10 Most Terrifying Female Horror Movie Villains

Norma Bates is technically dead for the entirety of the Hitchcock classic Psycho but that does not stop her from exerting her influence from beyond the grave. Her son Norman, an abused child, begins to carry out the ‘wishes’ of his long dead mother by murdering Janet Leigh in the shower, a scene that has now become one of, if not the most famous movie murder in the history of cinema.

Psychiatrist Dr. Fred Richman explains at the end of the movie that Norman Bates “no longer exists… and now the other half has taken over.” After Norman murdered his mother and her lover, the ‘Mother’ personality became dominant whenever Norman experienced desire or attraction towards anyone else, resulting in numerous murders and unsolved missing persons cases.

'Mother’ was now living in the basement, partially preserved, wearing a dress and a wig that Norman dons whenever the dark half began to dominate his personality. Voiced by Virginia Gregg, Norma Bates deserves her fame as a female horror movie villain as she manages the feat of exerting an influence even after death, consuming Norman and becoming the driving force of his own retreating personality. “He was never all Norman but he was often only Mother…”