Psycho first came into the world as a literary novel in 1958. It would become Robert Bloch's signature piece. It told the story of a young woman named Mary Crane who was given the ultimate chance at the American Dream by stealing money from work and marrying the man of her dreams. It also told of her untimely demise at the hands of Norman Bates, quiet and shy hotel proprietor.

The novel appealed to the public not only because of the suspense and horror of the story, but because the reader could easily identify with the characters. Mary-simply because everyone wants the American dream and will go to unreal lengths to achieve it at times. Norman-because everyone has had to live up to a parent's expectations and fallen short at one time or another. In these characters, we find a sense of loneliness and desperation.

Shortly after the release and immediate success of the novel, Psycho, the master of film horror decided to introduce the boo

Hitchcock was working within the confines of the late 50s and early 60s. One major change that was made in the movie was the physical appearance of the character, Norman. In the novel, Norman Bates is middle-aged man with a "plump face...rimless glasses...scalp beneath thinning sandy hair." (Bloch 10.) In the first screen adaptation, Norman became somewhat attractive. He looked like the boy next door. Anthony Perkins played the part that just by looking at Norman you felt sympathetic for him. He looked like a normal trustworthy person (Hitchcock, 1960.)

Studio. Rated R. Color. 104 minutes.

k to the big screen. Alfred Hitchcock made Psycho into an instant horror classic in 1960. With an adapted version of the novel, a screenplay by Joseph Stefano, some character's names were changed and actors were hired, but the story remained the same.

Every version of Psycho is truly unique. Each version is simply finding a way to tell the same story in a new light. It holds strongly to similar aspects of the story and the right to change what is deemed necessary.

Hitchcock, Alfred. PSYCHO. 1960.

At the end of the movies both directors thought it necessary to provide a psychiatric evaluation about why Norman had done what he had done. In the novel there is nothing of a psychiatrist specifically.

Other small details that vary from version to version are little details such as the amount of money that Mary/Marion steals from work. In the novel, it is $40,000 (Bloch 40.) The 1960 film version protrays the same amount (Hitchcock 60) and the 1998 version increases, as would the amount with time, to $400,000 (Van Sant 98.)

Some common words found in the essay are:
Van Sant, Van Sant's, Norman Bates, Anthony Perkins, Bates Motel, Mary-simply American, PSYCHO Psycho, Bates Norman, Joseph Stefano, Hitchcock Psycho, van sant, sant 98, shower scene, van sant 98, norman bates, horror/thrilleruniversal studio rated, horror/thrilleruniversal studio, studio rated, version car, aspects story, bates motel, novel bloch, version car plus,
Approximate Word count = 1183
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)