Psycho (1960) is one of the most famous films of all time and quite possibly the most influential horror movie (see entry under 1960s—Film and Theater in volume 4) in history. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980), Psycho (1960) made "Norman Bates" a household name. The movie traded the vampires, zombies, and mummies of the horror film's past for an all-too-human monster. Psycho also secured for its director the flattering title of "The Master of Suspense."

The screenplay for Psycho was adapted by Joseph Stefano (1922–) from a novel by Robert Bloch (1917–1994), who had based the character of Norman on real-life Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein (1906–1984). Psycho tells the story of Marion Crane, an attractive woman who steals some money from her job and leaves town. She stops at a roadside motel, where the manager is a nice but awkward young man named Norman. In a shocking twist that had audiences literally screaming...