Robert Bloch: An Interview
on Recent Works (1985)
by Randall D. Larson
on Recent Works (1985)
by Randall D. Larson
Among Robert Bloch’s recent works is a trio of novels with unusual contrasts and comparisons. TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE is an unusual case of Bloch agreeing to novelize a movie script, something he’s shunned before; PSYCHO II is an entertaining return to the world of his most famous work, written and published (with doubtful coincidence) before the Universal film of the same name (which bears no relation to Bloch’s written sequel); THE NIGHT OF THE RIPPER is another fascinating excursion into a world in which much of Bloch’s fiction, especially his most famous short story, “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper,” has found its roots.
On THE NIGHT OF THE RIPPER
Robert Bloch’s The Night of the Ripper, an effective combination of historical crime mystery and psychological thriller, is a fairly straightforward account of the Ripper murders and the confused police investigation that failed to solve them, told from a variety of viewpoints including that of actual people who were involved as well as several fictional protagonists. Bloch has also included cameo appearances by several historical figures who lived at the time of the Ripper murders, including authors Conan Doyle, George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, actor Richard Mansfield, and John Merrick, the Elephant Man. Bloch effectively captures the mood of 1890 London which brings the story, and the Ripper, to sharp life.
Threshold of Fantasy: What sparked the writing of THE NIGHT OF THE RIPPER?
Robert Bloch: Over the years I’ve written a number of stories involving Jack the Ripper—and in so doing, amassed quite a collection of books and articles on his deeds, or misdeeds. Inevitably I was struck by the numerous discrepancies and contradictions in the accounts given by various theorists. I tried to collate the “facts” given by these “Ripperologists,” as the British call them, and eventually decided it was almost impossible to do so. Meanwhile, quite a few fans kept suggesting I do my own version of the story, so in the end it seemed as if writing a book was inevitable, if only to rid myself of the Ripper once and for all. THE NIGHT OF THE RIPPER is an act of exorcism.
TF: How much research did the novel entail?
Bloch: I read about fifteen full-length books on the crimes, several dozen shorter accounts, and a dozen or more books on Victorian London in the 1890s.
TF: To what extent is the novel a historical account and to what extent a fictional one?
Bloch: A great deal of the novel is historically accurate, insofar as I can determine from the data at my disposal. The characters connected with the London Hospital are fictitious of course—though the Elephant Man was a resident there at the time. But Forbes-Winslow is described much as he actually was, and so is his involvement in the case. The same holds true for Robert Lees, the psychic whose history I cite along with his activities: no one knows what happened when he went to Gull’s residence; accounts are hearsay and vary wildly, so I invented my own.
I took the liberty of putting Shaw, Mansfield, and Oscar Wilde together for a meeting—that’s fiction, but Shaw’s theory and Mansfield’s for shutting down his show are a matter of record; Wilde’s involvement is fictional. But Conan Doyle did espouse belief that the Ripper was a midwife, there was this clinic in Watworth where three of the victims had been patients. Pedachenko did work for it as well as for Delhaye the hairdresser.
Sir Charles Warren seems to me to be accurately portrayed; Abberline’s personal attributes are my own invention. The data on the cases comes from records; so do touches of “local color.” There was a slaughterhouse near the hospital, and cattle did sometimes escape from it; the was a waxworks display similar to my description.
I made errors—Doyle’s first Sherlock Holmes stories did not appear in The Strand magazine. But there were proof-reading errors that bothered me: Beeton’s magazine becomes “Beechham’s,” and despite my protests, there’s a reference to “Charles Coburn” whereas I wrote “Coborn”—referring to a once-famous movie-hall singer who had nothing to do with the film actor the publisher thought I was talking about. And there is no “stairwell” in the Whitechapel station of the underground—again, this is my mistake. But, by and large, I strove for accuracy.
TF: Just how fanciful do you feel your solution to the Ripper's identity is?
Bloch: It's quite fanciful, I feel. Though not as far-fetched as that of one non-fiction work which solemnly insists the Ripper slayings were part of a plot involving Masonic rituals and the notion of killing Kelly to protect the Crown by high-placed Masons. Indeed, this seemed so fanciful to me that it's one theory I chose to ignore in the book as too preposterous.
TF: You've prefaced almost each chapter of the novel with a historical excerpt concerning torture or some human cruelty. What were you trying to get across with these grisly headings?
