--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we feel haunted, it is the pull of…" description: "\"“When we feel haunted, it is the pull of our own home we're experiencing, but a more upsetting possibility is that the past has become homeless, and we..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/yiyun-li-12305_haunted_when-we-feel-haunted-it-is-the-pull-of-o_2364877.jpg" --- # When we feel haunted, it is the pull of our own home we're… ![“When we feel haunted, it is the pull of our own home we're experiencing, but a more upsetting possibility is that the past has become homeless, and we are offering it a place to inhabit in the present.” quote by Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/yiyun-li-12305_haunted_when-we-feel-haunted-it-is-the-pull-of-o_2364877.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/yiyun-li-12305_haunted_when-we-feel-haunted-it-is-the-pull-of-o_2364877.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/yiyun-li-12305_haunted_when-we-feel-haunted-it-is-the-pull-of-o_2364877.jpg) > ““When we feel haunted, it is the pull of our own home we're experiencing, but a more upsetting possibility is that the past has become homeless, and we are offering it a place to inhabit in the present.”” [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Haunted feelings arise from a displaced past that seeks a present home, creating inner conflict. **In simple terms:** Past memories seek a place now. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and integrate past experiences. Themes memory identity homecoming Mood melancholic introspective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - therapy - creative writing - family gatherings Key Concepts psychology nostalgia integration Questions to Reflect On - What parts of your past feel homeless? - How can you give them a healthy place? A Different Perspective Clinging to past can hinder present growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Haunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/haunting/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Homeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homeless/) ## Related quotes > ['Galpo Holeo Sotti' had been made some time ago. But even today, I feel haunted. I still get scared to be all alone in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mimi-chakraborty/galpo-holeo-sotti-had-been-made-some-time-ago-but-even-today-i-feel/) [Mimi Chakraborty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mimi-chakraborty/) > [“The library smells like old books-a thousand leather doorways into other worlds." "Dear sir, I was called away and couldn't bring you, but now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitcomb/the-library-smells-like-old-books-a-thousand-leather-doorways-into-2/) [Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) > [“I don't want to stay here without you,' said Dolly. 'This place is you. You've made it. It is soaked in you. I should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/i-don-t-want-to-stay-here-without-you-said-dolly-this-place-is-you/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [It was the night before Christmas and all I wanted was to no longer feel haunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-riccitello/it-was-the-night-before-christmas-and-all-i-wanted-was-to-no-longer/) [Dominic Riccitello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-riccitello/) > [“This, I found, was what happened so often to me in Turkey: You’re learning about a country, you have read books, and so you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-hansen/this-i-found-was-what-happened-so-often-to-me-in-turkey-you-re/) [Suzy Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-hansen/) > [“When I arrived home from Boston, I realized there were no pictures on my mantel. I set down my suitcase and walked into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/when-i-arrived-home-from-boston-i-realized-there-were-no-pictures-on/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [I do feel haunted by some of the letters and the suffering people have endured. But I keep in mind that the people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-yoffe/i-do-feel-haunted-by-some-of-the-letters-and-the-suffering-people/) [Emily Yoffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-yoffe/) > [We're all of us haunted and haunting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-re-all-of-us-haunted-and-haunting/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [I am not really a writer. 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He could thrust it aside by day, but it poisoned his dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weber/the-splendor-of-that-moment-its-transcendent-glory-and-aliveness/) [David Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weber/) > [Ghosts seem harder to please than we are; it is as though they haunted for haunting’s sake -- much as we relive, brood, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/ghosts-seem-harder-to-please-than-we-are-it-is-as-though-they-haunted/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [“Every town has ‘THAT house’: the one that once held dark secrets. You know the house… the one no one will purchase? The one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-caskey/every-town-has-that-house-the-one-that-once-held-dark-secrets-you/) [James Caskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-caskey/) > [“Something was bleeding… and something was broken. It was my heart… because I had to leave you. (Chase to Rayne)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-brockman/something-was-bleeding-and-something-was-broken-it-was-my-heart/) Kimberly Brockman ## More by Yiyun Li > [“I am not and autobiographical writer--one can't be without a solid and explicable self--and read all autobiographical writers with the same curiosity. What kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/i-am-not-and-autobiographical-writer-one-can-t-be-without-a-solid-and/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [One easy mistake to make with the first novel is to expand the short story. Some things are better as a story; you cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/one-easy-mistake-to-make-with-the-first-novel-is-to-expand-the-short/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [“sometimes Moran wondered if her chief merit was her willingness to serve as a human receptacle for details. Sympathy and admiration and surprise she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/sometimes-moran-wondered-if-her-chief-merit-was-her-willingness-to/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [I always tell my students to go back after a hundred pages and rewrite from the beginning. It's really harder if you've already finished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/i-always-tell-my-students-to-go-back-after-a-hundred-pages-and/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [She wonders if this is what people call falling in love, the desire to be with someone for every minute of the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/she-wonders-if-this-is-what-people-call-falling-in-love-the-desire-to/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [Some people in China don't look at freedom of speech as an abstract ideal, but more as a means to an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/some-people-in-china-don-t-look-at-freedom-of-speech-as-an-abstract/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [I would never describe a cloud as 'fluffy'—in Chinese or in English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/i-would-never-describe-a-cloud-as-fluffy-in-chinese-or-in-english/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [“It saddened her that Luo insisted on holding on to her as if they had started to share some vital organs during their twenty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/it-saddened-her-that-luo-insisted-on-holding-on-to-her-as-if-they-had/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [To write about a struggle amidst the struggling: one must hope that the muddling will end someday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/to-write-about-a-struggle-amidst-the-struggling-one-must-hope-that/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [I think our eyes are trained to look for what we want to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/i-think-our-eyes-are-trained-to-look-for-what-we-want-to-see/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [What is revolution except a systematic way for one species to eat another alive?