Both the novel, its film adaptation and the film prequel explain that Norman suffered severe emotional abuse as a child at the hands of his mother, Norma, who preached to him that sexual intercourse was sinful and that all women except herself were whores. The novel also suggests that their relationship may have been incestuous. After Norman's father, John Bates, died, Norman and his mother lived alone together "as if there was no one else in the world" until Norman reached adolescence, when his mother met Joe Considine Chet Rudolph in Psycho IV: The Beginning and planned to marry.
Considine convinced Norma to open a motel. Driven over the edge with jealousy, Norman murdered both of them with strychnine. After a brief hospitalization for shock, he developed dissociative identity disorder, assuming his mother's personality to repress his awareness of her death and to escape the feelings of guilt for murdering her. He inherited his mother's house—where he kept her corpse—and the family motel in the fictional small town of Fairvale, California.
Bloch sums up Norman's multiple personalities in his stylistic form of puns: "Norman", a child dependent on his mother; "Norma", a possessive mother who kills anyone who threatens the illusion of her existence; and "Normal", a functional adult who goes through the motions of day-to-day life. In Bloch's novel and the Hitchcock film, Marion Crane Janet Leigh , a young woman on the run after stealing money from her employer, checks into the motel one night.
Norman is smitten with her, and shyly asks her to have dinner with him in the house. Norman defies her and eats dinner with Marion anyway, but lashes out at her when she suggests that he institutionalize his mother.
When Marion goes to her room to shower, Norman spies on her through a peephole he drilled in the wall. When Norman awakes to discover what he believes his mother has done, he sinks Marion's car—with her corpse and the money in the trunk—into a nearby swamp. As "Mother", he also murders Milton Arbogast Martin Balsam , a private detective hired by Marion's employer, days later. When Norman figures out what they want, he knocks Sam out and goes running after Lila, who has reached the house and found Mrs.
Bates' corpse. He attacks her as "Mother", but Sam, after awakening from having been knocked out, overpowers him, and Norman is finally arrested. Norman is declared insane and sent to an institution, where "Mother" takes complete, and permanent, control of his mind: he becomes his mother. In Bloch's sequel to his first novel, Psycho II , Norman escapes from the psychiatric hospital by killing a nun and donning her habit.
Picked up as a hitchhiker, Norman tries to attack the driver with a tire iron, but the driver overpowers him. This in turn causes a fiery accident where the driver escapes, but Norman dies. Norman's psychiatrist, Dr. Adam Claiborne, discovers Norman's corpse and assumes his personality.
In Bloch's sequel to his second novel, Psycho House , Norman appears only as a novelty animatronic on display in the Bates Motel, which has been converted into a tourist attraction. In Bloch's prequel to his second novel, Psycho: Sanitarium , Dr.
Felix Reed tries to bring Norman out of a catatonic state. Sanitarium introduces Robert Newman, Norman's twin brother who was taken away at birth after the attending doctor pronounced him brain damaged. As Robert and Norman grow to know each other, Norman senses a darkness in Robert, even deeper then that which has lurked in Norman himself. In 's Psycho II , the first sequel to the original film, Norman is released from the institution twenty-two years after his arrest, seemingly cured.
However, a series of mysterious murders occurs, as well as strange appearances and messages from "Mother", and Norman slowly loses his grip on sanity. The mysterious appearances and messages turn out to be a plot by Mary's mother, Lila Loomis, to drive him insane again in order to get him recommitted.
Before Norman discovers this, however, Mary Loomis is shot dead by the police during a confrontation with Norman, and Spool murders Lila. When Spool tells Norman that she is his real mother, he kills her and embalms her corpse while assuming the "Mother" personality once again. He also finds another love interest named Maureen Coyle Diana Scarwid , who eventually dies at "Mother"'s hand. In the film, Mrs.
