Psycho

by Robert Bloch

Published 2 October 1975
Robert Bloch's novel which was later made into the classic chiller by Hitchcock is recognized as a masterpiece of the genre. From the opening pages, the scene is set for the menace to come: the lonely Bates Motel, the obsessional Norman Bates, the runaway secretary, the face at the rain-soaked window and at the end the terrifying stabbing in the shower. No wonder that Hitchcock chose the novel to make his best remembered film starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The lonely Bates' Motel, the runaway secretary, the face at the window and the most chilling movie scene ever where Janet Leigh is stabbed in the shower, all this and more, makes up one of cinema's most shocking thrillers ever.