Book #94: Psycho by Robert Bloch

 

Psycho

Robert Bloch

 Released: April 10th, 1959

My 37th book for 2025 was Robert Bloch's “Psycho”.  

Usually when one thinks of Psycho, they think of the 1960 Alfred Hitchcock film based on this book.  I was just telling my neighbor Margie that the other day.  Many people remember the iconic shower scene that captivated audiences and lived on in iconic horror pop culture.

My best friend Tim recommended the series.  I had started to watch Psycho years ago, but fell asleep part way in.  Tim read the series recently, and so we did some book swaps.  He read some I recommended, and I've been reading the ones he has recommended.  I was supposed to start reading these books back in July, as I thought I would get through the Clue series faster.  Instead, it drug out a good bit, and I squeezed in a few more novels in between.  Now I'm staring down 26 more novels in less that 4 months.  Time to get crackin'...or reading.

The story is an intriguing one.  Mary Crane, an otherwise normal woman, steals a significant amount of money from her employer with aspirations of running away with her partner.  En route to his hardware store, she stops off at a local motel run by the Bates family.  The Bate Family Motel was once located on the old highway, receiving a great deal of business.  In recent years, a new highway was built that rerouted traffic away from their part of town, and as a result, the Bates family has fallen on harder times, with little to no traffic coming their way.  Mary Crane drops in to spend the night before continuing on to Fairvale several miles away.  Norman Bates, the proprietor of the motel, develops feelings for Mary, and attempts to spend time with her.  She evades his advances and retires for the evening.  Later that night, as she showers, a mysterious killer shows up and murders Mary.  Norman alludes to frustrations over his mom committing the act, and his need to clean up the scene.  Sam Loomis, Mary's finance, is paid a visit to his hardware store in Fairvale by Mary's sister Lila.  She drove all the way out to question him on her whereabouts.  Shortly after her arrival, a private detective Mr. Arbogast arrives to work on the case.  After arranging a place of contact with the two relatives, he makes his rounds of the local area to hunt down Mary's whereabouts.  He stumbles upon the Bates Motel, where he is murdered as well.  When Sam and Lila receive no word from Arbogast, they seek out the local police department for help.  When their efforts prove fruitless, Sam and Lila head to the motel and check in under a false name as a married couple.  As they find clues about Mary's disappearance, they discover some shocking truths about the Bates family, and disturbing facts about what has been happening with Norman Bates and his late mother.

This was a very good read.  I was at a gathering of my girlfriend's family as I read this.  The novel is gripping, and well written.  It's no wonder that Hitchcock sought to make this a year after its publication.  

Here is what I learned:

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• 10% of this book is dedicated to Harry Altshuler who did 90% of the work.
• Norman Bates runs the Bates Motel.
• The motel is located near Fairvale.
• Norman is reading The Realm of the Incas by Victor W. Von Hagen.
• Cachua means “victory dance”.
• An Incan cachua involved stretching an enemy’s skin to form a drum and beating it.
• Mary Crane stole $40,000 from her employer Mr. Lowery at the Lowery Agency.
• Mary’s dad was hit and killed by a car.
• She was unable to attend college because she had to table care of her family.
• Mary’s mom died of a stroke.
• Sam Loomis is Mary’s partner who promises her a life once he settles his $11,000 debt.
• Mary is en route to marry Sam when she finds herself stopping for the night at the Bates Motel.
• The Bates Motel charges $7/night for a single.
• Mary checks in as Jane Wilson from San Antonio, TX.
• The motel is about 18 miles from Fairvale.
• Mary smokes cigarettes.
• Liquor and smoking are forbidden for Norman by his mother.
• Norman had a fear of being near a woman.
• Mary is not a religious person.
• Mary is 27 years old.
• It’s been said that a woman isn’t fully mature sexually until she hits 30.
• Norman keeps a bottle of whiskey hidden the office.
• Norman opens a Chevy.

Thou shalt not suffer a bitch to live.

• Sam Loomis enjoys Ottorino Respighi’s Brazilian Impressions.
• Lila Crane is Mary’s younger sister
• Sam runs Fairvale’s only hardware store.
• Milton Arbogast is a private investigator for Parity Mutual.
• The Lowrey Agency has a bonding policy with Parity Mutual.
• Rollins, the superintendent of Fairvale schools, left his wire and family for a 16-year-old.
• Norman only shaved one a week, every Saturday.
• Mother Bates feels it is nasty to look at oneself naked in the mirror.
• Joe Considine was Mother Bates’ lover.  
• They never married, and she had Norman call him Uncle.
• Drinking strychnine killed Uncle Joe Considine.
• Jud Chambers is the Fairvale Sheriff.
• Fairvale had statues commemorating the American Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War 1, and World War 2.
• The sheriff’s office was annexed in 1946.
• The sheriff attends First Baptist Church.
• Sam & Lila check in under the names Mr. & Mrs. Sam Wright from Independently, MO.
• Lila gave Mary custom made earrings for her birthday from a jeweler who runs a hole-in-the-wall shop in Dallas.
• Books Norman Bates owns include: A New Model of the Universe, The Extension of Consciousness, The Witch-Cult in Western Europe, and Dimension and Being.
• The local newspaper is the Fairvale Weekly Herald.
• Norman once accidently walked in on his Mother and Joe Considine making love in an upstairs room.

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Overall, great read.  The story is original, classic, and sets the tone for modern day horror stories.  The characters are memorable, and it easily went on to become not only one of the greatest horror novels of all time, but one of the most highly praised horror films of all time as well.  Highly recommended.

Highly recommended, for cultural significance, and writing style.

On to Book #95: Psycho II by Robert Bloch.