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/what-is-revolution-except-a-systematic-way-for-one-species-to-eat/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [“His mother had always been a headstrong woman, and with her grayish-white mane and unsmiling face, she appeared as regal and intimidating as she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/his-mother-had-always-been-a-headstrong-woman-and-with-her-grayish/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [In China, your freedom is always limited, but this limitation applies to almost everyone. If someone does injustice to you, though, you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/in-china-your-freedom-is-always-limited-but-this-limitation-applies/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [The boy will remain a son and never become a father. He will be forgotten by the crowd once his blood is rinsed clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/the-boy-will-remain-a-son-and-never-become-a-father-he-will-be/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [You can write about a country without taking a stand, but you cannot write about a country without noting that there's history, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/you-can-write-about-a-country-without-taking-a-stand-but-you-cannot/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) [Explore all 54 Yiyun Li quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) ## More Haunted quotes > [I love ghost stories, I love to read them, and I love the idea of being haunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micah-perks/i-love-ghost-stories-i-love-to-read-them-and-i-love-the-idea-of-being/) [Micah Perks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micah-perks/) > [“...the haunted always take refuge in stillness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-dodd/the-haunted-always-take-refuge-in-stillness/) [Christina Dodd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-dodd/) > [I don't like haunted houses or anything like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-burrow/i-don-t-like-haunted-houses-or-anything-like-that/) [Joe Burrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-burrow/) > [I keep all my clothes on in House on Haunted Hill, Mary Jane's Last Dance, and The Way of the Gun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taye-diggs/i-keep-all-my-clothes-on-in-house-on-haunted-hill-mary-jane-s-last/) [Taye Diggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taye-diggs/) > [They call them the haunted shores, these stretches of Devonshire and Cornwall and Ireland which rear up against the westward ocean. Mists gather here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/they-call-them-the-haunted-shores-these-stretches-of-devonshire-and/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“She herself is a haunted house. She does not possess herself; her ancestors sometimes come and peer out of the window of her eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/she-herself-is-a-haunted-house-she-does-not-possess-herself-her/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [...you don't need ghosts to be haunted. Memory does that just fine without any supernatural help at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/you-don-t-need-ghosts-to-be-haunted-memory-does-that-just-fine/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [“She haunted the makeup department until she was bored, then took a look around home furnishings. She wasn't ever going to get another dining…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/she-haunted-the-makeup-department-until-she-was-bored-then-took-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Despite the way she rallied, the haunted look in her eyes was enough to break him, as lost and lonely as an abandoned child’s.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mcintyre/despite-the-way-she-rallied-the-haunted-look-in-her-eyes-was-enough/) [Katherine McIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mcintyre/) > [“Every town has ‘THAT house’: the one that once held dark secrets. You know the house… the one no one will purchase? The one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-caskey/every-town-has-that-house-the-one-that-once-held-dark-secrets-you/) [James Caskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-caskey/) > [“..., imagine a loamy earth that starts with genocide, then adds a mix of further disease, wars, hurricanes, murder, great fires, dueling, insurrection and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-caskey/imagine-a-loamy-earth-that-starts-with-genocide-then-adds-a-mix-of/) [James Caskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-caskey/) > [“Darkness lingered in those blue eyes, like ghosts haunted him despite only the two of them standing in this cabin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mcintyre/darkness-lingered-in-those-blue-eyes-like-ghosts-haunted-him-despite/) [Katherine McIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mcintyre/) > [“Your eyes remained haunted. Seeing something in the world that your mirth can not dissolve.” I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tillie-cole/your-eyes-remained-haunted-seeing-something-in-the-world-that-your/) [Tillie Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tillie-cole/) > [“The director said he's got a haunted soul and a natural sweetness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/the-director-said-he-s-got-a-haunted-soul-and-a-natural-sweetness/) [Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) > [Hotels are really scary. There are a lot of haunted ones in L.A. that I want to check out. So many people come in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-peters/hotels-are-really-scary-there-are-a-lot-of-haunted-ones-in-l-a-that-i/) [Evan Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-peters/) Browse all 398 Haunted quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When we feel haunted, it is the pull of our own home we're experiencing, but a more upsetting possibility is that the past has become homeless, and we are offering it a place to inhabit in the present.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Yiyun Li" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/when-we-feel-haunted-it-is-the-pull-of-our-own-home-we-re/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Haunted" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/when-we-feel-haunted-it-is-the-pull-of-our-own-home-we-re/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/yiyun-li-12305_haunted_when-we-feel-haunted-it-is-the-pull-of-o_2364877.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/yiyun-li-12305_haunted_when-we-feel-haunted-it-is-the-pull-of-o_2364877.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/yiyun-li-12305_haunted_when-we-feel-haunted-it-is-the-pull-of-o_2364877.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When we feel haunted, it is the pull of our own home we're experiencing, but a more upsetting possibility is…” — Yiyun Li", "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": "Yiyun Li", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“When we feel haunted, it is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/when-we-feel-haunted-it-is-the-pull-of-our-own-home-we-re/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/when-we-feel-haunted-it-is-the-pull-of-our-own-home-we-re/#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 } } ] } ```