It was and is still scary! I have a friend who's never seen it and refuses to watch it because she thinks it's too scary. For 1960 it must have been shocking to have the lead actress killed off in the beginning of the film and in such a terrifying way. But of course Hitchcock was masterful in the way he implied the violence rather than actually showing it in the infamous shower scene.

I was actually afraid to watch it for years but then when I finally did it became my favorite movie of all time (and still is.)

I agree totally. I watched this movie and The Birds as a kid a lot and even now I like a good scary movie every now and then.

I actually saw Psycho II, first. I was in my early teens and it was on HBO. I had already known the basic premise of the original, so I could follow along. I remember thinking that it was a really effective thriller. So, I rented Psycho (on Beta, of course) from our local video store and watched it. Although I enjoyed it, the "twists" had already been spoiled so I didn't appreciate it as much as I should've. Re-watching it, though, as an adult, I can see why it's one of the best (if not THE best) thrillers ever made. The setting, the direction, the performances. Especially when you consider the casting, what a shock and twist it must've been, when Janet Leigh is killed off 45 minutes is, and then to find out that "nice guy" Anthony Perkins is actually the killer. Today, we're conditioned to expect anything, especially the big twist. Back then, though, audiences must've been traumatized.

It was the first slasher movie and made the killer the boy next door who was crazy. I heard people fainted and were appalled when it was first released.