Psycho: A Novel

By Robert Bloch

Robert Bloch's Psycho captivated a nation when it appeared in 1959. The story was all too real-indeed this classic was inspired by the real-life story of Ed Gein, a psychotic murderer who led a dual life. Alfred Hitchcock too was captivated, and turned the book into one of the most-loved classic films of all time the year after it was released.

Norman Bates loves his Mother. She has been dead for the past twenty years, or so people think. Norman knows better though. He has lived with Mother ever since leaving the hospital in the old house up on the hill above the Bates motel. One night Norman spies on a beautiful woman that checks into the hotel as she undresses. Norman can't help but spy on her. Mother is there though. She is there to protect Norman from his filthy thoughts. She is there to protect him with her butcher knife.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Release date: May 25, 2010
• ISBN: 9781590206188

Reviews for Psycho

[francesanngray · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Just as intense as the movie!

[crazybatcow · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I can't believe it took so long for me to read this "classic" book. It's better than I expected, and perhaps a bit less dramatic than the movie (hard to be gory in this era I suppose).It does not have any "surprises" but, that's probably due to the story line being part of our modern culture... there's not much odd about transvestites or murderers or schitzos in our current day and age but for its time, this was probably extra-shocking.I disliked the "epilogue" - way too lecturey, like the author needed to explain all the threads from the story rather than let us figure it out on our own - like we didn't realize Bates wasn't *really* his mother.

[thewitchescupboard · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was just ok. It doesn't have the same character development and suspense that the movie adaptation does. One of the few cases where the movie is better than the book.

[melissalenhardt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The problem with reading a book after seeing a movie is constantly comparing the visual medium with the written. In the case of Psycho, the movie is so ingrained in the pop culture consciousness generally, and my mind specifically, it was impossible to read Bloch's psychological mystery fresh. And that's a shame, because it's a very good book with a nice twist.

[mstrust · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Mary Crane steals $40,000 from her employer and drives away from her old life in Ft. Worth. Leaving behind her younger sister is difficult, but Mary desperately wants to marry Sam, her debt-ridden fiancee 800 miles away. If Mary can convince Sam that she's inherited the money, he'll marry her and she'll change her name and disappear forever. Mary has been careful about covering her trail so far, but if not for the rain, she wouldn't have made the wrong turn on the highway, the one that leads her to a little motel run by Norman Bates.

[unkletom_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a very entertaining novel whose only problem is that people who have watched Alfred Hitchcock's movie version will not be able to enjoy the surprises.

[elliepotten · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"You're a Mamma's Boy. That's what they called you, and that's what you were. Were, are, and always will be. A big, fat, overgrown Mamma's Boy!" I didn't even know Psycho was originally a novel until very recently, but since I wanted to watch the film this year in the run-up to Hallowe'en I thought maybe I should bite the bullet and read the book as well! By now most people know the basics - Norman Bates, lonely motel, a girl murdered in the shower, a psychotic mother - but it was interesting for me to go back to the original and fill in the gaps before I watched the now-iconic Hitchcock movie. The rest of the story was new to me! It opens with Mary Crane stealing forty thousand dollars and taking off, with the intention of passing it off as inheritance money and giving it to her fiance Sam, who has refused to get married until he has finish paying off his late father's debts. Losing her way en route to Sam's town, she ends up at the Bates Motel, where she meets overweight, bookish Norman, who runs the motel and cares for his sick elderly mother despite her constant venomous nagging. That night the supposedly infirm old woman, jealous of Norman's attraction to their pretty guest, kills Mary, sparking off a chain of events that will pull Norman deeper and deeper into darkness and put everyone Mary loves in danger too... It's actually quite a gripping little novel despite its age - it was first published in 1959 - and if the twist wasn't now so famous it would have been even more effective as a thriller. Of course, the film has now eclipsed it almost entirely, and in my mind I read the whole thing in that half-English-sounding posh movie-star American accent that is so ubiquitous in old black and white movies. The psychology behind the villainy is quite fascinating - Norman seems to know quite a bit about it already - and Norman's inner monologues have a kind of intoxicating, brutal poetry to them as he rattles through his conflicting thoughts and emotions. It was a quick read, but I'll definitely be keeping hold of it to reread again in the future.

