Psycho

Before the infamous new Netflix series Monster or Alfred Hitchcok's classic movie, there was Psycho—the chilling original novel inspired by the shocking crimes of Ed Gein.

"Icily terrifying!" —New York Times

Norman Bates loves his mother. She has been dead for the past 20 years, or so people think. Norman knows better, though.

Ever since leaving the hospital, he has lived with Mother in the old house up on the hill above the Bates Motel. One night, after a beautiful woman checks into the motel, Norman spies on her 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.

If you love to be scared, or are a fan of classic movies, then you know the story of Norman Bates, his mother, and the dark and frightening Bates Motel. Alfred Hitchcock's taut, shocking scare-fest starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh is a classic movie, as scary today as it was in 1960 when it was first released, and this is the 1959 novel upon which the movie is based.

It was here that the legend of the Bates Motel was born. Robert Bloch's groundbreaking novel changed the face of horror forever, introducing the world to the monster next door. Its unsettling portrayal of a seemingly normal man driven to madness by isolation and his own fractured psyche shocked readers in 1959.

Discover the psychological thriller that launched a horror dynasty, from Alfred Hitchcock's classic film to the latest true-crime obsession.

"Psycho all came from Robert Bloch's book." —Alfred Hitchcock
"Robert Bloch is one of the all-time masters." —Peter Straub