Bloch: This series of headings deals with episodes taken from history—either excerpts of actual accounts or paraphrases—extending from 2300 B.C. to 1888 A.D., the year of the Ripper murders. These headings, from countries all over the world, are accounts of cruelties and atrocities perpetrated in the name of patriotism, religion or sheer perversity. As such, they are intended to serve as a subtle reminder that the deeds of a "monster" like Jack the Ripper pale into insignificance alongside the accepted customs of “ordinary" citizens In all walks of life, at all times and in all places.
Indeed, the publishers, who were quite willing to accept fictional horrors, felt readers would be shocked by historical ones and initially wanted to leave these headings out, though I'm glad to say they were restored. Even so, I myself edited out the most gruesome portions of these accounts. What remains, in my opinion, helps to elevate the book somewhat above the mere thriller level—or so I hope.
On writing PSYCHO II
TF: What was your primary approach to writing PSYCHO II?
Bloch: My idea was to write a sequel set in today's world, encompassing today's problems, contrasting the madness of Norman Bates with the seeming greater madness of the world today.
TF: PSYCHO II contains a clever reversal of the famous shower scene from the original novel. How did you come up with that location for your murder in the first place?
Bloch: It seemed to make sense. Most people are at their most off-guard while in the shower.
TF: You are known for your famous puns and your plays-on-words, and these indeed form a large part of the narrative of PSYCHO II. Do you have any thoughts on the manner in which you write, with regard to this type of word-play? I'm supposing it is a conscious effort in your craft ...
Bloch: I write to amuse myself as well as the reader. I go on the theory that what diverts me may divert my audience.
Actually, I simply have never been that deeply analytical of how or what or why I write, as your question implies. My main job is to outline a story that conveys an idea or mood. I merely invent characters who seem to fit and equip them with speech and thought which I think suitable to them. The rest just comes as I work. I may add notes for future use as I go along, but aside from a few deliberate contrivances—determined in advance, with malice aforethought, like the pun in the title of PSYCHO II, the parallels of certain episodes, etc—I don’t go the James Joyce or even the James Branch Cabell route of conscious symbolism, metaphor, word-games, etc.
On novelizing TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE
TF: How did you come to write this movie novelization and what problems did it entail?
Bloch: My agent was contacted by Warner Books, who had just published PSYCHO II, and asked if I'd be willing to do the TWILIGHT ZONE novelization for them. It was a rush assignment, but they agreed to provide me with a secretary for the project. I was promised cooperation from Steven Spielberg’s production company and arranged to start work. But I didn't get much help. A script was delivered to me and I finally got one afternoon meeting with Joe Dante, the director of one episode; at that time I was given a screening of the two middle episodes of the picture. And that was my sole contact with the actual project.
Among the things I wasn't told was that the first section (which I didn't see} had been changed, so as to eliminate the child characters and the helicopter sequence and ending that had been involved in the tragic accident while shooting. I learned of this only after my novelization was completed—and of course I had to go back and rewrite accordingly. Also, I was never informed that the central character of the "Kick the Can" section was played by a black actor. No one even remarked on this after the book was completed, and I never found out about it until, by chance, George Clayton Johnson (one of the writers) mentioned it when we met at a convention where I spoke. By then the book had already gone to press.
In addition to the hasty deadline, which required that I deliver a completed—and revised—manuscript in just six weeks, I was hampered by a strict ruling from the Spielberg organization which forbid me to change anything in the script or add additional elements. Bearing in mind that the actual material was based on four short stories which ran about five thousand words each in original form, and that there was absolutely no connecting link between the episodes and no continuing characters, it was quite a challenge to find ways in which I could expand my work to novel-length.
My only solution was to develop the characterizations of the protagonists in each of the episodes. I did so by using a stream-of-consciousness technique and filling in their backgrounds without deviating from their characterizations and actions as set forth in the script. I think it is here that I managed to inject my own style and personality into the text.
Considering all the problems—the hasty deadline, lack of contact and adequate information, the absence of any cohesion which would blend the separate stories into novel form, and the restriction on adding scenes or altering them, I was forced to do the best I could under circumstances; but that's the best I can say for the project.
Forthcoming Robert Bloch Material:
Starmont Press will publish The Readers Guide to Robart Bloch in the summer of 1986-the first book-length analysis of Bloch's work; and Fandom Unlimited with publish The Complete Robert Bloch during the Spring of 1986, a comprehensive bibliography of all of Bloch's writing worldwide, profusely illustrated by reproductions of rare Bloch book and pulp covers, worldwide. Both of these publications have been authored by Randall D. Larson, with Bloch's full approval and cooperation.
