Rereading Review: "Psycho" by Robert Bloch

As of the time of writing this review, it is September 2026 and so, Halloween is still on the way. Sorry if this is released some time afterwards, it's just the way things get chosen. Well, I have spent the early Pre-Halloween season reading some of my favourites of the genres and sub-genres encircling everything creepy and terrifying. Psycho by Robert Bloch is probably one of those blueprint novels of contemporary horror. It is up there with The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson and for me, Salem's Lot by Stephen King. Psycho by Robert Bloch was somewhat bastardised by the TV series Monster and honestly, I didn't like the way it was used. But let's just say, Hitchcock did so damn well I am quite a bit happier that people know the book from that movie rather than the TV show. The film that pretty much defined contemporary horror cinema...

I have to admit, there are very few horror novels written like this one. The creeping dread, the one-by-one stepping, the weird side narrations which present something introspective about the character focused in on, Robert Bloch's talent for contemporary, realistic horror is basically unmatched. It is the most classic form of nightmare fuel yes, but one of the worst things is that we can each find a small part of ourselves in Norman Bates.

One thing I love about rereading Psycho is that there's really no correct time to do it, but once you're in, you're totally in. It starts not like the film with Marion (in the book, Mary) but with Norman. As we enter the book, we start to learn bits and pieces about Norman Bates and one of the things I love is that if you don't know about what was going to happen and the 'great twist' then you would definitely start to identify and feel for him. It kind of makes me smile every time I revisit it because I remember watching the movie (I did so about half a year before I read the book for the first time almost two decades ago now) and the whole twist brushed a great grin across my face. Reading the book again just brings back so many of those great memories.

One of the things I love about the book in comparison to the movie is that you learn more about Bates' life. I'm not going to say too much about it because I want you to read the book (oh, and this is perhaps one of the only times where you should probably watch the movie first because I feel like the movie definitely leaves a lot of teeny-tiny details out that the book helps build on. But perhaps me being biased because I saw the film first). The one thing you'll probably notice is that the book version of Norman Bates doesn't look like Anthony Perkins, nor does he look like the guy who played Bates in the show Bates Motel (check it out, seriously). But I have to say, that you cannot help but connect Anthony Perkins to the character so much that I actually feel sorry for how typecast he became because of it. Anyways, in the book, Norman Bates is short and stocky, kind of chubby and he wears glasses. He's also got a weird dark side that is sometimes prone to outbursts, something that Anthony Perkins' portrayal of the character doesn't really do - not in front of the woman anyway. (I'm not going to lie, I think the film version of Bates suited the situation a little better in this respect).

On the other hand, there are several things about the book and film that are similar that you might find very well written. One of these things is the atmosphere. The writing of the atmosphere is brilliant. It's almost terse and simplistic. It's just a very 'empty' and 'middle of nowhere' mood which doesn't overload anything, allowing the mind to fill up with possibilities. A lot of the book is very psychological and relies more on the introspective, plus there are lots of books Norman Bates reads (that you don't see in the film) atop of all of this. It genuinely feels great to reread this book.

All in all, I hope that if you haven't read this book that you choose to. I have reread it quite a few times over the last two decades and it has never aged at all. It is so different to horror you will read regularly because there's no threat until there is and then, even when there is a threat you are so busy trying to learn about this weird guy running a motel that you barely notice the emptiness and quiet. It's eerie and uncomfortable.

It's perfect.

P.S

And of course, the film has one of the most haunting and frightening endings to any film ever in my opinion...