[tapestry100 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm not really go to go into the story of Psycho, as I'm sure most everyone is at least marginally familiar with the story. What I will say, though, is that I was wishing while I read the book, that I didn't know what was going to happen. Robert Bloch's story is so creepy and his characterization of Norman Bates so unnerving, that I could only imagine how disturbing this book probably was to read originally before Alfred Hitchcock made it into a film. Then finding out that it was partially based on a true story (Bloch used Ed Gein as his inspiration) made it that much more unsettling.The film Psycho is one of my favorite Hitchcock movies, and I have never read the book before. My local bookstore is having a screening of the film for it's 50th anniversary and then a discussion about the book and film afterward, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to give it a read. I'm impressed with how faithful Hitchcock remained to the book, but I found myself enjoying the book so much more than the movie, as Bloch really goes into detail with what is going on in Bates' head, detail that wouldn't really translate well onto the big screen. And really, getting into Bates' head just shows just how bizarre his relationship with his mother really is, something that just didn't make it into the movie. I didn't realize that I was missing these details until I've read the book, but now that I have, the movie may or may not hold up as well again.Guardedly recommended if you are a fan of the movie, but read with caution if you're unsettled easily. It isn't overly graphic, but little is left to the imagination.

[missbhaven_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wish i had read the book before i saw the movie, i tried to pretend i didn't know what was going to happen but it was near impossible. Anyway it was still a great book and one that i will certainly read again, in fact i might read it in a moment , just after i take a quick shower...........

[elizajane_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I wish I had enjoyed this more. I really tried hard to imagine what it would have been like for the original readers back in 1959, but I am just too familiar with the movie and story for this to have worked for me. In one of those rare cases, the movie follows the book almost exactly so I just couldn't feel the suspense from the novel knowing exactly what was going to happen. There are small differences between the two such as a scene taking place somewhere else and events not quite happening exactly the same way. Two major differences are that Norman Bates in the book is a fat 44yo man! Quite a difference from the scrawny, slightly effeminate Anthony Perkins version. Secondly, the final events of the climax unravel a bit differently, but with the same results. The book and movie even end with the exact same line. What the book really gave me an appreciation for though is the current show I've been watching, "Bates Motel". The dialogue between Norman and his mother in the TV show is much more like the book's, more nasty and sexual than in the Hitchcock movie.This is well-written though and I've read a lot of Bloch's short stories to appreciate him as a horror writer. I just think the book is going impress people who are much less familiar with the plot than I. I do envy someone reading the book before seeing the movie.

[lesindy · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Just watch Hitchcock's movie. It's way better. This book drags on and on.

[zenslave · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was reading this book and thinking, "Wow, this is all so eerily familiar? Have I read a similar book before? Maybe this was made into a movie somewhere along the line? Maybe it's just a derivative work of another great novel?"

Regardless, this book should totally be made into a movie. I could almost picture certain scenes in my head while I was reading along. Maybe black and white would be fitting for this film. Maybe that shower murder scene could really be made into something unforgettable. So much potential. Too bad Hitchcock isn't around anymore. He would've been a good one to adapt this novel into a film.

[jimocracy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Having never watched the movie (except the shower scene), I really enjoyed this book. The story was refreshingly innocent (despite the dark content). Maybe the charm of this story was that it took place in an idyllic setting and that was in stark contrast to the voices in Norman's head.

[jlsimon7 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow this book was intense. Honestly I had to remind myself I wasn't enjoying a Stephen King novel. It has all the thrill, excitement, twists, etc. I know, I know, it's a classic and I have no excuse for having not read it before now. It's just when I normally think of classics I think of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and the Bronte sisters. Well, anyway this book is spooky and exciting, and I completely recommend it, especially if like me, you've never bothered to watch the movie. This was an incredibly fun experience for me.

[schatzi_5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Okay, I'll admit it: I've never watched Psycho. I've been meaning to for years, but I've just never gotten around to it. But even I know about the iconic shower scene and the fact that Norman Bates' mother is, well, complicated. But, as I read this book, I found myself wishing that I could enjoy it spoiler free. I can only imagine how powerful the book would be when the ending is unexpected.

