Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh on the set of Psycho

Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images

How Well Do You Know 'Psycho'?

Test your knowledge of America's scariest movie (celebrating its 60th anniversary) with this creepy quiz

Donald Liebenson

En español

Published October 30, 2020

10 Questions

Sixty years ago, Alfred Hitchcock shocked America with Psycho, which did for showers what Jaws would later do for swimming in the ocean. Psycho, featuring Janet Leigh as the ill-fated Marion Crane and Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates, has lost none of its power to terrify. We've scared up some questions to see how well you know Hitch's horror classic. Spoilers abound, so do not take this quiz if you haven't seen the film. Mother would not approve!

How Well Do You Know 'Psycho'?

[ {
  "question" : "‘Psycho,’ originally a novel by Robert Bloch, was inspired by atrocities committed by what serial killer?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "Harvey Glatman",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Ed Gein",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "John George Haigh",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Eric Edgar Cooke",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Ed Gein, a Wisconsin farm owner, was known as “the Butcher of Plainfield.” Robert Bloch lived about 40 miles from his notorious house of horrors, where investigators found furniture made from human skin and bones. Gein also inspired \"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.\"",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "In what guise does Alfred Hitchcock appear for his signature cameo appearance in the film?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "He crosses the street in front of Marion’s car when she stops at a stoplight",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "He is seen rushing to board a bus",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "He is glimpsed outside Marion’s Phoenix real estate office wearing a Stetson hat",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "He appears as a policeman in the police station where Norman Bates is being held",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "That’s Hitch wearing the Stetson hat in the beginning of the film. He knew audiences would be looking for his appearance and made sure to place it early on so they wouldn’t be distracted from the story.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "What alias does Marion Crane use to sign the Bates Motel’s guest register?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "Marie Samuels",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "Judy Barton",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Lila Loomis",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Eve Kendall",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "On the run with $40,000 in stolen money, Marion Crane checks into the Bates Motel as Marie Samuels. Her debt-ridden lover’s name is Sam Loomis. Director John Carpenter paid homage by naming Donald Pleasence’s character after him in the original \"Halloween.\"",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "What was Norman Bates’s hobby?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "Wood carving",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Knitting",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Taxidermy",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "Whittling",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Taxidermy is more than an “uncommon” hobby for Norman. “A hobby’s supposed to pass the time, not fill it,” he tells Marion. His stuffed birds of prey that haunt the parlor ratchet up Psycho’s creep factor.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "What does Norman serve Marion for dinner?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "Soup",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Carved turkey",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Chopped liver",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Sandwiches and milk",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Despite Mother’s disapproval, Norman dines with Marion on sandwiches and milk. Their talk inspires her to return the stolen money. But first, a shower.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "What is the most surprising thing about Bernard Herrmann’s classic score?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "Herrmann played all of the instruments",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "It is performed entirely on string instruments",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "It’s a be-bop jazz score",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "It was his only Oscar-winning score",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Herrmann’s score is performed on violins and cellos. Hitchcock originally wanted the film’s infamous shower murder to play out in silence. Herrmann’s screeching, stabbing violins so impressed Hitchcock that he doubled the composer’s salary. But the score wasn’t even nominated for an Oscar!",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "It was shocking enough that ‘Psycho’ killed off its star midway into the movie, but it was also the first movie to show ... what?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "A man wearing women’s clothing",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "A toilet",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "An undressed woman clad only in her bra",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "A serial killer",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "\"Psycho\" is credited with being the first film to show a toilet on camera. It is also the first film to depict a toilet being flushed.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "What does Norman nervously eat when detective Milton Arbogast (Martin Balsam) arrives at the Bates Motel investigating Marion’s disappearance?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "Pistachios",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Kandy Korn",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "Pumpkin seeds",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Gumballs",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "One of the eeriest images in \"Psycho\" is the underhead shot of Norman’s jaw working furiously on Kandy Korn when Arbogast discovers Marion was a guest at the motel.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "How did Norman Bates’s mother die?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "Suicide",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "Norman stabbed her",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "She drowned in her bathtub",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Her lover strangled her",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Mrs. Bates poisoned her lover when she learned he was married and then took strychnine herself. Bonus question: What color was the dress Mrs. Bates was buried in? (Periwinkle blue!)",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "A future TV icon can be glimpsed guarding the room where Norman is being held by police. Who was he?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "Pernell Roberts",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Lee Majors",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Jamie Farr",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Ted Knight",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "That’s future Emmy-winner Ted Knight, 11 years before being cast on \"The Mary Tyler Moore Show.\" He finally made it after all.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
} ]

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How Well Do You Know 'Psycho'?

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