{"product_id":"once-around-the-bloch-an-unauthorized-autobiography-9780312853730","title":"Once Around the Bloch: An Unauthorized Autobiography","description":"\u003cp\u003eRobert Bloch was destined to make generations nervous about showering when he penned PSYCHO. But theres more to his story than just a brief stay at the Bates Motel. In ONCE AROUND THE BLOCH  he recounts it all  in the fast  furious and funny way that only he can. ONCE AROUND THE BLOCH takes us from Blochs early years in Chicago to his first fateful encounter with the pulp magazine classic  Weird Tales. Within its pages  he discovers the peerless horror fiction of H.P Lovecraft  and he begins a correspondence with Lovecraft which changes the course of his life. It is Lovecraft himself who first suggests that young Mr. Bloch might just have the knack for dreaming up literary terrors of his own. And how right he is. As a young family man in Wisconsin  our struggling author finds the inspiration for his masterwork  PSYCHO  thanks to the real-life exploits of a - mercifully - distant neighbor. His name is Ed Gein  and he is lonely  backwoods sort of fellow with a penchant for digging up corpses for company (not to mention arts and crafts). And hes not above making a few fresh corpses of his own when excavating gets dull. In the hands of a master craftsman  this raw material will become the stuff of legendary nightmare  and Norman Bates will be born. But ONCE AROUND THE BLOCH is not just the story of a literary life - it is also a tale of Tinsel Town. Aside from providing the genesis for Alfred Hitchcocks favorite black comedy  Robert Bloch has also lent his talents to the big and small screens over the years as a scriptwriter. He has helped to create such cinematic terrors as STRAIT-JACKET (directed by the immortal showman  William Castle)  ASYLUM  and THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD  and written teleplays for TV cult classics like THRILLER  NIGHT GALLERY and STAR TREK.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45648023683125,"sku":"ByrdShop_0312853734","price":348.1,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780312853730.jpg?v=1781706936","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/once-around-the-bloch-an-unauthorized-autobiography-9780312853730","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}