Villains Unveiled
Mother Knows Best
(Spoilers ahead. Though she’s a classic character, there may be some unsuspecting people out there who don’t know her full story, so don’t go psycho and ruin the surprise.)
Virginia Gregg, Paul Jasmin, and Jeanette Nolan may not be names you are familiar with, but there’s a good chance you’ve heard their voices—and if you’re Norman Bates, you’ve definitely heard them… in your head. Those three performers lent their voices to be what “Mother” sounded like to the embattled keeper of Bates Motel in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 film “Psycho.” Norma Bates wanted to keep her son forever, and in a ghoulish way, she’d stay with him for all eternity.
Writer Robert Bloch penned the original 1959 novel “Psycho” which tells the familiar tale of Norman Bates serving as caretaker of a motel in a small town. Berated by his mother, Norma, Norman is tormented by a childhood suffering by the hand of his domineering parent. The lifelong trauma of growing up under the temperamental and puritanical rule of his increasingly embittered mother resulted in Norman maturing into a very troubled man.
In the book, their state relocates a highway, driving motel business away, sending Bates deeper into despair. Similar to the Hitchcock film adaptation, a young woman named “Mary” Crane steals $40,000, hoping to pay off her boyfriend’s debts in order to get married. A wrong turn sends her to Bates Motel where she meets the seemingly mild-mannered and a little awkward Norman. Norman offers his new guest some company, which sends his mother into a hysterical frenzy. Mary accepts Norman’s dinner invitation, and they discuss their lives—including Norman’s overbearing mother. Mary gently suggests something be done about such a toxic woman, but, ever the good son, Norman doesn’t see it.
After the meal, Norman passes out, only to wake up to discover Mary’s bloody, lifeless body. Mary’s disappearance arouses suspicion, landing a private investigator onto Norman’s doorstep. The detective ends up murdered, and Norman is convinced his mother is behind the grisly killings. The deaths lead to others inspecting the motel, resulting in “Mother” attacking victims once more—only this time a survivor witnesses the murderer’s true identity: Norman, dressed in his mother’s clothes and armed with a large knife. Exploration of the premises reveals Norma Bates’ mummified corpse locked away in a cellar. Norman is apprehended, and declared psychotic.
Timid and unassuming Norman Bates had developed a codependent relationship with his mother when he was very young, shortly after his father abandoned them. Eventually, Norma took a new lover, sending Norman in a jealous spiral. Norman poisoned them both, leaving behind a forged suicide note. Norma lived on in Norman’s twisted psyche, emerging as a separate identity. “Mother” would continue to scold and insult Norman for even the most innocuous choices, despite the real Norma rotting away in a hidden tomb. When “Mother” committed the atrocious acts of violence, Norman would have no recollection of the crimes, only a deepening mental crisis. His warped mindset had contorted reality, leaving Norman an emotionally stunted and perhaps irrevocably broken adult.
In subsequent books and films, Norman would go on to have more shocking experiences, delving deeper into madness. Anthony Perkins portrayed Norman in four “Psycho” movies, Vince Vaughn starred in the 1998 remake, and Freddie Highmore played the role in the 2013 “Bates Motel” series—each performance contributed to the nuances of Norman’s shattered mind. The character of Norman Bates is a complicated and tragic figure, suffering from years of mental, verbal, and physical abuse. Even though he is a victim of Norma’s own psychosis, Norman was ultimately the one responsible for his unspeakable acts. Norma, however, helped shape the psycho her son would become.
Olivia Hussey, Alice Hirson, and Rose Marie also provided the voice of Norman’s mother in different productions, each adding to the demented lore of the mother of all psychos. The Bates Motel series offered a spanning exploration of a younger Norman and the strangeness his family attracted. Vera Farmiga took on the scene-stealing role of Norma, breathing new, complex life into the domineering character. Farmiga and Highmore presented the mother-son pair in a sadly believable relationship. For all of Norma’s fierce independence, cunning, and strength, she was also emotionally fragile—and woefully attached to Norman. Their disturbing bond saw joyous highs that showed the two as close friends and confidants. The devastating lows, however, revealed Norma’s mean-spirited and judgmental true self.
Norman’s father, John, left a void in the family when he abandoned them. In the original novel, he simply deserted them, while in “Psycho IV: The Beginning,” John’s demise is said to be from vicious bee stings. In the second and third film, it is revealed that Norma’s sister, also mentally ill Emma Pool, killed John in a fit of envious rage. The sisters both loved the same man, and after John married Norma and had their son, it pushed Emma over the edge.
A sinister strain runs through the Bates' blood, infecting the family members with hereditary insanity. Norma displayed narcissistic tendencies and a need for control—as well as a bizarre penchant for cruelty. In the fourth film in the franchise, Norman confesses to a radio host that when he was very young, he and his mother attended a funeral. During the wake, Norma tickled Norman, causing him to laugh, which Norma then chastised him for. The head games mutated into inappropriate physical roughhousing between the two as Norman developed into manhood. The sexualized nature of their relationship further scarred Norman as his mother would stimulate him only to punish him for the act.
Norma indoctrinated her son that no other woman would be good enough for him and that any other female was a harlot not worth his time. Norma, though, found new love with Chet, an outgoing man who was not shy about discussing his bedroom antics in front of Norman. Consumed with jealousy and anger, Norman put on his practiced subservient act and served Norma and Chet iced tea. As they convulse and struggle, they realize they’ve been poisoned.
In the AMC television series, Norma’s history was exposed to be much darker than previous depictions. Born into a dysfunctional family, Norma Louise Calhoun and her brother Caleb would be subjected to beatings from their father Ray. Their inattentive mother, Frances, would lock the siblings in their room in an attempt to keep safe from their abusive father. Norma and her brother would develop a consensual incestual relationship which eventually Norma tried to stop. This sent Caleb into an enraged fit, resulting in a violation that would lead to the birth of their son - and Norman’s half brother - Dylan.
Norma would eventually marry John Massett, like in the novel and movies, but would have an affair with a man named Sam Bates. After running away with Sam, the two would have Norman. Sam’s drunken outbursts and physically abusive nature drove Norma to escape with her son to Oregon where she purchased a motel. As their story progressed, Norma would deal with her relationship with an estranged Dylan, and the returning Caleb, and, of course, Norman’s worsening mental health.
In the “Bates Motel”‘television series, Norma meets her end when Norman kills her via carbon monoxide poisoning. Her “spirit” would continue to haunt Norman until his own dying breath in the show.
The insidious origins of the Bates family legacy drew inspiration from a real life mother and son. The serial killer Ed Gein’s horrific true story influenced chilling tales such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Silence of the Lamb, and, of course, Psycho. Augusta Wilheime Gein raised Ed in a strict religious house, believing sin infected every aspect of life. Intimate relations were ungodly and women served as instruments of the devil. Ed developed a sick obsession with his mother, and when Augusta died of a stroke, he was left desolate and spiraling further out of control. Ed would later strip corpses of their flesh and, in a truly macabre way, attempt to “become” his mother.
Norma Bates is an unnerving character due to her realistic tendencies. She herself is a victim of familial traumas that descended her into a deep state of mental unrest. Norman may be the more well known villain, but his deranged behavior was passed down from his dear mother.
Villain ranking: PSYCHOTIC
Norma Bates endures as a creepy fictional figure, but it is her true life inspirations that make her so scary. In many ways, she represents an invasive parent that can nurture a child into a madman.
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