--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Typhoid Mary or Ted Bundy or Sharon Tate…" description: "\"“Typhoid Mary or Ted Bundy or Sharon Tate. History is nothing except monsters or victims. Or witnesses.”\" — Chuck Palahniuk" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/chuck-palahniuk-37_history_typhoid-mary-or-ted-bundy-or-sharon-tate_868350.jpg" --- # Typhoid Mary or Ted Bundy or Sharon Tate. History is… ![“Typhoid Mary or Ted Bundy or Sharon Tate. History is nothing except monsters or victims. Or witnesses.” quote by Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/chuck-palahniuk-37_history_typhoid-mary-or-ted-bundy-or-sharon-tate_868350.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/chuck-palahniuk-37_history_typhoid-mary-or-ted-bundy-or-sharon-tate_868350.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/chuck-palahniuk-37_history_typhoid-mary-or-ted-bundy-or-sharon-tate_868350.jpg) > ““Typhoid Mary or Ted Bundy or Sharon Tate. History is nothing except monsters or victims. Or witnesses.”” [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History records only extreme figures—monsters, victims, or witnesses—ignoring ordinary lives. **In simple terms:** History highlights extremes, not everyday people. Key Takeaway Remember the ordinary stories behind historic events. Themes historical perspective human experience memory Mood critical thought‑provoking Type historical analytical When to use this quote - education - journalism - museum curation - storytelling workshops Key Concepts sociology narrative theory Questions to Reflect On - How can we honor everyday individuals in history? - What methods reveal hidden narratives? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on extremes can skew understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Monsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-monsters-926423/) [Monsters Victims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monsters-victims-926425/) [Sharon Tate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sharon-tate-926426/) [Typhoid Mary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/typhoid-mary-926424/) [Witnesses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witnesses/) ## Related quotes > [History is nothing except monsters or victims. Or witnesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/history-is-nothing-except-monsters-or-victims-or-witnesses/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [I think we may class the lawyer in the natural history of monsters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/i-think-we-may-class-the-lawyer-in-the-natural-history-of-monsters/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I’m from the health department. You’ve heard of Typhoid Mary? This fella’s got enough typhoid to start his own colony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/i-m-from-the-health-department-you-ve-heard-of-typhoid-mary-this/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [The world is going mad at an accelerating rate and television is the Typhoid Mary of this madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-robb-ellis/the-world-is-going-mad-at-an-accelerating-rate-and-television-is-the/) [Edward Robb Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-robb-ellis/) > [I used to refer to myself as Typhoid Mary. It wasn't that I was jinxed, I just seemed to bring ill fortune to anybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigella-lawson/i-used-to-refer-to-myself-as-typhoid-mary-it-wasn-t-that-i-was-jinxed/) [Nigella Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigella-lawson/) > [Aunt Mimi possessed a horror of silence, which she battled with endless chat. The Typhoid Mary of the Telephone started her calls at 6:30…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/aunt-mimi-possessed-a-horror-of-silence-which-she-battled-with/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [A very beautiful honey blonde, Sharon Tate, looked into the eyes of the man who the evidence shows just four and a half months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-bugliosi/a-very-beautiful-honey-blonde-sharon-tate-looked-into-the-eyes-of-the/) [Vincent Bugliosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-bugliosi/) > [I'd met Sharon Tate at the Cannes Film Festival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/i-d-met-sharon-tate-at-the-cannes-film-festival/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [It's too late to fall in love with Sharon Tate / But it's too soon to ask me for the words I want carved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carroll/it-s-too-late-to-fall-in-love-with-sharon-tate-but-it-s-too-soon-to/) [Jim Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carroll/) > [“You give me a water board, Dick Cheney and one hour, and I'll have him confess to the Sharon Tate murders." ( Larry King…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ventura/you-give-me-a-water-board-dick-cheney-and-one-hour-and-i-ll-have-him/) [Jesse Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ventura/) > [Roman's wife Sharon Tate had been murdered by Charles Manson the year before, but Roman had been through so much leaving the Warsaw ghetto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-annis/roman-s-wife-sharon-tate-had-been-murdered-by-charles-manson-the-year/) [Francesca Annis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-annis/) > [At one point, we were across the street from the Sharon Tate house; at another, we lived in Elvis's old Bel Air bachelor pad.