--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Oh, monsters are scared', said Lettie…" description: "\"“Oh, monsters are scared', said Lettie. 'And as for grown-ups...' She stopped talking, rubbed her freckled nose with a finger. Then, 'I'm going to tell..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/neil-gaiman-29_adulthood_oh-monsters-are-scared-said-lettie-and-a_1450616.jpg" --- # Oh, monsters are scared', said Lettie. 'And as for… ![“Oh, monsters are scared', said Lettie. 'And as for grown-ups...' She stopped talking, rubbed her freckled nose with a finger. Then, 'I'm going to tell you something important. Grown-ups don't look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they're big and thoughtless and they always know what…” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/neil-gaiman-29_adulthood_oh-monsters-are-scared-said-lettie-and-a_1450616.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/neil-gaiman-29_adulthood_oh-monsters-are-scared-said-lettie-and-a_1450616.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/neil-gaiman-29_adulthood_oh-monsters-are-scared-said-lettie-and-a_1450616.jpg) > ““Oh, monsters are scared', said Lettie. 'And as for grown-ups...' She stopped talking, rubbed her freckled nose with a finger. Then, 'I'm going to tell you something important. Grown-ups don't look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they're big and thoughtless and they always know what they're doing. Inside, they look just like they always have. Like they did when they were your age. The truth is, there aren't any grown-ups. Not one, in the whole wide world.' ... We sat there, side by side, on the old wooden bench, not saying anything. I thought about adults. I wondered if that was true: if they were all really children wrapped in adult bodies, like children's books hidden in the middle of dull, long books. The kind with no pictures or conversations.”” [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adults are portrayed as children at heart, suggesting that maturity is an illusion and true selves remain youthful. **In simple terms:** Adults are really children inside. Key Takeaway Recognize inner child in everyone. Themes identity illusion growth Mood playful thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - parenting - mentorship - self‑reflection Key Concepts psychology human nature Questions to Reflect On - Do you see adults as children or grown‑ups? - How does this view change your relationships? A Different Perspective Some may argue adults can be genuinely mature. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adulthood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adulthood/) [Adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Children'S Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-s-books-2/) [Grown Ups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grown-ups/) [Inspirational quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational-quotes/) [Neil-gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neil-gaiman/) [Side by side](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/side-by-side/) ## Related quotes > [“Grown-ups don’t look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they’re big and thoughtless and they always know what they’re doing. Inside, they look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/grown-ups-don-t-look-like-grown-ups-on-the-inside-either-outside-they-2/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“I'm going to tell you something important. Grown-ups don't look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they're big and thoughtless and they always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-m-going-to-tell-you-something-important-grown-ups-don-t-look-like/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“I thought about adults. I wondered if that was true: if they were all really children wrapped in adult bodies, like children’s books hidden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-thought-about-adults-i-wondered-if-that-was-true-if-they-were-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Nobody looks like what they really are on the inside. You don’t. I don’t. People are much more complicated than that. It’s true of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/nobody-looks-like-what-they-really-are-on-the-inside-you-don-t-i-don-2/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Oh, monsters are scared. That's why they're monsters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/oh-monsters-are-scared-that-s-why-they-re-monsters/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“All monsters are scared. That's why they're monsters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/all-monsters-are-scared-that-s-why-they-re-monsters/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Oh, monsters are scared," said Lettie. "That's why they're monsters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/oh-monsters-are-scared-said-lettie-that-s-why-they-re-monsters/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“It occurred to her one night that she was one of the vengeful monsters they were scared of: She had killed a white boy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/it-occurred-to-her-one-night-that-she-was-one-of-the-vengeful/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [“I hate dreams. I don't want any more dreams. I don't want any more anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-hate-dreams-i-don-t-want-any-more-dreams-i-don-t-want-any-more/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Kiss a lover, Dance a measure, Find your name And buried treasure. Face your life, It's pain, It's pleasure, Leave no path untaken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/kiss-a-lover-dance-a-measure-find-your-name-and-buried-treasure-face/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Here comes a candle to light you to bed, and here comes a chopper to chop off your head.