This interview originally appeared in Threshold of Fantasy #2, Winter 1985-86. Copyright 1985 by Randall D. Larson and republished here with the kind permission of the author.
On THE NIGHT OF THE RIPPER
Robert Bloch’s The Night of the Ripper, an effective combination of historical crime mystery and psychological thriller, is a fairly straightforward account of the Ripper murders and the confused police investigation that failed to solve them, told from a variety of viewpoints including that of actual people who were involved as well as several fictional protagonists. Bloch has also included cameo appearances by several historical figures who lived at the time of the Ripper murders, including authors Conan Doyle, George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, actor Richard Mansfield, and John Merrick, the Elephant Man. Bloch effectively captures the mood of 1890 London which brings the story, and the Ripper, to sharp life.
Threshold of Fantasy: What sparked the writing of THE NIGHT OF THE RIPPER?
Robert Bloch: Over the years I’ve written a number of stories involving Jack the Ripper—and in so doing, amassed quite a collection of books and articles on his deeds, or misdeeds. Inevitably I was struck by the numerous discrepancies and contradictions in the accounts given by various theorists. I tried to collate the “facts” given by these “Ripperologists,” as the British call them, and eventually decided it was almost impossible to do so. Meanwhile, quite a few fans kept suggesting I do my own version of the story, so in the end it seemed as if writing a book was inevitable, if only to rid myself of the Ripper once and for all. THE NIGHT OF THE RIPPER is an act of exorcism.
TF: How much research did the novel entail?
Bloch: I read about fifteen full-length books on the crimes, several dozen shorter accounts, and a dozen or more books on Victorian London in the 1890s.
TF: To what extent is the novel a historical account and to what extent a fictional one?
Bloch: A great deal of the novel is historically accurate, insofar as I can determine from the data at my disposal. The characters connected with the London Hospital are fictitious of course—though the Elephant Man was a resident there at the time. But Forbes-Winslow is described much as he actually was, and so is his involvement in the case. The same holds true for Robert Lees, the psychic whose history I cite along with his activities: no one knows what happened when he went to Gull’s residence; accounts are hearsay and vary wildly, so I invented my own.
I took the liberty of putting Shaw, Mansfield, and Oscar Wilde together for a meeting—that’s fiction, but Shaw’s theory and Mansfield’s for shutting down his show are a matter of record; Wilde’s involvement is fictional. But Conan Doyle did espouse belief that the Ripper was a midwife, there was this clinic in Watworth where three of the victims had been patients. Pedachenko did work for it as well as for Delhaye the hairdresser.
Sir Charles Warren seems to me to be accurately portrayed; Abberline’s personal attributes are my own invention. The data on the cases comes from records; so do touches of “local color.” There was a slaughterhouse near the hospital, and cattle did sometimes escape from it; the was a waxworks display similar to my description.
I made errors—Doyle’s first Sherlock Holmes stories did not appear in The Strand magazine. But there were proof-reading errors that bothered me: Beeton’s magazine becomes “Beechham’s,” and despite my protests, there’s a reference to “Charles Coburn” whereas I wrote “Coborn”—referring to a once-famous movie-hall singer who had nothing to do with the film actor the publisher thought I was talking about. And there is no “stairwell” in the Whitechapel station of the underground—again, this is my mistake. But, by and large, I strove for accuracy.
TF: Just how fanciful do you feel your solution to the Ripper's identity is?
Bloch: It's quite fanciful, I feel. Though not as far-fetched as that of one non-fiction work which solemnly insists the Ripper slayings were part of a plot involving Masonic rituals and the notion of killing Kelly to protect the Crown by high-placed Masons. Indeed, this seemed so fanciful to me that it's one theory I chose to ignore in the book as too preposterous.
TF: You've prefaced almost each chapter of the novel with a historical excerpt concerning torture or some human cruelty. What were you trying to get across with these grisly headings?
Bloch: This series of headings deals with episodes taken from history—either excerpts of actual accounts or paraphrases—extending from 2300 B.C. to 1888 A.D., the year of the Ripper murders. These headings, from countries all over the world, are accounts of cruelties and atrocities perpetrated in the name of patriotism, religion or sheer perversity. As such, they are intended to serve as a subtle reminder that the deeds of a "monster" like Jack the Ripper pale into insignificance alongside the accepted customs of “ordinary" citizens In all walks of life, at all times and in all places.
