The Science of Monsters

Dr. Leasure: “I don’t know which treatment might have been more likely for Norman Bates at the time. Treatment in 1960 might have gone down a couple of paths. One might have employed psychoanalysis to try to get at the root cause of the problem and remedy it. In Mr. Bates’s case there likely would have been a focus on his development, upbringing, early childhood experiences, trauma, relationships, etc. Given the fixation on his mother, his relationship with her would have been explored in detail. Another potential treatment avenue could have been institutionalization where he might have received heavily sedating medication. Medication options were limited and many of those used were heavily sedating. Until the sixties, long-term institutionalization was not uncommon. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was also a treatment option, although I’m not sure if it would have been used in this situation. It fell out of favor in the 1960s before becoming more commonly used starting around the 1980s.”

Kelly:“If Norman did indeed have a sort of dissociative amnesia, would you consider that he would or would not be to blame for the crimes he committed? Could you tell us a little about legal culpability for people suffering from any sort of similar disorder or affliction as Norman?”

Dr. Leasure: “Forensic psychiatry is an area I have only limited knowledge of. In his case, if he was determined to be in a dissociated state at the time of the crime with little or no volitional control over his actions, then I think not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) would be a reasonable outcome of a trial. I can’t really speak to the question of legal culpability other than to say it is variable and often up to the jury or a judge to decide. Forensic psychiatrists or psychologists may provide expert testimony, but I believe there are restrictions on how far they can go in making determinations about what should happen as a result of a trial. If someone is found NGRI they are almost always committed to a psychiatric facility for treatment, often with the idea of restoring them to a state in which they are no longer a danger to society. Often they are kept there longer than might clinically be thought necessary because judges are reluctant to release them for fear the patient might commit a crime and the judges receive blame.”

Meg:“And lastly, what do you think of the depiction of mentally unstable, violent people in film? Are there any that stand out to you as chilling in their accuracy? Or upsetting in their generalization?”

Dr. Leasure: “Mental illness is often portrayed in terrible ways in film that perpetuate stereotypes, such as that people with mental illness are dangerous or crazy. They also sometimes portray purely illegal or psychopathic behavior as due to a mental illness. I would view Psycho as potentially guilty of that. Treatments are also sometimes portrayed in a negative light, such as ECT in One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975). A couple of examples that, while perhaps not fully capturing the mental illness, at least highlight the challenges of dealing with it for individuals or families are A Beautiful Mind (2001) and Silver Linings Playbook (2012).”

It was fascinating to see Norman Bates through the eyes of a professional. We had heard that DID was a rare and controversial diagnosis, but hearing Dr. Leasure’s thoughts solidified how few people suffer from this (possibly bogus) condition. If Norman had had the opportunity to be treated by a psychiatrist like Dr. Leasure, his story may have ended very differently.

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CHAPTER FIVE

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE

Year of Release: 1974

Director: Tobe Hooper

Writer: Kim Henkel, Tobe Hooper

Starring: Marilyn Burns, Gunnar Hansen

Budget: $80,000

Box Office: $30.9 million

Ed Gein died the year I (Meg) was born. As a teenager I happened across a paperback about Gein at a library sale. This book, yellowed and full of black and white, glossy photographs, sparked my interest in true crime. It revealed the monster behind the movies I loved. Ed Gein’s story, wholly true and wholly awful, is often described as the igniter of nearly every modern serial killer movie.