Caleb Calhoun is a major character in the psychological horror series Bates Motel.
He is the older brother of Norma Bates, the father/uncle of her eldest son Dylan Massett and the uncle of Norma's younger son Norman Bates.
He is portrayed by Kenny Johnson, with Travis Breure appearing as a child Caleb in flashbacks.
Biography[]
Background[]
Caleb and Norma grew up in an abusive household where they would face abuse from their alcoholic father. They only had each other, but this relationship took to extreme levels as Caleb began to rape Norma repeatedly, which eventually stopped by the time he moved out. She had fallen pregnant to Caleb, but lied and claimed it was her high school sweetheart, and she married the man to get out of the household. She eventually gave birth to a son named Dylan, although at the time wouldn't reveal the truth of his parentage.
Season 1[]
Caleb doesn't appear but is mentioned when Norma reveals to her younger son Norman Bates (the son of her now deceased second husband Sam) how her brother would have sex with her over and over and wouldn't stop. Norman comforted his mother.
Season 2[]
Caleb managed to track down Norma to her business the Bates Motel in White Pine Bay, Oregon. When she saw Caleb he screamed and ordered him to leave, much to the confusion of Dylan. When Dylan later bumped into Caleb downtown and asked about Norma's reaction, Caleb downplayed it to just personal family drama. Caleb later told Dylan about the abuse they suffered at the hands of their father, leaving out the information of him raping Norma. When Dylan later confronted Norma and accused her of lying when she said she had been raped, he is attacked by an angered Norman. Norma stops the confrontation by revealing that Dylan is actually Caleb's father, much to their shock.
Dylan later confronts Caleb but he denies the claims, and decides to leave town as he knows he isn't welcome. At Caleb's motel room outside of town, he is confronted by a vengeful Norman. Norman blacks out and becomes his "Mother" persona and begins speaking like Norma and accuses Caleb of sexually assaulting him, much to Caleb's confusion. Norman/Mother attempts to kill Caleb by stabbing him, but Caleb manages to defend himself and subdue Norman. He leaves Norman alone in the motel room and leaves town.
Season 3[]
Months later, Caleb returns to the area following the death of his mother.
Trivia[]
- In the original Psycho novel and its film adaptation and sequels, Norma never had a brother. In the sequel film Psycho II, it turned out she had a sister named Emma Spool, although this is only exclusive to the film canon.
- In the third season, Kenny Johnson appears as a main member of the cast when appearing as Caleb.
- His discovery of Norma's body in season 5 is similar to how Lila Crane discovered her body in the 1960 film Psycho.