---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I also mistakenly believed that the…"
description: "\"“I also mistakenly believed that the scariest stories came from imagination, not real life.”\" — Jodi Picoult"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/jodi-picoult-45_life_i-also-mistakenly-believed-that-the-scar_700451.jpg"
---

#  I also mistakenly believed that the scariest stories came…

![“I also mistakenly believed that the scariest stories came from imagination, not real life.” quote by Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/jodi-picoult-45_life_i-also-mistakenly-believed-that-the-scar_700451.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/jodi-picoult-45_life_i-also-mistakenly-believed-that-the-scar_700451.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/jodi-picoult-45_life_i-also-mistakenly-believed-that-the-scar_700451.jpg)

> ““I also mistakenly believed that the scariest stories came from imagination, not real life.””

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote reflects a realization that true horror often stems from real experiences rather than imagined tales.

**In simple terms:** Real life can be scarier than fiction.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and confront real fears.

Themes

fear reality storytelling

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

personal analytical

When to use this quote

- personal trauma
- news reporting
- historical events
- psychological thrillers

Key Concepts

psychology human experience

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you differentiate between imagined and real fear?
- What real events have inspired your storytelling?

A Different Perspective

Imagined horror still has artistic value.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Believed Scariest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed-scariest-5545792/) [Imagination Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination-real-300492/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mistakenly Believed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistakenly-believed-5465503/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/) [Scariest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scariest/) [Scariest Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scariest-stories-669977/)

## Related quotes

> ['Hansel and Gretel' is one of the scariest stories ever written! Psychotic mother; stupid, inane father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/hansel-and-gretel-is-one-of-the-scariest-stories-ever-written/)

[Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/)

> [“She had finally turned away and was now correcting some tourists who mistakenly believed that koalas were from Austria rather than Australia.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-gibbs/she-had-finally-turned-away-and-was-now-correcting-some-tourists-who/)

[Stuart Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-gibbs/)

> [“Human beings mistakenly believed alcohol was a disguise that stopped real life from recognizing them. In fact, it was just a temporary hiding hole...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-cotterill/human-beings-mistakenly-believed-alcohol-was-a-disguise-that-stopped/)

[Colin Cotterill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-cotterill/)

> [The scariest thing in the world is thinking someone you love is going to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-scariest-thing-in-the-world-is-thinking-someone-you-love-is-going/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [Truths are more than imagination; they are real. Yet their origin is a thought in the mind of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/truths-are-more-than-imagination-they-are-real-yet-their-origin-is-a/)

[Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/)

> [“Children, brought up naturally and in freedom, not only have imagination, but live in a world of imagination more real to them than our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-hawthorne/children-brought-up-naturally-and-in-freedom-not-only-have/)

[Julian Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-hawthorne/)

> [“When I as reading and writing, I was in that exhilarating place where the life of the imagination is more real than the tiles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-lawrenson/when-i-as-reading-and-writing-i-was-in-that-exhilarating-place-where/)

[Deborah Lawrenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-lawrenson/)

> [The universe has a much greater imagination than we do, which is why the real story of the universe is far more interesting than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-m-krauss/the-universe-has-a-much-greater-imagination-than-we-do-which-is-why/)

[Lawrence M. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-m-krauss/)

> [As a teenager, my father took me to the shows at the Architectural Association and to places like Milton Keynes back when it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-heatherwick/as-a-teenager-my-father-took-me-to-the-shows-at-the-architectural/)

[Thomas Heatherwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-heatherwick/)

> [Your imagination is more real that then the world you see, because the world you see comes from what you imagine and believe! What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/your-imagination-is-more-real-that-then-the-world-you-see-because-the/)

[Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/)

> [His imagination was always more real than the reality of daily life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/his-imagination-was-always-more-real-than-the-reality-of-daily-life/)

[Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/)

> [If you create a visual that actually captures the imagination, that's not real. It will look real, and that will spread at such lightning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/if-you-create-a-visual-that-actually-captures-the-imagination-that-s/)

[Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/)

> [It would be easier for people to grasp that gender, sex, and sexual orientation are different things if we had as much imagination in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yance-ford/it-would-be-easier-for-people-to-grasp-that-gender-sex-and-sexual/)

