<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Robert Bloch (Robert Albert Bloch) (April 5, 1917–September 23, 1994) American writer.

Robert Bloch's career writing crime, mystery, suspense, science fiction, fantasy, and horror spanned seven decades of the 20th century. He wrote more than two dozen novels and over 200 short stories, which have been collected in more than 40 volumes. His prodigious writing was accompanied by a reputation among genre writers and community for his kindness, generosity, and humor. ("I have the heart of a small boy . . . I keep it in a jar on my shelf.") Bloch's most famous work is Psycho (1959), the novel upon which Alfred Hitchcock based his 1960 film of the same name.

Bloch, as a young man, corresponded with H.P. Lovecraft, who encouraged his writing. Bloch made his first sales at age 17 to semiprofessional Marvel Tales quickly followed that same year by sales to Weird Tales. The young Bloch's stories were in the Lovecraftian vein, some even set in the Cthulhu cosmos. After H. P. Lovecraft's death in 1937, Bloch's themes became more varied, encompassing both science fiction and supernatural tales. Many of his stories for the pulps were humorous and he became the leading writer of comic fantasy. Bloch's fiction began to feature psychopathic killers in the 1940s although initially he often mixed the supernatural with aberrant psychology. In "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper" (1943), the notorious killer's victims were seen as sacrifices to attain immortality. He then turned more toward psychopaths whose behavior resulted in horrifying crimes and death. A musician's psychotic breakdown results in an imaginary figure that pushes him toward murder.

His first novel, The Scarf (1947), as well as subsequent work, broke genre barriers between horror and crime genres by dealing with "the monster in our midst"—the transgressive or unnatural character whose apparent normality allows them to pass in society without notice. His most famous creation, Psycho's mild-mannered Norman Bates—inspired by real-life serial killer Ed Gein—is the basis for the modern horror icon of the serial killer. Although Bloch was not involved in the film Psycho, he wrote numerous scripts for film projects including Strait-Jacket and The Night Walker (both 1964). He also wrote for radio and television series, including Lock-Up, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Thriller, Star Trek, and Night Gallery.

Bloch's autobiography, Once Around the Bloch (1993), was his last major work. He was the World Fantasy Convention's first Life Achievement recipient as well as its first guest of honor (1975), received the Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award (1989), was named World Horror Convention Grandmaster (1991), and won an Edgar, a Nebula Award, two Hugos, and three Bram Stoker Awards.

External Links

The Bat Is My Brother: Unofficial Robert Bloch Site

Robert Bloch on "Pegasos"