Robert Bloch

Robert Albert Bloch (5 April 1917 – 23 September 1994) was an American writer of horror, mystery, and science fiction who spent more than sixty years producing short stories, novels, screenplays, and teleplays distinguished by macabre wit, psychological insight, and a fascination with the darker reaches of the human mind. He is best known for Psycho (1959), the novel that gave the world Norman Bates and that Hitchcock transformed into a landmark of cinema, but his broader body of work — over 220 short stories and thirty novels — constitutes one of the most substantial contributions to twentieth-century horror fiction.

Early Career and Lovecraft Mentorship

Bloch grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and began his literary career at seventeen, when he started corresponding with H.P. Lovecraft, who encouraged his writing and welcomed him into the circle of authors contributing to Weird Tales magazine. Bloch’s earliest stories were Lovecraftian pastiche — cosmic horror set in the Cthulhu Mythos — but he quickly developed his own voice: more psychological, more urban, more darkly funny than Lovecraft’s.

His story “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper” (1943), about a serial killer who has achieved immortality through ritualistic murder, became one of the most reprinted horror stories in the English language and established his signature theme: the monster who looks normal, the psychopath who walks among us undetected.

Psycho (1959)

Bloch’s most famous novel was inspired by the case of Ed Gein, a Wisconsin murderer whose crimes — including grave robbery, necrophilia, and the construction of household objects from human remains — shocked the nation in 1957. Bloch transmuted the Gein case into the story of Norman Bates, a mild-mannered motel owner who is dominated by the personality of his dead mother and who murders a young woman in a motel shower.

The novel was a modest success on publication, but when Alfred Hitchcock adapted it into a 1960 film starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh, Psycho became a cultural phenomenon. Hitchcock’s film — with its notorious shower scene, its violation of narrative convention (killing the apparent protagonist in the first act), and its revelation of Norman’s split personality — changed the history of cinema and made “Psycho” one of the most recognised words in the language.

Bloch was ambivalent about Hitchcock’s film. He was grateful for the fame and the income but felt that Hitchcock received all the credit while his contribution was forgotten — a complaint shared by many novelists whose work has been adapted by dominant filmmakers.

Short Stories

Bloch’s primary medium was the short story, and his best work in the form is exceptional. His collections — The Opener of the Way (1945), Pleasant Dreams (1960), The Skull of the Marquis de Sade (1965), Such Stuff as Screams Are Made Of (1979) — contain stories that combine horror with a sardonic, often punning humour that is distinctively Bloch’s. He was a master of the twist ending and the unreliable narrator, and his stories often explore the fine line between sanity and madness.

“The Hell-Bound Train” (1958) won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story — a rare honour for horror fiction in the science-fiction-dominated awards. The story, about a hobo who makes a deal with the Devil and receives a watch that can stop time, demonstrates Bloch’s range and his ability to blend folklore, humour, and moral fable.

Television and Film

Bloch was a prolific screenwriter, contributing scripts to Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Thriller, Star Trek, Night Gallery, and numerous horror films. His television work introduced his particular brand of psychological horror to enormous audiences and helped establish the conventions of the horror anthology format.

His film scripts include The House That Dripped Blood (1971) and Asylum (1972) for Amicus Productions — the British studio that specialised in horror anthology films — and The Night Walker (1964) for William Castle.

Later Novels

Bloch’s later novels include American Gothic (1974), based on the case of H.H. Holmes, the serial killer who operated a “Murder Castle” during the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair; The Night of the Ripper (1984), a Jack the Ripper novel; and Psycho II (1982), a sequel that Bloch wrote partly in response to the unauthorised 1983 film sequel. His late work maintained his characteristic wit and his preoccupation with the psychology of violence.

Legacy

Bloch was a beloved figure in the horror and science fiction communities — generous to younger writers, witty in conversation, and unfailingly professional. He served as president of the Mystery Writers of America and received the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement. His influence on subsequent horror writers — particularly those who work in the psychological rather than the supernatural tradition — is substantial.

Collecting Bloch

Psycho (1959, Simon & Schuster) in first edition with dust jacket is the primary Bloch collectible, valued at $500–$3,000. The Opener of the Way (1945, Arkham House) is a significant collectible in the Arkham House tradition. Bloch’s story collections published by Arkham House are well-made books and increasingly sought. He signed generously at conventions throughout his long career.