According the the film's promoters: "It is common knowledge that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was based on the true story of Ed Gein,one of America's most infamous serial killers' (Psycho was based on the same factual occurrences.)
The film is loosely centred around the story of Ed Gein, who was arrested at his desolate farmhouse near Plainfield, Wisconsin, on 17 November,1957. Gein was known locally as a bit strange, but generally considered a harmless shy man who kept himself to himself. He was visited by police because his truck has been sighted outside a hardware store where the owner had gone missing. The police found the decapitated, mutilated body of the woman hanging on a meat hook.
More human remains were found, along with grisly artefacts including a bowl made from a human skull and a watebasket made from human skin.