[Yance Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yance-ford/)

> [ If you are to do justice to \[the great roles\], you must fly up to them - rather than dragging them down to you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-guskin/if-you-are-to-do-justice-to-the-great-roles-you-must-fly-up-to-them/)

[Harold Guskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-guskin/)

> [Imagination is the real and eternal world of which this vegetable universe is but a faint shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/imagination-is-the-real-and-eternal-world-of-which-this-vegetable/)

[William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/)

## More by Jodi Picoult

> [You get through it, you just never get over it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/you-get-through-it-you-just-never-get-over-it/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [“Let me guess," Eric says, "You never meant for it to happen." "Hell, yes, I did. I've wanted her since you two started dating."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/let-me-guess-eric-says-you-never-meant-for-it-to-happen-hell-yes-i/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [“It’s the difference between dancing along the eggshell crust of acquaintance and diving into the messy center of a relationship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-s-the-difference-between-dancing-along-the-eggshell-crust-of/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [Because hate's just the flip side of love. Like heads and tails on a dime. If you don't know what it feels like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/because-hate-s-just-the-flip-side-of-love-like-heads-and-tails-on-a/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [Some women are meant to change the world, while others are meant to hold it together. And then there are those of us who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/some-women-are-meant-to-change-the-world-while-others-are-meant-to/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [I love feeling loved. I don't love knowing that I will always come in second place. I love the fact that at least sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-love-feeling-loved-i-don-t-love-knowing-that-i-will-always-come-in/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [“Music is the language of memory”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/music-is-the-language-of-memory/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [But there is a different between mending someone who's broken and finding someone who makes you complete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/but-there-is-a-different-between-mending-someone-who-s-broken-and/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [“sometimes words are not big enough to contain all the feelings you are trying to pour into them. My”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/sometimes-words-are-not-big-enough-to-contain-all-the-feelings-you/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [“The age wasn't as important as the milestones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-age-wasn-t-as-important-as-the-milestones/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [The night is falling down around us. Meteors rain like fireworks, quick rips in the seam of the dark... Every second, another streak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-night-is-falling-down-around-us-meteors-rain-like-fireworks-quick/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [“When she had packed all the artifacts that made up their personal history into liquor store boxes, the house became strictly a feminine place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/when-she-had-packed-all-the-artifacts-that-made-up-their-personal/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [“Maybe who we are isn't so much about what we do, but rather what we're capable of when we least expect it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/maybe-who-we-are-isn-t-so-much-about-what-we-do-but-rather-what-we-re/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [“Here's what I hadn't realized : the mother you haven't seen for almost 36 years isn't your mother. She is a stranger. Sharing DNA…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/here-s-what-i-hadn-t-realized-the-mother-you-haven-t-seen-for-almost/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [My brother believed in all sorts of mythical creatures: pixies, dragons, werewolves, honest men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/my-brother-believed-in-all-sorts-of-mythical-creatures-pixies-dragons/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

[Explore all 2,062 Jodi Picoult quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

## More Life quotes

> [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/)

[Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/)

> [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/)

[Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/)

> [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/)

[Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/)

> [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/)

[Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/)

> [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/)

[Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/)

> [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/)

[Deanna L. Lawlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-l-lawlis/)

> [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/)

[Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/)

> [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/)

[Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/)

> [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/)

[Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/)

> [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/)

[Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/)

> [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/)

[Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/)

> [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/)

[Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/)

[Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“I also mistakenly believed that the scariest stories came from imagination, not real life.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jodi Picoult"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-also-mistakenly-believed-that-the-scariest-stories-came-from/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Life"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-also-mistakenly-believed-that-the-scariest-stories-came-from/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/jodi-picoult-45_life_i-also-mistakenly-believed-that-the-scar_700451.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/jodi-picoult-45_life_i-also-mistakenly-believed-that-the-scar_700451.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/jodi-picoult-45_life_i-also-mistakenly-believed-that-the-scar_700451.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I also mistakenly believed that the scariest stories came from imagination, not real life.” — Jodi Picoult",
                "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": "Jodi Picoult",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“I also mistakenly believed that the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-also-mistakenly-believed-that-the-scariest-stories-came-from/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-also-mistakenly-believed-that-the-scariest-stories-came-from/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