[madamepince · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As a Hitchcock fan, I was apprehensive about reading the book but, if anything, it's better than the movie.

[slmr4242 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The book is always better. This one is absolutely case in point. And to be fair, I like the Hitchcock film. But the book is always better.

[bxwretlind · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What can you say? The best of the psycho people books out there.

[tobinelliott · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is not the Psycho movie. It's hard not to judge the book by the Alfred Hitchcock movie and it's hard not to cast the actors from that movie in the novel, though clearly Anthony Perkins is not the Norman Bates of the novel.

The novel takes its time building up, and while its a slow start, it's worth the time investment because Bloch carefully paints a very clear picture throughout the novel of who Norman Bates really is. As I read this, I could clearly see the novel's influence on Stephen King, especially in his novel The Dead Zone.

What I didn't know was that Bloch had written a couple of sequels to this. Now I'm going to have to see if I can find them.

[blackrabbit89 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I wrapped up my “month” (it was more like six weeks) of horror reading with Robert Bloch’s Psycho. Full disclosure: I only saw Psycho the movie for the first time last winter. And I didn’t even realize, until a few weeks ago, that it was based on the book by Robert Bloch, which in turn was inspired by the extremely creepy Wisconsin murderer and grave robber Ed Gein.The story begins with Mary, a young woman who takes refuge in a hotel one rainy night. She is on the run after stealing a large sum of money from her employer. Norman Bates, the owner of the hotel, invites her up to his house for a quick dinner, during which she comes to realize that Norman has a very strange sort of “mama’s boy” relationship with his mother. Disturbed by an outburst from Norman, Mary retreats to her hotel room, where she is later murdered while taking a shower. But this is only the beginning of the horror.03-psycho-screenChances are, if you like horror (or Hitchcock) movies at all, you’ve seen Psycho. But in case you haven’t, I won’t spoil it for you. What you need to know about the book is that Norman Bates is a very, very disturbed man. It was fascinating to get inside his mind–he is in turns confused, psychotic, and semi-lucid, so it’s difficult but fun to guess what exactly is going on. His relationship with his mother is extremely messed up and manipulative. And Norman himself can be very violent.I definitely recommend this as a creepy (but not too scary) horror book. It’s a quick read packed with mystery, morbidity, murder and psychosis. I definitely enjoyed it more than I did the movie.

[smichaelwilson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Roughly three decades after my first viewing of Hitchcock classic cinematic adaptation of Psycho, I finally managed to get around to reading the original source material. Having lived through so many sequels, prequels, remakes, and re-imagined takes on Hitchcock’s original film, it’s almost a struggle to read Robert Block’s novel without letting the cultural impact of what is now an entertainment franchise influence the experience. Luckily, Bloch’s Psycho has an inherent timeless built into the deviant catalyst of its story, despite how dated other elements of it might be over a half-century later.The Norman Bates of the novel is different than the lanky, awkward cinematic persona made famous by Anthony Perkins, but many of the differences are understandable when translating informative text into informative visuals. Bloch’s Norman is overweight and middle-aged, potentially an alcoholic (his alcohol consumption is actually linked to violent appearances of “Mother”) and in addition to his taxidermy hobby he is an avid reader. In fact, Bloch uses Norman’s library comprised of metaphysical, historical, pornographic, and occult tomes to paint a more complex psychological profile that doesn’t necessarily replace his oedipal issues with his mother, but at the very least lends a bit more reasoning to some of his delusions and behaviors.Of special importance to any true crime fan is Bloch’s two references to Ed Gein, whose grave-robbing, necrophilia, and eventual killing of a local woman five years earlier inspired countless horror novelists and filmmakers, Bloch included. First there is the opening of the novel, in which Norman is reading about native tribes turning a corpse into a weird kind of body drum, which is a spin on Gein’s fascination with stories of shrunken heads. Then there is the direct mention of Gein at the end, in which it is stated that news coverage of the events at the Bates Motel were fueled by comparisons to Gein’s crimes. Reading a book you already know the details of can be a challenge, but Bloch’s writing is straightforward and engaging, and there are enough differences between Bloch’s text and Hitchcock’s vision to keep the narrative fresh for those of us looking back. The most intriguing aspect to me of Bloch’s novel was the inclusion of an epilogue that involves an evolution of Norman’s psychosis that would have resulted in a totally different franchise if Hitchcock had used it in his film.Long story short, it takes a great literary work to withstand the effect that cultural awareness can have on a reader already familiar with the story, and Bloch’s Psycho easily withstands this test. If you’ve seen the film but never read the book, you owe it to yourself to give it a shot.

