The Couch

by Robert Bloch

A novelization by Robert Bloch of his screenplay for 'The Couch' a Warner Brothers movie. It is the story of a man with a terrible secret. He will not even tell it to his psychiatrist. He could be wandering down any street at any time. He does not look any different from other people in the street. But his secret gives him power over them. He knows one of them is about to die.

Genres: Horror

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Robert Albert Bloch was a prolific American writer. He was the son of Raphael "Ray" Bloch (1884, Chicago-1952, Chicago), a bank cashier, and his wife Stella Loeb (1880, Attica, Indiana-1944, Milwaukee, WI), a social worker, both of German-Jewish descent.

Bloch wrote hundreds of short stories and over twenty novels, usually crime fiction, science fiction, and, perhaps most influentially, horror fiction (Psycho). He was one of the youngest members of the Lovecraft Circle; Lovecraft was Bloch's mentor and one of the first to seriously encourage his talent.

He was a contributor to pulp magazines such as Weird Tales in his early career, and was also a prolific screenwriter. He was the recipient of the Hugo Award (for his story "That Hell-Bound Train"), the Bram Stoker Award, and the World Fantasy Award. He served a term as president of the Mystery Writers of America.

Robert Bloch was also a major contributor to science fiction fanzines and fandom in general. In the 1940s, he created the humorous character Lefty Feep in a story for Fantastic Adventures. He also worked for a time in local vaudeville, and tried to break into writing for nationally-known performers. He was a good friend of the science fiction writer Stanley G. Weinbaum. In the 1960's, he wrote 3 stories for Star Trek.

Reviews

[James W. Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here’s how the inside-cover teaser copy for the garish, lurid 1962 paperback puts it:

“Somewhere within an area of hundreds of square miles was the man. One man out of 7,000,000. No one knew whether he was young or old. He could have been the man in the next telephone booth , calling the police, telling them the only fact they knew about him -- that at seven o’clock he was going to kill again…”

A lunatic in the grip of subconscious impulses he can’t begin to understand roams the streets of Los Angeles, nastily murdering victims chosen utterly at random, and announcing to the police, day by day, that he’ll strike again. The city cringes in terror, police are sick with anger and frustration.

This is Bloch’s novelization of the screenplay he wrote for the movie of the same title based on a story by Blake Edwards and director Owen Crump.

Bloch again shows his great ability to portray a psychotic character’s mind. (What would you expect from the author of Psycho?) Bloch’s craftsmanship and economy of style make this short (128 pages) novel move fast and generate suspense.

I’m not overly familiar with Bloch’s work, though I’ve read enough to know that this is not one of Bloch’s best, but it is nevertheless suspenseful and fast and fun to read, and deserves a certain place as one of his explorations of noir and nut-case killers. Any serious Bloch fan will certainly want to read it.

So check out some of his other stuff first, but if you bump into this nasty and fun little romp, don’t pass it up.

[Boris Cesnik · Rating 4 out of 5]

A refreshing incipit, tight dialogues and sharp scenes creates a spellbinding rollercoaster ride with slow climatic breaks to prepare the reader for the sudden fall into gasping suspense.
A way too mysterious in details and explanations, and a less than surprising ending make this reading ultimately thrilling and slightly disappointing at the same time.

[Williwaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick moving suspense novel about a murderous psychiatric patient and his relationships with his psychoanalyst and the analyst's niece. Hence the title, "The Couch."

[David Berardelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 1962 novelization of Robert Bloch's screenplay, written by Bloch himself. As with PSYCHO, this story deals with a most terrifying killer. In this case, the killer murders on impulse. A mental patient, he has no motive, and simply waits for the deadly urge to consume him. It is only then that he picks his victim. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, he has chosen several to satisfy this urge.

[Bill · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a quick read. Reminded me of episodes of the Twilight Zone or TV suspense shows from the '60s. Nothing special, but still readable.