1
I would have liked to come into the grocery some morning and see them all, even the Elberts and the children, lying there crying with the pain of dying. I would help myself to groceries, I thought, stepping over their bodies, taking whatever I fancied from the shelves, and go home, with perhaps a kick for Mrs.Donell while she lay there. I was never sorry when I had thoughts like this; I only wished they would come true.Shirley Jackson
2
Poor strangers, they have so much to be afraid of.Shirley Jackson
3
I was thinking that being a demon and a ghost must be very difficult, even for Charles; if he ever forgot, or let his disguise drop for a minute, he would be recognized at once and driven away; he must be extremely careful to use the same voice every time, and present the same face and the same manner without a slip; he must be constantly on guard against betraying himself. I wondered if he would turn back to his true self when he was dead.Shirley Jackson
4
I am going to put death in all their food and watch them die.Shirley Jackson
5
I'm going to put death in all their food and watch them die.Shirley Jackson
6
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.Shirley Jackson
7
All cat stories start with the statement: 'My mother, who was the first cat, told me this, ' and I lay with Jonas listening to his stories.Shirley Jackson
8
When Jim Donell thought of something to say he said it as often and in as many ways as possible, perhaps because he had very few ideas and had to wring each one dry.Shirley Jackson
9
The trees around and overhead were so thick that it was always dry inside and on Sunday morning I lay there with Jonas, listening to his stories. All cat stories start with the statement: 'My mother, who was the first cat, told me this, ' and I lay with my head close to Jonas and listened.Shirley Jackson
10
The trees around and overhead were so thick that it was always dry inside and on Sunday morning I lay there with Jonas, listening to his stories. All cat stories start with the statement: "My mother, who was the first cat, told me this, " and I lay with my head close to Jonas and listened. There was no change coming, I thought here, only spring; I was wrong to be so frightened. The days would get warmer, and Uncle Julian would sit in the sun, and Constance would laugh when she worked in the garden, and it would always be the same. Jonas went on and on ("And then we sang! And then we sang! ") and the leaves moved overhead and it would always be the same.Shirley Jackson
11
All cat stories start with this statement: "My mother, who was the first cat, told me this...Shirley Jackson