[sallyapollon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

PsychoBy Robert BlochSally ApollonOverall Score: 6 out of 10By way of introduction, let me first say that there were a series of events that kept putting this book into my mind. First, I saw the film “Hitchcock” about the Director and found it to be quite interesting, especially the angle of the story where he is pushing this book into movie production against the advice of nearly everyone around him. It is with this movie that the horror genre is truly born. Also, Rude Boy George have been remaking the song “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads, always a favorite song. And of course, like most of us, I’ve seen the original and the remake of the movie a few times. I don’t very often choose to read books AFTER seeing a film, but since both book (1959) and movie (1960), were created before I was born, that just wasn’t possible. So this has all been rattling around in my head & I got the book to look at but couldn’t stop reading it.STYLE: Written in thriller style, the pace moves along quickly & you get to see different character’s perspectives and thought processes. The author goes to great pains to have you understand what Norman Bates is thinking and why he is thinking this—which I find to be compelling and fascinating as a novel-writing tactic. It’s one thing to tell the story of WHAT happened, quite another to successfully illustrate the WHY in such extreme circumstances. TIME & PLACE: The late 1950s, West Coast, smalltown America; old-fashioned small-minded people who can’t imagine something awful & horrible happening in their backyard. I find this to be an effective setting for the events that follow. The introduction of Mary Crane doing an impulsive theft and hoping for a better life is an interesting start to a story that quickly takes one bizarre turn followed by another. The Bates Motel is well-described and translated well to the big screen, it could have been written for the screen—but this demonstrates Hitchcock’s vision. CHARACTER: Mary Crane is intriguing, but only a sketch compared to the central character of Norman Bates. I think the others in the story work well around him, but inevitably he’s the one who’s completely filled out. Norman is multi-dimensional. This is a really detailed insight into the mind of someone who is destroyed by mental illness. Different characteristics are attributed to different personalities. Having worked closely with people suffering from this, I find the description quite convincing. I also find the historical narrative of how Norman became this way & the abusive way in which his mother treated him to provide completion. In summary, I read about how the author was influenced by true events that occurred near where he lived in Wisconsin and it stands to reason because the character, Norman Bates, does have a ring of authenticity, even to someone who has worked with mentally ill people. The ending where Norman has sunk further into psychosis & “become” his mother is strangely appropriate. He developed the multiple personality in the first place to cope with the horror of matricide, but after further murder it would make sense that he would sink deeper into his “coping mechanism”. As is typically the case there is a lot more information in the book than in the film and some details that pan out differently. I really enjoyed this book, it was a quick & easy read—although not over-simplistic, which was what I wanted at the time.

[zoes_human · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I bet this was pretty exciting if you read it before the movie was made. The trouble now however is that every bit of this book is common cultural knowledge. I've never even seen the movie, but it turns out that I know the entire story. Unfortunately that means that all the truly original and intriguing bits have no bite, and the flaws really stand out.Also worthy of consideration is its troubling representation of transpeople and individuals with mental illness.