Spool's corpse is first discovered by sleazy musician Duane Duke Jeff Fahey , whom Norman kills when Duke tries to use the discovery to blackmail Norman. Tracy Venable Roberta Maxwell , a reporter interested in Norman's case, finds out the truth about Spool. He is then arrested and put back in the institution. During the last few minutes of the movie, Tracy tells Norman that Emma Spool was his aunt, not his mother, and had killed his father in a jealous rage when he chose Norma over her.
As complete control of his mind and actions fell away to "Mother," Norman managed a sinister smile to show that he was no longer himself. He stood trial for the murders and was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Twenty-two years later, Norman was released from the asylum, now a perfectly sane man. Lila, now named "Lila Loomis" after marrying Sam, protested the release of Norman.
She started a petition and had it signed by people, mainly relatives of Norman's victims. However, Norman was released anyway because he had been deemed sane. Norman's aunt, Emma Spool a relation unknown to him worked as a waitress at the diner. Another waitress at the diner, Mary Samuels — in reality Mary Loomis , Lila and Sam's daughter — was kicked out of her apartment by her boyfriend , so Norman offered to let her stay at the motel.
However, he soon discovered that while he was institutionalized, the motel's manager, Warren Toomey had changed the motel completely. Under his management, wild parties were held at the motel, with illegal drugs that guests could use, much to Norman's disapproval.
Toomey had allowed the drugs to be used because of the money that he received from guests who flocked there. Norman, angry that his childhood home had been completely wrecked by Toomey, fired the new manager and extended his offer by letting Mary stay at the house. Norman soon started getting notes and phone calls from "Mother" and an individual dressed as her killed Toomey. When Norman saw this figure while renovating the motel, he started to wonder if he was going crazy again, in addition to entering his mother's room and seeing that it was unchanged.
After Norman was lured to the house's attic and was locked inside, a teenage couple, believing the house to be abandoned, snuck in through the cellar window. As they were making out, they noticed a human female figure dressed in black pacing in the next room and heading towards the cellar trapdoor with a large kitchen knife.
The girl tried to climb through a small window, but knocked over a pile of logs. As they tried to climb out, the window slammed down on the boy's hands and he was stabbed to death. The girl escaped and alerted the police. Mary eventually found Norman in the attic, finding the door to be unlocked, confusing Norman.
Minutes later, Sheriff John Hunt arrived at the house and questioned them about the boy's murder, finding the cellar neat and orderly. As Norman prepared to admit that something suspicious was going on, Mary claimed that she had cleaned up the basement herself. After the sheriff left, Norman asked Mary why she lied and she explained that she had to save him from being arrested. Norman collapsed into a chair with his head in his hands and moaned, "It's starting again!
Later, as Norman entered the bathroom he called for Mary, and the two were horrified to find a bloody cloth that had been stuffed down the toilet, causing it to overflow. Norman appeared confused and believed that he may have committed another murder.
Mary told Norman it could not have been him as he was in the attic and asked Norman to make them both a drink. After Norman went back downstairs, Mary called out to Norman, and he rushed to her aid when she let out a scream after spotting an intruder. Upon his arrival, Norman discovered that Mary had a gun, thinking it was because of him that she carried it, to Mary's denial.
Norman grabbed a knife and went to look for the intruder. Hearing a voice calling to him, he went back up to Mary. He believed that his mother was downstairs and was trying to kill Mary; he locked the door to protect her.
Mary tried to go see because of her belief that it was Lila Loomis, but Norman stopped her defensively. Later, Norman's psychiatrist, Dr. Bill Raymond called him to tell him about Mary's parentage and Norman stated his belief that his "Mother" was alive.
Raymond then ordered Norma's corpse to be exhumed to prove that Norman was not being haunted by his mother. Later, Mary admitted to helping Lila try and drive Norman insane again, but told Norman that she had stopped, while Lila had not. Meanwhile, Norman spoke on the phone with who he thought was Norma.
