Quotes from Shirley Jackson

Era una sconosciuta in un mondo di sconosciuti ed erano sconosciuti anche quelli che si era lasciata alle spalle.

I could say," Eleanor put in, smiling, "'All three of you are in my imagination; none of this is real.

Veniamo tutti misurati, buoni e cattivi, dal male che facciamo agli altri. Io avevo creato un mostro e l'avevo lasciato libero di andare in giro per il mondo, e – poiché l'ammissione è, dopotutto, il dolore più crudele – ammetto che avevo visto tutto con chiarezza e lucidità.

Dunque alla fine mi svelo: sono un mascalzone, per aver creato alla leggera, e un malvagio, per aver distrutto senza pietà. Non ho scusanti.

Ask your mommy can we have two chairs out here, Billy said. Then we can pretend the whole garden is our house.

Sarei davvero una bella scema se pensassi che le persone hanno diritto all'amore degli altri; in vita mia ho meritato più amore e ne ho avuto meno di chiunque conosca.

It is almost silly to say that no one will read a story which does not interest him. Yet many writers forget it. They write a story which interests them, forgetting that the particular emotional investment they brought to the incident had never been communicated to the reader because, writing the story, they wrote down only what happened and not what was felt.

Some inner integrity had preserved their shop from being a shoppe.

I think they want the same things you do, only you would... inherit them, so to speak, just by growing up. Things like excitement, and new experiences, and all kinds of strange and wonderful things happening; you get them anyway, just by the process of growing older, but for them... they've already outgrown all they know and they want to try it all over again. Even at my age, you keep thinking you've missed so much, and you get older all the time.

Lei, signore disse l'uomo, rivolgendosi a Essex. Lei fa penitenza?. Tutti i giorni rispose Essex. Pecca? Quando posso disse virilmente Essex. Metallo? Come, scusi? Qual è la sua posizione sul metallo? Si concede allacciature di metallo per i vestiti? Carne? Afflizioni fisiche?. Ho ereditato tutto questo disse Essex, ispirato.

Perhaps—and this was her most persistent thought, the thought that stayed with her and came suddenly to trouble her at odd moments, and to comfort her—suppose, actually, she were not Natalie Waite, college girl, daughter to Arnold Waite, a creature of deep lovely destiny; suppose she were someone else?

I think it cannot be too firmly emphasized that in the writing of any kind of fiction no scene and no character can be allowed to wander off by itself; there must be some furthering of the story in every sentence, and even the most fleeting background characters must partake of the story in some way; they must be characters peculiar to this story and no other.

What it was like before then, whether its personality was molded by the people who lived here, or the things they did, or whether it was evil from its start are all questions I cannot answer.

The house. It watches every move you make.

It is not proven that Elizabeth's personal equilibrium was set off balance by the slant of the office floor, nor could it be proven that it was Elizabeth who pushed the building off its foundations, but it is undeniable that they began to slip at about the same time.

You've no idea the messages I've gotten from nuns walled up alive.

Grant that Luke take me at my worth, she thought, or at least let me not see the difference. Let him be wise or let me be blind; don't let me, she hoped completely, don't let me know too surely what he thinks of me.

Nothing is hard to do unless you get upset or excited about it.

Within, walls continued upright, bricks met nearly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone

Everything is thrown into relief, lit in a Hopperesque late-afternoon glow, the one-sided illumination both revealing and casting a long shadow.

Almost all of Mr. Cobb's function—aside from lighting cigarettes for me, and pausing respectfully when my husband spoke—seemed to consist of taking objects which actually existed in almost square feet, and translating them into cubic feet—rugs had to be rolled, books had to be boxed, pictures had to be put into packing cases.

I have the black," said the salesgirl. "Most large figures prefer the black." "Young lady," said Mrs. Melville, "I am buying a blouse, not your opinions.

it was a joyful sight, to see the first twistings and turnings of the demon caught

I keep thinking I am right on the point of telling someone all about myself.