Psycho

by Robert Bloch

Plot

The story of “Psycho” by Robert Bloch begins in a hotel room in

Phoenix, Arizona with Marion and Sam who are talking about their future

plans. The main problem of Marion is that she and Sam can’t get married

soon because Sam must pay all his father’s debts in 2-3 years. After this

conversation, Marion goes to work and steals 40.000$ and runs away in a

car thinking that she will be able to pay all his Sam’s debts. After driving

long hours she stops at a motel (Bates Motel) by a desert because she is

very tired and needs some rest. There Marion meets Norman (the owner of

the motel) and observes his mother’s house near the motel.

Accommodated in Room One, Marion puts the money in an envelope

inside her newspaper and leaves it next to her bed. When she is in the

shower Norman’s mother stabs Marion and she dies. When Normans

discovers her, he decides to take the dead body, the newspaper and all the

stuff in her and throws it all in a swamp. One week later, Lila (Marion’s

sister) goes to Sam asking about Marion. Mr. Arbogast (a detective) tells

them the story but he doesn’t know about her death. He decides to go

alone to the motel and is murdered in Norman mother’s house. After all this

Sam and Lila go to the Sheriff Chamber to ask for help. The sheriff is

surprised telling them that Norman’s mother died 10 years ago. Sam and

Lila decide to go to Bates Motel to investigate. They stayed in Marion room

and observe Norman’s mother house. Sam goes to Norman to talk with him

while Lila goes to his mother’s house to take a look. Norman realizes what

is happening and hits Sam with a metal box, going to the house. All this

time Lila goes in a cellar and finds a dead woman with no eyes. Suddenly

Norman appears with a knife and Lila starts to scream but Sam fights with

Norman and wins.

In the last part of the book, Sam and Lila are in Jud Chamber office.

Doctor Steiner explains to them that Norman was half himself and half his

mother. He knows all this from Norman’s mother. Doctor Steiner explains

that ten years ago Norman lived alone with his mother. But when his

mother met her love, Norman was jealous. So he killed both of them. He

hid her mother body in a cellar. In time Norman started to think and acts

like his mother. Sometimes he was Norman, sometimes he was his mother.

However at the end of the story Norman has become entirely his mother.