10 More Horror Movie Answers Fans Had To Wait For

10. Norma's Life Before The Events Of Psycho - Psycho IV: The Beginning

At the end of Alfred Hitchcock's subversive slasher, deranged motel owner Norman Bates insists he "wouldn't hurt a fly". Unfortunately, the events leading up to this point say otherwise. 

Norman snapped after murdering his abusive mother, Norma, causing him to develop a split personality based on her. Every time he was attracted to a woman, Norman would kill her as his Mother personality.

Despite playing a pivotal role in the Psycho franchise, little is revealed in the original about Norman's dear old mum. Also, Psycho II put a spanner in the works when a waitress called Emma Spool claimed to be Norman's real mother and Norma was his aunt.

Luckily, prequel Psycho IV: The Beginning set the record straight, retconning the events of Psycho II and reconfirming Norma is Norman's mother. Norma conditioned Norman from an early age that all women were sexual deviants, save for her. Any time Norman was aroused, Norma ordered him to dress as a woman, hoping to combat his manly urges.

Believing he was the only one deserving of Norma's affection, Norman was consumed by jealousy when his mother announced she was engaged to another man. In a rage, he poisoned the pair's iced tea and staged it like a murder-suicide pact.

Even though pieces of Norman's past had been eluded to, this was the first time we saw the events that shaped him into the murderer he became.