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/here-comes-a-candle-to-light-you-to-bed-and-here-comes-a-chopper-to/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Delirium: You use that word so much. Responsibilities. Do you ever think about what that means? I mean, what does it mean to you?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/delirium-you-use-that-word-so-much-responsibilities-do-you-ever-think/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Sister? Where should we start?" "Here?" "Very good. We are here. Where should we travel to now?" "...somewhere that's not here?" "That was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/sister-where-should-we-start-here-very-good-we-are-here-where-should/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Newton Pulsifer had never...as far as he knew, ever believed in anything. It had been embarrassing, because he quite wanted to believe in something,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/newton-pulsifer-had-never-as-far-as-he-knew-ever-believed-in-anything/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“It's like the people who believe they'll be happy if they go and live somewhere else, but who learn it doesn't work that way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/it-s-like-the-people-who-believe-they-ll-be-happy-if-they-go-and-live/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## More by Neil Gaiman > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Like all sentient beings, Fat Charlie had a weirdness quotient. For some days the needle had been over in the red, occasionally banging jerkily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/like-all-sentient-beings-fat-charlie-had-a-weirdness-quotient-for/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Shadow crawled across the floor to the yellow foam-rubber pad and climbed onto it, pulling the thin blanket over himself, and closed his eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/shadow-crawled-across-the-floor-to-the-yellow-foam-rubber-pad-and/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [ “\[T\]hey could not help being amused every time another little human believed itself the center of its world, as each of us does.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/t-hey-could-not-help-being-amused-every-time-another-little-human/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [So many things to see, people to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/so-many-things-to-see-people-to-do/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.’ – Ben Franklin,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/three-may-keep-a-secret-if-two-of-them-are-dead-ben-franklin/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You can tell the date of an old science fiction novel by every word on the page. Nothing dates harder and faster and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-tell-the-date-of-an-old-science-fiction-novel-by-every-word/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“The quickest way is sometimes the longest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-quickest-way-is-sometimes-the-longest/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“They were spells, spelled with words to make worlds, waiting for me, in the pages of books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/they-were-spells-spelled-with-words-to-make-worlds-waiting-for-me-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/finish-what-you-re-writing-whatever-you-have-to-do-to-finish-it/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [What do stars do? They shine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-do-stars-do-they-shine/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“What," asked Mr Croup, "do you want?" "What," asked the Marquis de Carabas, a little more rhetorically, "does anyone want?" "Dead things," suggested Mr…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-asked-mr-croup-do-you-want-what-asked-the-marquis-de-carabas-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You get on with your own life. Lettie gave it to you. You just have to grow up and try and be worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-get-on-with-your-own-life-lettie-gave-it-to-you-you-just-have-to/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Eyes will not see you. Minds will not hold you. Where you are is nothing and nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/eyes-will-not-see-you-minds-will-not-hold-you-where-you-are-is/) [neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Explore all 2,526 Neil Gaiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## More Adulthood quotes > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [People often say that you should never work with child actors. I think that's all wrong. Children have not had the imagination kicked out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cage/people-often-say-that-you-should-never-work-with-child-actors-i-think/) [Nicolas Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cage/) > [Two things suck about becoming an adult male - paying taxes and getting a finger in your butt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-code/two-things-suck-about-becoming-an-adult-male-paying-taxes-and-getting/) Guy Code > [You can only pretend for so long before reality hits and you realize he/she is not who you thought or what you truly want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/you-can-only-pretend-for-so-long-before-reality-hits-and-you-realize/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [If I were