Norman Bates from ‘Psycho’

The Character: Norman Bates was the fictional killer in Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 suspense thriller 'Psycho.' Created by writer Robert Bloch, Norman Bates was a man so attached to his overbearing and strict mother that he liked to kill women while dressed up in her clothing. Actor Anthony Perkins played Bates and made him one of the most notorious and sinister characters in cinema history.

The Inspiration: Hitchcock got the idea for 'Psycho' from the novel of the same name, which, as previously mentioned, was written by Robert Bloch. Bloch based Bates on Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein -- a man who was also severely obsessed with his mother. Gein also dressed as a woman, but in a much more shocking capacity: he would dig up bodies and use their skins to create a "woman suit." Upon his arrest and conviction for murdering two women, authorities found various body parts and bones in his house, along with chairs covered in human skin and bowls made out of skulls. Yeesh -- Gein really makes Norman Bates seem well-adjusted.