Indeed, the publishers, who were quite willing to accept fictional horrors, felt readers would be shocked by historical ones and initially wanted to leave these headings out, though I'm glad to say they were restored. Even so, I myself edited out the most gruesome portions of these accounts. What remains, in my opinion, helps to elevate the book somewhat above the mere thriller level—or so I hope.
On writing PSYCHO II
TF: What was your primary approach to writing PSYCHO II?
Bloch: My idea was to write a sequel set in today's world, encompassing today's problems, contrasting the madness of Norman Bates with the seeming greater madness of the world today.
TF: PSYCHO II contains a clever reversal of the famous shower scene from the original novel. How did you come up with that location for your murder in the first place?
Bloch: It seemed to make sense. Most people are at their most off-guard while in the shower.
TF: You are known for your famous puns and your plays-on-words, and these indeed form a large part of the narrative of PSYCHO II. Do you have any thoughts on the manner in which you write, with regard to this type of word-play? I'm supposing it is a conscious effort in your craft ...
Bloch: I write to amuse myself as well as the reader. I go on the theory that what diverts me may divert my audience.
Actually, I simply have never been that deeply analytical of how or what or why I write, as your question implies. My main job is to outline a story that conveys an idea or mood. I merely invent characters who seem to fit and equip them with speech and thought which I think suitable to them. The rest just comes as I work. I may add notes for future use as I go along, but aside from a few deliberate contrivances—determined in advance, with malice aforethought, like the pun in the title of PSYCHO II, the parallels of certain episodes, etc—I don’t go the James Joyce or even the James Branch Cabell route of conscious symbolism, metaphor, word-games, etc.
On novelizing TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE
TF: How did you come to write this movie novelization and what problems did it entail?
Bloch: My agent was contacted by Warner Books, who had just published PSYCHO II, and asked if I'd be willing to do the TWILIGHT ZONE novelization for them. It was a rush assignment, but they agreed to provide me with a secretary for the project. I was promised cooperation from Steven Spielberg’s production company and arranged to start work. But I didn't get much help. A script was delivered to me and I finally got one afternoon meeting with Joe Dante, the director of one episode; at that time I was given a screening of the two middle episodes of the picture. And that was my sole contact with the actual project.
Among the things I wasn't told was that the first section (which I didn't see} had been changed, so as to eliminate the child characters and the helicopter sequence and ending that had been involved in the tragic accident while shooting. I learned of this only after my novelization was completed—and of course I had to go back and rewrite accordingly. Also, I was never informed that the central character of the "Kick the Can" section was played by a black actor. No one even remarked on this after the book was completed, and I never found out about it until, by chance, George Clayton Johnson (one of the writers) mentioned it when we met at a convention where I spoke. By then the book had already gone to press.
In addition to the hasty deadline, which required that I deliver a completed—and revised—manuscript in just six weeks, I was hampered by a strict ruling from the Spielberg organization which forbid me to change anything in the script or add additional elements. Bearing in mind that the actual material was based on four short stories which ran about five thousand words each in original form, and that there was absolutely no connecting link between the episodes and no continuing characters, it was quite a challenge to find ways in which I could expand my work to novel-length.
My only solution was to develop the characterizations of the protagonists in each of the episodes. I did so by using a stream-of-consciousness technique and filling in their backgrounds without deviating from their characterizations and actions as set forth in the script. I think it is here that I managed to inject my own style and personality into the text.
Considering all the problems—the hasty deadline, lack of contact and adequate information, the absence of any cohesion which would blend the separate stories into novel form, and the restriction on adding scenes or altering them, I was forced to do the best I could under circumstances; but that's the best I can say for the project.
Forthcoming Robert Bloch Material:
Starmont Press will publish The Readers Guide to Robart Bloch in the summer of 1986-the first book-length analysis of Bloch's work; and Fandom Unlimited with publish The Complete Robert Bloch during the Spring of 1986, a comprehensive bibliography of all of Bloch's writing worldwide, profusely illustrated by reproductions of rare Bloch book and pulp covers, worldwide. Both of these publications have been authored by Randall D. Larson, with Bloch's full approval and cooperation.
This interview originally appeared in Threshold of Fantasy #2, Winter 1985-86. Copyright 1985 by Randall D. Larson and republished here with the kind permission of the author.