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Psycho

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Psycho is an American horror franchise consisting of six films loosely based on the Psycho novels by Robert Bloch. The first film, Psycho (1960), directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins, is by far the most famous and critically lauded and has therefore been referenced the most on The Simpsons.

References to Psycho in The Simpsons[edit]

Episodes[edit]

Picture Season Episode number Episode name Reference
Norman Bates MacLeod.png N/A N/A N/A In Treehouse of Horror episodes, Norm MacLeod is credited as "Norman "Bates" MacLeod, a reference to Norman Bates, a character from Psycho.
The Haunted House - Treehouse of Horror I.png 2 16 "Treehouse of Horror" The Evil House design is based on the house from Psycho.
Psycho Itchy & Scratchy & Marge.png 22 "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" The scene where Maggie attacks Homer with a mallet is a recreation of the infamous shower scene from Psycho (though not set in a shower). The soundtrack also quotes Bernard Hermann's famous score.
Psycho Black Widower.png 3 56 "Black Widower" When Sideshow Bob goes to see Selma's dead corpse in the chair, he turns it around to see that Bart is there instead. He whacks the light, and as it swings back and forth, he sees Selma in the doorway. This sequence parodies the film's famous ending scene.
Skinner House BFTSP.png 4 73 "Brother from the Same Planet" Skinner makes a reference to the movie when he looks at a house in the distance (which looks like the Bates Motel from Psycho) and says "Oh... there's mother now." He then starts to hold a conversation with his overbearing mother, despite the fact that she's not there. This is the first time Skinner has been portrayed as a Norman Bates-like character, with his house modelled after the Bates Motel.
80 "Marge in Chains" Troy McClure mentioned "P" is for Psycho, one of the films he starred on. This is a parody of the films Psycho and Dial M for Murder, both by Alfred Hitchcock.
Psycho Marge in Chains.png Maude Flanders follows Marge to the Flanders bathroom and watches her through a hole in the wall, much like Norman Bates did to Marion Crane at the Bates Motel in Psycho.
Bates Motel.png 5 83 "Cape Feare" In the town of Terror Lake, Sideshow Bob stays at the Bates Motel, a reference to Norman Bates' motel in the first Psycho film.
5 88 "Bart's Inner Child" Seymour Skinner is told by Brad Goodman to ventilate his true feelings about his mother. He gives him a dummy of an old woman, sitting in a chair. The dummy looks similar to the corpse of the assassin's mother in Psycho (1960), who is also positioned in a chair. The button eyes mimick her skeleton face.
Springfield Philharmonic.png 8 163 "The Springfield Files" The busload of musicians that Homer encounters while in the woods play the frightening music from the shower scene.
Murder house.png 9 187 "Realty Bites" The murder house is modeled after the Bates motel.
27 578 "Halloween of Horror" Homer announces that he was going to tell a version of Psycho starring Seymour and Agnes Skinner as protagonists.
28 606 "The Nightmare After Krustmas" Lisa plays the "The Murder" from the Psycho film soundtrack on her violin.
Psy-Koh IV The Beginning.png 33 709 "Treehouse of Horror XXXII" Ryan Koh's name "Psy-Koh IV: The Beginning" is a reference to the movie Psycho IV: The Beginning.

Comics[edit]

Picture Comic issue Story name Reference
Marion Crane.png Simpsons Comics #46 Angels with Yellow Faces Marion Crane, named after the character of the same name from Psycho, is a bank cashier who gives Sideshow Bob a loan. She then goes to the Bates Motel.

External links[edit]