Call for Papers: The Legacy of Norman Bates: Essays on the Psycho Franchise
Editor: Shane H Weathers, Bowling Green State University
Editors Introduction:
While John Carpenter’s Halloween catapulted the slasher subgenre to the front of popular culture, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho provided its blueprint. With a marketing campaign that hinged on maintain the film’s iconic twist, to the iconic shower scene, to the switching of the protagonist midway through the film, the original Psycho remains one of the most beloved horror films, and films in general, of all time. The success of the original film led to a franchise comprised of six total films including four sequels and a remake, a documentary, tie-in materials, and a successful television show that ran for 5 seasons on A&E.
This volume aims to address EVERY aspect of the franchise, from start to (current) finish. While the original film’s impact cannot be understated, the true legacy of this franchise can only be summed up by also addressing every other component. Therefore, I am looking for 1–2 essays on each film, two essays on the television series, a franchise contextualization essay that addresses the entire franchise through a specific lens, and additional essays for a total of 14–15 essays.
I welcome essays that take interdisciplinary angles and/or combine any aspects of the films or external factors such as production or literary origins. The franchises primary texts are listed below:
Psycho (1960)
Psycho II
Psycho III
Bates Motel (1987)
Psycho IV: The Beginning
Psycho (1998)
Bates Motel (TV Show)
While scholars are encouraged to pursue topics and films they are passionate about, below is a non-exhaustive list of potential subjects:
- The marketing of Psycho (1960)
- The novels (Psycho, Psycho II, Psycho House, Psycho: Sanitarium) and adaptation theory
- Feminist film theory and Lila Crane/Loomis
- Documentary study and The Psycho Legacy (Robert Galluzzo, 2010)
- Innovation Publishing’s Psycho graphic novels
- Comparisons between Psycho II and other slasher sequels of the 1980s
- Critical reevaluations of Psycho remake
- Performance studies (Olivia Hussey, Robert Loggia, Henry Thomas, CCH Pounder, Dennis Franz, William H. Macy, Julianne Moore, Viggo Mortensen, Meg Tilly, Vera Miles, Jason Bateman)
- Genre Theory (e.g., Bates Motel [1987] and supernatural horror; black comedy in the franchise)
- Narratology and the Bates Motel television series
- The Final Girl and Connie Bates in Psycho IV: The Beginning
- Freudian analysis and the sequels
- Mental illness and depictions of suicide in Bates Motel (1987)
- Cystic fibrosis and Emma Decody
- Rob Zombie’s “Living Dead Girl” in Psycho (1998) vs. Bride of Chucky (1998)
- Religion in Psycho III
- Vince Vaughn’s Norman Bates
- Brotherhood (Norman and Dylan) and/or fatherhood (Dylan and Caleb) in Bates Motel (TV show)
- Vera Farmiga (Bates Motel [TV show]) vs. Olivia Hussey (Psycho IV: The Beginning) and the characterization of Norma Bates
- Character analyses of Bates Motel characters, specifically of one or more of the following: Caleb Calhoun, Chick Hogan, Bradley Martin, Alex Romero
Queries and Submissions:
Please send queries and abstracts (400–525 words) for proposed chapter-length original work to [email protected]. Proposals should be submitted no later than September 1, 2026. Selected contributors will be notified by November 1, 2026. Initial drafts of 5500–6750 words (MLA 9) will be due April 1, 2027. Please provide in the body of the email a brief author biography. I am currently discussing the book proposal with a publisher who is very interested in the collection, and am aiming for a 2030 release to coincide with the original film’s seventieth anniversary. If enough submissions are made regarding the Bates Motel television show, the collection may be split into two volumes, one which focuses on the films and one on the television show.