Mary grabbed the phone, only to find out that nobody was on the other end; and began to fear that Lila was succeeding. After finding the corpses of the teenage boy and Toomey Mary panicked and called Norman as his mother, as well as dressing up in a Mother costume and grabbing a butcher knife, to confront Norman and save him. In the process, she accidentally killed Dr. Norman found her pulling the knife out of the body and promised to cover up the murder for her, as he assumed her to be his mother due to the costume.
Soon, Mary accused Norman of being the killer all along and found the murdered corpse of Lila in the basement. He denied it, claiming that "Mother" killed everyone. Mary raised the knife to stab Norman, but the police arrived at that moment and shot Mary dead, saving Norman's life. The sheriff assumed that Mary had killed everybody in order to protect Norman, thus clearing him of any wrongdoing.
Later that evening, Norman received a visit from Emma Spool, who lied that she was his real mother, and that Norma had been her sister. She then truthfully revealed that she had been the killer all along since his release, killing anyone who threatened Norman.
Norman then grabbed a shovel and suddenly killed Emma, striking her over the head with it. Once again controlled by "Mother," he reopened the Bates Motel. During the next month, Norman stuffed Emma Spool's corpse, using it in the same way he would Norma's body.
Upon a visit to the cafe, Norman spotted ex-nun Maureen Coyle , whose appearance and initials — which he spotted on her suitcase — reminded him of Marion Crane. Norman hired Duane Duke as a second manager of the motel and offered Maureen to stay there.
However, "Mother" took control and planned to kill her. However, upon sneaking into the bathroom, he discovered that Maureen had slit her wrists, the shock bringing forth Norman's personality and he took her to the hospital. Bates is declared insane and sent to an institution, where the "mother" personality completely takes hold; he becomes his mother.
In Bloch's sequel to his novel, Bates escapes from the psychiatric hospital by killing a nun and donning her habit. Picked up as a hitchhiker, Bates is overcome by the driver of the car as he tries to attack him with a tire iron. This in turn causes a fiery accident where the driver escapes, but Bates dies. Bates's psychiatrist, Dr. Adam Claiborne, discovers Bates' body and assumes his personality. In the sequel to the original film , Bates is released from the institution 22 years after his arrest, seemingly cured, and he meets Mary Loomis — Marion Crane's niece — with whom he falls in love.
However, a series of mysterious murders occurs, as well as strange appearances and messages from "Mother", and Bates slowly loses his grip on sanity. The mysterious appearances and messages turn out to be a plot by Lila Loomis, Marion's vengeful sister, to drive him insane again in order to get him recommitted. The actual murders turn out to be the work of his aunt — Norma's sister, Emma Spool — who shares the family's history of mental illness and claims to be Norman's real mother.
Before Bates discovers this, however, Mary Loomis is shot dead by the police during a confrontation with Bates, and Spool murders Lila. When Spool tells Bates that she is his mother, he kills her and embalms her body while assuming the "Mother" personality once again. In the third film , Bates continues to struggle, unsuccessfully, against "Mother"'s dominion. He also finds another love interest named Maureen Coyle, who eventually dies at "Mother"'s hand.
In the film Mrs. Spool's body is first discovered by sleazy musician Duane Duke, whom Bates kills when Duke tries to use the discovery to blackmail Bates. Tracy Venable, a reporter interested in Bates' case, finds out the truth about Spool. He is again institutionalized. During the last few minutes of the movie, Venable tells Bates that Emma Spool was his aunt, not his mother, and had killed his father.
Apparently, she had fallen for Bates' father and, when Norma Bates had given birth to Norman, kidnapped the child, believing he was her son. The final sequel, however, supplies that Bates' father was stung to death by bees, effectively retconning the revelations of Psycho III. In this film, Bates had been released from the institution, and is married to one of the hospital's nurses. When his wife becomes pregnant , however, he lures her to his mother's house and tries to kill her; he wants to prevent another of his "cursed" line from being born into the world.
The film implies that Bates' mother suffered from schizophrenia and passed the illness on to him. He relents at the last minute, however, when his wife professes her love for him. He then burns the house down in an attempt to free himself of his past.
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