Emma Spool

Emma Spool (also known simply as Mrs. Spool) is a fictional character created by screenwriter Tom Holland for the 1983 film Psycho II. She serves as the primary antagonist, and is portrayed by Claudia Bryar. More attention is given to her character in Psycho III, although she only appears as a corpse. In the Psycho sequels Psycho II Emma Spool, the cook at a diner in the (fictional) town, Fairvale, California, urges owner Ralph Statler to make Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins)—newly released from the mental institution he was institutionalized in during the original film—the cook's helper. Statler accepts and Norman meets with Mrs. Spool. At about this time, a series of brutal murders occur that bear a similarity to the ones Norman committed years before. In the film's final scene, Mrs. Spool comes to visit Norman and reveals to him that she is his real mother. She tells him that she had him when she was very young and out of wedlock. She was put away by the state and her sister, Norma Bates, took Norman in her care, raising him as her son. Mrs. Spool, while telling him this, is unaware she is actually sipping tea which Norman has poisoned. The poison takes effect and Mrs. Spool begins to cough. Norman picks up a nearby shovel and hits her on the head, killing her.