[jseger9000 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Psycho is my first experience with Robert Bloch (as I’m sure it is with most people). It's tough to review this one fairly because it is so tied to one of the most famous movies of all time. Getting Hitchcock's images out of my head while reading is a near impossible task, especially since the movie was such a faithful adaptation of the book. In fact the two were so close that the book almost felt like a novelization of the movie that overshadowed it.But man the book is compulsively readable! I wish I didn’t know what was coming, because the book is very well written. Bloch is a clever writer who managed to easily build tension and foreshadow just enough without ever going over the top. Knowing the twists that are coming muted the suspense, but I still looked forward to reading more of it.I started the book in the morning on a work day and only read on breaks and at lunch, but was a hundred pages (or about half way) in by the end of the day. I read the rest the next morning in a marathon session.Though everything from the famous movie is also in the book, Bloch goes into a lot more depth about Norman and his relationship with Mother. And knowing what I know, seeing how it was handled is very impressive.I’ve already ordered another highly rated Bloch book: The Kidnapper. It will be fun to see how he does when I don’t know the story ahead of time.

[bonniemarjorie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

“I think perhaps all of us go a little crazy at times.”When Mary Crane stops for the night in a tiny, obscure little motel she thinks nothing of the odd but seemingly nice manager Norman Bates. All she’s concerned about is getting cleaned up and resting before she sees her fiancé the next day. The two are going to finally be able to start their life together after Mary stole $40,000 from her employer. Unfortunately, things don’t go according to plan for Mary Crane.Psycho is one of those mandatory readings for any horror fan and while this one isn’t completely terrifying, it’s realistic enough to get under your skin. Norman Bates’ character is in fact based off a real life murderer, Ed Gein, who in the 1950s killed two women but dug up the graves of many women in order to practice human taxidermy. When police searched his house, things like a wastebasket made of human skin and bowls made from human skulls were found. Bloch didn’t have Norman Bates share the obsession with human taxidermy, however, both men did have a strange obsession with their mothers. The victims Gein dug up were said to all resemble his own mother. Bloch did an impeccable job at introducing Bates as a sympathetic character. He’s been misguided his entire life by his overbearing mother who constantly instilled a belief in sin and that women are nothing but evil. The man is a murderer yet is he worthy of the sympathy felt? Quite the moral conundrum.‘Mary started to scream, and then the curtains parted further and a hand appeared, holding a butcher’s knife. It was the knife that, a moment later, cut off her scream.And her head.’Personally, I hadn’t even seen the film before reading this so shockingly enough I went into this completely oblivious to the truth behind the story. What a fantastic twist.. even if I did see it coming. Bloch’s writing is incredibly fluid and despite the time that has passed since its original publication manages to read without the feel of a classic. It’s a shame that Bloch didn’t write more horror novels but I’m definitely going to have to seek out some of his short stories.

[tanya8dogearedcopy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Norman Bates and his mother run the Bates Motel, located off of the old highway; Mary, a young woman on the run, makes a wrong turn and decides to check in at the motel for the night and; Sam and Lila, Mary's fiancé and sister respectively, wonder where Mary is... Against the backdrop of a stormy night at the ill-frequented motel in California, the drama of Psycho begins to unfold. More than a horror classic with the Hollywood image of blood swirling down a drain accompanied by a piercing sound effect, the novel is an exposition of the psychological motivations of the characters that determine their actions. It would be enough to tell the story with just action sequences, but Bloch takes advantage of the written medium to explore the psyches of his characters and, puts forward the idea that that everyone has a breaking point at which we are all capable of insane acts.

There is a certain awkwardness to the original story, a certain dated feel beyond the fact that there are no computers or cell phones. There are cultural assumptions that need to be made, such as: In the 1950's, motel clerks care where you're going if you're not in your room :-/ Beyond that though, even the psychology used is outmoded. There have been enormous strides in psychology and medicine that have taken place in the last fifty years or so, which makes the interior voices of Psycho seem rather quaint by today's standards. However, the overall idea posited that the potential energy of insanity within each of us exists and can be triggered, remains valid and interesting.

Paul Michael Garcia imbues the text with the naturalness of a storyteller and, the character work is excellent. The result is an intimate reading of the text that engages the listener's attention. The best character work is the kind that makes the listener wonder if there's more than one person narrated the book and, this happens in particular in the scenes with the sheriff and his deputies :-)

Redacted from the original blog review at dog eared copy, Psycho; 11/03/2011

[silversurfer_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Grand-Daddy of all horror stories.

[tonifgmamtc · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is an awesome book. Even though it's around 60 years old and a super famous movie was made from it, it still kept my total attention.