Devil’s Due Comics releases a variety of comics from the Halloween franchise, including all the anthology films. Also of note is a six-issue min-series called Rob Zombies Halloween, which adapts the pitch Rob Zombie made to the studios for an entire movie about a young Michael Meyers and his time in Smith’s Grove. A follow up miniseries is also in development.
March 2: Freddy vs the Devil vs Ash is released. This sequel to the Nightmare on Elm Street/Friday the 13th crossover throws Ash from the Evil Dead series into the mix.
March 19: Bates Motel premiers on the A&E Network. Set in the 1970’s, this series is a prequel to the 1998 film Psycho, featuring a teenaged Norman Bates and his young mother Norma. This series was proposed by Psycho director George Kholer, and it’s development was held up after his disappearance. The first episode features a voice appearance by John Laraquette as a radio news reporter commenting on a shocking crime that occurred in Texas, which is a backhanded reference to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
October 27th, Helloween is released, marking the first film appearance of Michael Meyers in 25 years. This film crosses characters from the various Halloween movies with the Pinhead and the Cennobites from the Hellraiser series.
2008
Date unspecified: Devil’s Due publishing released the second mini-series for Rob Zombie’s Halloween. This six issues comic book series adapts Rob Zombie’s idea for a second Halloween movie featuring the adult Michael Meyers returning home to Haddonfield to wreak havoc.
2009
Date unspecified: Psycho III is released. This film was directed by Vicki Regewitz, who was personal friends with George Kohler. Picking up from where the controversial director left off, this film is about a carnival like attraction that uses animatronics to recreate the Bates Motel and its murders. Inspired by this world’s Gein Ghoul House and the homicides that took place there, murder is afoot at the Bates Motel experience.
2011
Date unspecified: Freddy vs the Devil vs Ash: The Nightmare Warriors is released in theaters. Concluding the Freddy vs the Devil trilogy, this film features surviving characters from previous Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street films.
2014
September 15th: Halloween: Curse of the Werewolf/The Producers cut is finally given an official home video release after decades of it only being available via bootleg at the convention circuit. This version of the film presents a more coherent story than the original theatrical release.
2015
May 25: A remake of Night Skies is released in theaters. This same month a comic book limited series is released that is a crossover between the Night Skies Legacy TV series of the 1990s and the also alien themed 1990’s series X-Files.
2018
October 19: Halloween, a direct sequel to the 1978 film is released, and leads to the same Halloween Kills/Halloween Ends trilogy as our world. The only difference is the media buzz that Jamie Lee Curtis plays Laurie Strode. Jamie Lee auditioned, but was rejected for, the same part in the original Halloween film 40 years prior. The rest of this Halloween trilogy unfolds the same as it did in our world.
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