”
You see, Grampa Barnavelt was really a rather soft-hearted and gentle man. He had no business trying to fight in a war.
Jonathan Barnavelt; The Figure in the Shadows
”
Time, time, time, in a sort of runic rhyme! Look at the clock! Where’s the big hand, the little hand, and the hand of fate?
Isaac Izard; The Tower at the End of the World
”
My mother is Middle English. When I was a child, we spoke it at home all the time.
John Bellairs; March 8, 1959
”
I wish there was a way to gag mirrors.
Prospero; The Dolphin Cross
”
I’m awfully glad you are coming back to Barnavelt Manor soon.
Betram “Bertie” Goodring; The Vengeance of the Witch-Finder
”
We toss the dusty erasers of old questions into the air and try to bat them with solid answers.
Sir Bertram; The Pedant and the Shuffly
”
They visited some sunken galleons and the wreck of the Titanic, and even watched an octopus fight.
The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring
”
Run! Professor, Father, run! There’s a zombie behind you!
Johnny Dixon, The Drum, the Doll, and the Zombie
”
Higgy, has it ever occurred to you that you might be the victim of some lunatic practical joker?
Roderick Childermass, The Secret of the Underground Room
”
Try dressing up in a floppy clown outfit and doing tricks on live TV.
Clarence Mussenberger; The Specter from the Magician’s Museum
”
It’s part of an old hymn called ‘St. Patrick’s Breastplate’…it never occurred to me that the thing might have magical properties….
Thomas Higgins; The Spell of the Sorcerer’s Skull
”
Go Bellairs! Quote Chaucer!
Notre Dame pep rally; March 10, 1959
”
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
Father Foley; The Whistle, the Grave, and the Ghost
”
But I prefer turbulent weather - storms and lashing rains and raging seas. I suppose my tastes are odd….
Anders Borkman; The Dark Secret of Weatherend
”
Sometimes I think my life would have been completely different if I had ever learned to draw.
Edward Gorey; Los Angeles Times; March, 1986
