In the movie, as played by Anthony Perkins, Norman is tall and thin, whereas in the novel, Norman is heavy, out of shape, and wears glasses.

The first and most obvious difference between the book and the movie is the physical appearance of Norman Bates. Arbogast finds evidence that Mary had stayed at the Bates Motel, and he tells Lila and Sam this news, but when Arbogast himself disappears, Sam and Lila finally decide to go to the local sheriff, who tells them he believes Arbogast has pulled a fast one on them, because if he told them he was returning to the Bates Motel to question Norman Bates’ mother, he was lying, because Norman Bates’ mother is dead.Īnd thus the mystery deepens, leading to one of the most memorable conclusions ever in a horror movie, and a pretty good one for a novel as well. Sometime later, Mary’s sister Lila and a private investigator name Arbogast arrive in Sam’s town looking for Mary, and when Sam tells them he has no idea where Mary is, that she never came to see him, the search continues. She ends up having a conversation with Norman Bates over dinner, and later that night returns to her room where she takes a shower. On her way to visit Sam, she stops at the Bates Motel to spend the night. A young woman, Mary Crane, has stolen a large sum of money from her employer, which she plans to use to help pay her boyfriend Sam Loomis’ debts so they can get married. It’s best for you to discover it on your own.īasically, Psycho is the story of a peculiar young man named Norman Bates who lives with his domineering old mother and runs a small motel located on a back road off the main highway. The story of Psycho is so well known at this point, and for those folks unfamiliar with the movie or the book, the less they know about the plot the better, so I won’t go into much detail here about the story. Hitchcock and Stefano added very little in the way of ideas original to the movie. With very few exceptions, the story of Psycho as we know it today was entirely created by Bloch. I also enjoy reading the original ideas by Bloch. Hitchcock’s film is such an icon of horror cinema, it’s easy to forget that a novel called Psycho existed first.Īnd whether you’re reading it for the first time, or re-reading it for the umpteenth, it’s still a powerful read.įor me, I enjoy comparing the book to the movie, seeing things that Hitchcock and screenwriter Joseph Stefano kept in, things they left out, and things they changed. Look no further than Psycho by Robert Bloch, the novel on which Alfred Hitchcock’s classic movie is based. What I’m Reading – Psycho By Robert Bloch