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hailey-gates/at-one-point-we-were-across-the-street-from-the-sharon-tate-house-at/) [Hailey Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hailey-gates/) > [There's been fifty-million people that died since Sharon Tate died and I got everybody in Santa Claus land chasing me, trying to make me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-manson/there-s-been-fifty-million-people-that-died-since-sharon-tate-died/) [Charles Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-manson/) > [“Or Dohrn—the Weather Underground leader who celebrated the Charles Manson murders, including that of the nine-months-pregnant Sharon Tate, with “Dig it! First they killed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megyn-kelly/or-dohrn-the-weather-underground-leader-who-celebrated-the-charles/) [Megyn Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megyn-kelly/) > [Discovering witnesses is just as important as catching criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/discovering-witnesses-is-just-as-important-as-catching-criminals/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) ## More by Chuck Palahniuk > [Because after you've crossed some lines, you just keep crossing them. And there's no escaping from constant escape. Distracting ourselves. Avoiding confrontation. Getting past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/because-after-you-ve-crossed-some-lines-you-just-keep-crossing-them/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [His saliva tasted like the wet dicks of ten thousand lonely truck drivers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/his-saliva-tasted-like-the-wet-dicks-of-ten-thousand-lonely-truck/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“shoulder. They weigh that much. Tyler’s a banquet waiter,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/shoulder-they-weigh-that-much-tyler-s-a-banquet-waiter/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [We'll never be as young as we are tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-ll-never-be-as-young-as-we-are-tonight/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“We drive west the rest of the night, away from where the sun will come up, trying to outrace it, trying not to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-drive-west-the-rest-of-the-night-away-from-where-the-sun-will-come/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Just for the record, how I feel right now is very terrific.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/just-for-the-record-how-i-feel-right-now-is-very-terrific/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Nobody's told me anything to date that I've been completely reviled by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/nobody-s-told-me-anything-to-date-that-i-ve-been-completely-reviled-by/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Then you're trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you used to own, now they own you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/then-you-re-trapped-in-your-lovely-nest-and-the-things-you-used-to/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Some stories, you use up. Others use you up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/some-stories-you-use-up-others-use-you-up/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Verbs allow you to communicate a story in a much more converged or involuntary way for a reader. The verbs allow you to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/verbs-allow-you-to-communicate-a-story-in-a-much-more-converged-or/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Waiters will always pee in soup, people will always fall in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/waiters-will-always-pee-in-soup-people-will-always-fall-in-love/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Branch Bacardi, star of The Da Vinci Load, To Drill a Mockingbird, The Postman Always Cums Twice, Chitty Chitty Gang Bang, The Twilight Bone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/branch-bacardi-star-of-the-da-vinci-load-to-drill-a-mockingbird-the/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Every unkind remark or crude gesture by others is a blessing, an opportunity to exercise our own capacity to forgive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/every-unkind-remark-or-crude-gesture-by-others-is-a-blessing-an/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Nuestro deber es enseñar a esos hombres y mujeres la libertad a través de la esclavitud; y el coraje a través del miedo.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/nuestro-deber-es-ense-ar-a-esos-hombres-y-mujeres-la-libertad-a-trav/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) [Explore all 2,041 Chuck Palahniuk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) [C-DASH](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-dash/) > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Typhoid Mary or Ted Bundy or Sharon Tate. History is nothing except monsters or victims. Or witnesses.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chuck Palahniuk" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/typhoid-mary-or-ted-bundy-or-sharon-tate-history-is-nothing-except/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "History" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/typhoid-mary-or-ted-bundy-or-sharon-tate-history-is-nothing-except/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/chuck-palahniuk-37_history_typhoid-mary-or-ted-bundy-or-sharon-tate_868350.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/chuck-palahniuk-37_history_typhoid-mary-or-ted-bundy-or-sharon-tate_868350.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/chuck-palahniuk-37_history_typhoid-mary-or-ted-bundy-or-sharon-tate_868350.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Typhoid Mary or Ted Bundy or Sharon Tate. History is nothing except monsters or victims. Or witnesses.” — Chuck Palahniuk", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Chuck Palahniuk", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Typhoid Mary or Ted Bundy or...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/typhoid-mary-or-ted-bundy-or-sharon-tate-history-is-nothing-except/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/typhoid-mary-or-ted-bundy-or-sharon-tate-history-is-nothing-except/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```