entering adulthood now instead of in the environment of fifty years ago, I would choose a career that kept me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-i-were-entering-adulthood-now-instead-of-in-the-environment-of/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [“English: "Being an adult doesn't mean killing the child we once were; it means being able to protect him." Česky: „Být dospělým neznamená zabít…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebasti-n-wortys/english-being-an-adult-doesn-t-mean-killing-the-child-we-once-were-it/) [Sebastián Wortys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebasti-n-wortys/) > [“I wondered what a man I had encountered the day before on the plane en route to Chicago's O'Hare airport would have made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/i-wondered-what-a-man-i-had-encountered-the-day-before-on-the-plane/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [“Sometimes your kids will say the nastiest things, won't they, Rose? You want to ask,'Whose child is this?'" Rose chuckled. "But usually, they're just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/sometimes-your-kids-will-say-the-nastiest-things-won-t-they-rose-you/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [No one, it has been said, will ever look at the Moon in the same way again. More significantly can one say that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/no-one-it-has-been-said-will-ever-look-at-the-moon-in-the-same-way/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [Being an adult is the ability to postpone a want for the sake of a family need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hogan/being-an-adult-is-the-ability-to-postpone-a-want-for-the-sake-of-a/) [Chris Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hogan/) > [“one Secret of Adulthood is “Never start a sentence with the words ‘No offense’”? “And”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/one-secret-of-adulthood-is-never-start-a-sentence-with-the-words-no/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [In their youth, mortals behave more like nymphs. Adulthood seems impossibly distant, let alone the enfeeblement of old age. But ponderously, inevitably, it overtakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-mull/in-their-youth-mortals-behave-more-like-nymphs-adulthood-seems/) [Brandon Mull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-mull/) > [Public schools were designed as the great equalizers of our society - the place where all children could have access to educational opportunities to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-napolitano/public-schools-were-designed-as-the-great-equalizers-of-our-society/) [Janet Napolitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-napolitano/) > [“Yet GenX'er teens didn't slow down--they were just as likely to drive, drink alcohol, and date as their Boomer peers and more likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-m-twenge/yet-genx-er-teens-didn-t-slow-down-they-were-just-as-likely-to-drive/) [Jean M. Twenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-m-twenge/) > [“The entrepreneurs are only about my age, probably younger, but they don't seem so. Their tailored clothes and unbending hairdos, their clipboards and laser…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-baume/the-entrepreneurs-are-only-about-my-age-probably-younger-but-they-don/) [Sara Baume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-baume/) [Browse all 651 Adulthood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adulthood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Oh, monsters are scared', said Lettie. 'And as for grown-ups...' She stopped talking, rubbed her freckled nose with a finger. Then, 'I'm going to tell you something important. Grown-ups don't look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they're big and thoughtless and they always know what they're doing. Inside, they look just like they always have. Like they did when they were your age. The truth is, there aren't any grown-ups. Not one, in the whole wide world.' ... We sat there, side by side, on the old wooden bench, not saying anything. I thought about adults. I wondered if that was true: if they were all really children wrapped in adult bodies, like children's books hidden in the middle of dull, long books. The kind with no pictures or conversations.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neil Gaiman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/oh-monsters-are-scared-said-lettie-and-as-for-grown-ups-she-stopped/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adulthood" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/oh-monsters-are-scared-said-lettie-and-as-for-grown-ups-she-stopped/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/neil-gaiman-29_adulthood_oh-monsters-are-scared-said-lettie-and-a_1450616.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/neil-gaiman-29_adulthood_oh-monsters-are-scared-said-lettie-and-a_1450616.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/neil-gaiman-29_adulthood_oh-monsters-are-scared-said-lettie-and-a_1450616.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Oh, monsters are scared', said Lettie. 'And as for grown-ups...' She stopped talking, rubbed her freckled…” — Neil Gaiman", "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": "Neil Gaiman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Oh, monsters are scared', said Lettie....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/oh-monsters-are-scared-said-lettie-and-as-for-grown-ups-she-stopped/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/oh-monsters-are-scared-said-lettie-and-as-for-grown-ups-she-stopped/#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 } } ] } ```