Author Robert Bloch’s most famous work has now been transformed into a successful film franchise and a successful television show. Both of these sources showcased the delusions, murderous tendencies, and maternal issues of one Norman Bates. The world knows Psycho (1959) for its many incarnations (films and TV shows); however, its author is just as well known, Bloch, as it stands, is not necessarily a one-trick pony in the literature and writing field.

Robert Bloch’s Early Life

Robert Bloch was born Robert Albert Bloch Chicago, Illinois, on April 5^th, 1917. His father was a bank teller and his mother was a social worker. As a child, he weathered the normalcy of suburban life and attended grammar school. A late night screening of 1925’s Phantom of the Opera starring Lon Chaney, Sr., sparked his immediate interest in writing fiction.

Bloch’s Publishing Career

Bloch, much like many of the writers in the mid-1900s, used turn-of-the-century writers as inspiration, who had largely published in pulp magazines. Bloch was hugely inspired by Weird Tales, which featured the likes of H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard. In fact, Lovecraft and Bloch started a correspondence that resulted in Bloch’s inclusion into the Lovecraft Circle—a group of popular writers at the time—even though he was the youngest of the troupe.

At this time, Bloch sent along his submissions to the Weird Tales but did not see immediate fanfare until other publications started taking notice of his work. Weird Tales followed suit. As stated by the Wisconsin Historical Society, “Weird Tales initially rejected Bloch’s submissions until similar publications began to pick up his stories. He quickly became one of the magazine’s most popular authors.”

Nevertheless, Bloch’s relationship with other writers helped expose him to a community of like-minded artists. John O’Neil, writing for Black Gate, wrote that, “Bloch gradually expanded his correspondence to Clark Ashton Smith, August Derleth, and others …” This would lay “the groundwork for what would eventually be known as the Cthulhu Mythos. Together, they built on Lovecraft’s work, kicking off a tradition that is still very much alive today” (O’Neil).

Bloch’s Later Career and Death

After publishing stories over the next decade, author Robert Bloch wrote his first novel in 1947, and would publish 50 more over the course of his career, including the mainstay psychological-horror novel Psycho, and 50 screenplays and 400 short stories. He was also the recipient of the Hugo Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and the World Fantasy Award. Additionally, he served as “president of the Mystery Writers of America.”

Goodreads states: “Robert Bloch was also a major contributor to science fiction fanzines and fandom in general. In the 1940s, he created the humorous character Lefty Feep in a story for Fantastic Adventures.” Furthermore, he also “worked for a time in local vaudeville,” and “wrote 3 stories for Star Trek.”

Author Robert Bloch died at 77 years old in 1994.