Below the surface Quote by Shirley Jackson

I can't help it when people are frightened," says Merricat. "I always want to frighten them more.

— Shirley Jackson

“She could not remember ever being truly happy in her adult life; her years with her mother had been built up devotedly around small…

— Shirley Jackson

“Upstairs Margaret said abruptly, 'I suppose it starts to happen first in the suburbs,' and when Brad said, 'What starts to happen?' she said…

— Shirley Jackson

“The beautiful clarity of all marked outlines occurred to her--there would be a deep satisfaction in strengthening fences, for instance, going along on the…

— Shirley Jackson

“And we held each other in the dark hall and laughed, with the tears running down our cheeks and echoes of our laughter going…

— Shirley Jackson

“Why do people want to talk to each other? I mean, what are the things people always want to find out about other people?”

— Shirley Jackson

Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of…

— Shirley Jackson

“It was as though the people needed the ugliness of the village, and fed on it. The houses and the stores seemed to have…

— Shirley Jackson

“Eleanor—“I plan to stay up and read for a while.” “Are you still reading Pamela?” Eleanor asked the doctor. “Volume two. I have three…

— Shirley Jackson

“Is everyone really crazy but me?”

— Shirley Jackson

February, when the days of winter seem endless and no amount of wistful recollecting can bring back any air of summer.

— Shirley Jackson

“it’s quite a hazard, quite a hazard indeed, people knocking you down. Still, it’s a genuine pleasure to find one as willing as you…

— Shirley Jackson