Robert Bloch's Psycho: Sanitarium

Robert Bloch's Psycho: Sanitarium

by Chet Williamson

4.3 (336)

4.3 stars from 336 reviews

Published by St. Martin's PressPublished 2016-01-01

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Last checked: Jun 8, 2026

Price history: $2.99 $19.99

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Fans of these authors will like this...

  • Stephen King
  • Paul Tremblay
  • Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Fans of these books will like this...

  • The Girl on the Train
  • Mexican Gothic
  • The Shining

Perfect for you if...

  • You love the original Psycho and want to finally know what Norman was doing during those missing 23 years in the hospital.
  • You enjoy horror that's grounded in character psychology rather than jump scares, with genuine dread building from twisted relationships.
  • You appreciate stories where the setting itself becomes a character, especially decaying institutions with their own dark histories.

Maybe not for you if...

  • You prefer your horror supernatural and overtly scary rather than psychological and unsettling.
  • You haven't read or seen Psycho and don't care about Norman Bates as a character or his backstory.
  • You want a standalone novel. This is written for existing Psycho fans and assumes you know the franchise.

About this book

Robert Bloch's original Psycho novel was published in 1959 and became an instant success, followed by Alfred Hitchcock's film adaptation a year later. Twenty-three years later, Bloch wrote a sequel revealing that Norman Bates had spent those decades in a mental institution before escaping and committing murders in Hollywood. This novel explores what happened during those two decades in the asylum. Set in 1960, Norman Bates is a catatonic patient at the State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Dr. Felix Reed attempts to bring him out of his catatonic state, but faces obstacles from disturbed fellow patients and staff members who view the institution as a prison rather than a healing facility. The building itself, a former private sanitarium, carries rumors of being haunted. A complication arises when Robert Newman appears—Norman's twin brother, separated at birth after a doctor declared him brain damaged. As the brothers get to know each other, Norman detects a darkness in Robert that may exceed his own. Murders begin occurring within the institution's walls, leading to a series of shocking events that deepen the mystery of what truly happens inside Psycho: Sanitarium.

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Price History

Kindle price over time. Green zones = periods when the book was free.

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Free$9.99$19.99Apr '20Mar '23Apr '25Jan '26
$2.99$19.99

Currently on sale at $2.99 — 85% off peak. Price has dropped 12 times over the last 6 years. Goes on sale roughly every 126 days. Typically stays discounted for 50 days.

Sales Rank

Amazon sales rank: lower number = better selling book. #1 is the bestseller.

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#3,241#629,035#1,254,829Aug '18Jul '23Oct '25Jun '26

Currently around #403K in the Kindle store — a niche title. Climbing the charts — 60% improvement recently.

Rating & Reviews

Purple line = star rating over time. Blue area = total review count growth.

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3.5★4.3★5.0★Oct '23Jun '24Mar '26May '26RatingReviews

Currently 4.3★ from 336 reviews

Gaining approximately 1 new review per month. Rating has remained stable at 4.3 over the tracking period.

Sale Prediction

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Free$9.99$19.99Apr '20Mar '23Apr '25Jan '26PredictedJun '26

Actual Predicted

This book is currently discounted at $2.99. It typically returns to around $19.99.

Prices shown in USD from Amazon US. We continuously pull new data to improve tracking. If dates look old, it usually means there has been no significant change since the last data point.

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Chet Williamson

1 book on Vagrant Press

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