Robert Bloch wrote a fan letter to H P Lovecraft at the age of 16. Lovecraft encouraged the young boy to begin writing fiction and to submit his stories to Weird Tales. Thus began a 60-year writing career that is one of the most distinguished in the horror and mystery field. Bloch is today most famous as the author of Psycho. He is also well-known for having said, "Despite my ghoulish reputation, I really have the heart of a small boy. I keep it in a jar on my desk."