Shirley Jackson Quotes
Top 100 wise famous quotes and sayings by Shirley Jackson
Shirley Jackson Famous Quotes & Sayings
Discover top inspirational quotes from Shirley Jackson on Wise Famous Quotes.
I suppose the mothers of most twelve-year-old boys live with the uneasy conviction that their sons are embarked upon a secret life of crime.
She brought herself away from the disagreeably clinging thought by her usual method - imagining the sweet sharp sensation of being burned alive.
Today my winged horse is coming and I am carrying you off to the moon and on the moon we will eat rose petals.
Don't be so afraid all the time," she said and reached out to touch Eleanor's cheek with one finger. "We never know where our courage is coming from.
The gap between the poetry she wrote and the poetry she contained was, for Natalie, something unsolvable
The food comes from the ground and cant' be permitted to stay there and rot; something has to be done with it.
People like answering questions about themselves, she thought; what an odd pleasure it is. I would answer anything right now. "What
Someday," she said evilly, rubbing her hands against her eyes, "I am going to get my eyes open all the time and then I will eat you and Lizzie both.
That's wrong, Mrs. Winning was thinking, you mustn't ever talk about whether people like you, that's bad taste.
Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more.
It is only with the eyes open that a corporeal form returns, and assembles itself firmly around the hard core of sight.
The least Charles could have done,' Constance said, considering seriously, 'was shoot himself through the head in the driveway.
There had not been this many words sounded in our house for a long time, and it was going to take a while to clean them out.
I think we are only afraid of ourselves," the doctor said slowly.
"No," Luke said. "Of seeing ourselves clearly and without disguise.
"No," Luke said. "Of seeing ourselves clearly and without disguise.
We eat the year away. We eat the spring and the summer and the fall. We wait for something to grow and then we eat it.
What was wrong with Mrs Blackwood doing her own cooking"
"Please" (...) "I personally preferred the arsenic".
"Please" (...) "I personally preferred the arsenic".
Why do women always look so funny alone at night? she thought. I guess you're so used to seeing them with someone.
I don't like the younger sister,' Theodora said. 'First she stole her sister's lover, and then she tried to steal her sister's dishes.
Although she would sooner have given up thinking than eating, she resented being pushed into depriving herself of either.
Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones.
Therefore it was not pride that took me into the village twice a week, or even stubbornness, but only the simple need for books and food.
February, when the days of winter seem endless and no amount of wistful recollecting can bring back any air of summer.
An Eleanor, she told herself triumphantly, who belongs, who is talking easily, who is sitting by the fire with her friends.
I would not forget my magic words; they were MELODY GLOUCESTER PEGASUS, but I refused to let them into my mind.
It is not possible, I frequently think, to walk down the street as fast as you can and kick yourself at the same time.
I assume then, that you have no real faith in the fondness any of the rest of us may feel for you?'
'None,' said Mrs. Halloran.
'None,' said Mrs. Halloran.
My dear, how can I make you perceive that there is no danger where there is nothing but love and understanding?
All I could think of when I got a look at the place from the outside was what fun it would be to stand out there and watch it burn down.
I am like a small creature swallowed whole by a monster, she thought, and the monster feels my tiny little movements inside.
Let him be wise, or let me be blind; don't let me, she hoped concretely, don't let me know too surely what he thinks of me.
People who are all alone have every right to be friends with one another.
("The Honeymoon Of Mrs. Smith" - Version 1)
("The Honeymoon Of Mrs. Smith" - Version 1)
We moved together very slowly toward the house, trying to understand its ugliness and ruin and shame.
The sight of one's own heart is degrading; people are not meant to look inward - that's why they've been given bodies, to hide their souls.