Normans father died when he was six years old, he was stung to death by a swarm of bees and at his funeral his face needed to be covered due to the horrific injuries sustained. From this point on Norman saw himself as the man of the house, and felt that he needed to care for his mother. However whilst there were tender moments between mother and son, his mother appeared to abuse him in many ways - and I would suggest that in some ways Norman actually enjoyed it. By the age of fifteen he was running the Bates Motel single handedly.

One night his mother brought a man home, Chet, and after spying on the couple making love, Norman is told the next morning the his mother is going to marry this guy. Norman is not a happy guy, and so laces their drink with strichnene, before watching them both die. However with his mother gone Norman described feeling am emptiness, and upon seeing her in her coffin felt that he had to get her back any way he could. he took her from the coffin and back to the bates house - the strichnene had destroyed her 'crowning glory' that was her hair, so Norman gave her a wig. His hobby - taxidermy - meant that if he could bring animals that were dead back, why couldn't he do it for his mother. So he had his mother back - yet he had to live with matricide - which in his own words is most 'unbearable to the son who commits it.'