Robert Albert Bloch

Robert Albert Bloch (1917–1994) pioneered the modern psychological thriller. He was a prolific and influential American author of horror, psychological suspense, and science fiction. While he is most famously remembered as the author of the novel Psycho (1959), which Alfred Hitchcock adapted into the legendary film, his career spanned over six decades and included hundreds of short stories and more than 30 novels.

Bloch began his writing career as a young protégé of H.P. Lovecraft, becoming a prominent member of the "Lovecraft Circle" and publishing his first stories in pulp magazines like Weird Tales. He famously received permission from Lovecraft to kill a character based on him in the story The Shambler from the Stars, an honor Lovecraft returned by making "Robert Blake" the protagonist of his own tale, The Haunter of the Dark. While a master of supernatural horror, Bloch's greatest achievement was shifting the source of fear from external monsters to the darkness within the human mind. His writing is characterized by its sharp, often grimly humorous prose, and a frequent use of shocking twist endings. His dark wit is perfectly captured in his famous quip:
"I have the heart of a small boy. I keep it in a jar on my desk."

Beyond novels, Bloch was a successful screenwriter for film and television. He notably wrote three classic episodes for the original Star Trek series: "Wolf in the Fold," "What Are Little Girls Made Of?," and "Catspaw."

Over his lifetime, Robert Bloch received numerous accolades, including the Hugo Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, cementing his legacy as a foundational figure in 20th-century speculative fiction.