The Screaming Staircase Quotes
"Of the first few hauntings I investigated"
"‘I see from your letter,’ the boy said, ‘that you’re from the north of England. From the Cheviot Hills. Wasn’t there a famous outbreak in that district a few years back?’"
"‘Time for questions later,’ Lockwood said."
"‘That’s right,’ I said. ‘Step over here and I’ll show you exactly how feisty I am.’"
"‘What you mean,’ George interrupted, ‘is: where are the parents? Correct?’"
"‘I don’t know. I believe Lockwood was in care for years with a relative of some kind.’"
"‘I’d tread with caution there. I once walked in on him doing yoga in the nude.’"
"‘So he trained you up, did he? You got your Fourth Grade qualifications with him?’"
"‘Well, it’s a deep sofa. It’s taking me a while to get out of it.’"
"‘We’re a new agency, been registered three months. I got my full licence last year.’"
"‘We’re independent, and we like it that way. We take the jobs we want and turn down the rest.’"
"‘I thought they were the ghosts of miners who’d died in an accident underground.’"
"‘To start with, yes. But they were Changers. Took on many shapes before the end.’"
"‘I’m sorry,’ I said at last, ‘I can’t detect anything.’"
"‘Right,’ he said. ‘Just a few tests, Ms Carlyle. Nothing to worry about at all. Are you ready?’"
"‘Well, this is all stuff George and I have collected over our careers so far.’"
"‘What difference? Come on! I’ll show you what difference!’"
"‘Put the letter on the sideboard, please,’ Lockwood said. ‘I’ll look at it later.’"
"I understand her pain. And that means I want justice for her now. I don’t want her forgotten."
"You lie like a politician, Mr Lockwood."
"I like your panache, I like your attention to detail."
"I began as an outsider too, Mr Lockwood. I struggled hard to make my way when I was a lad."
"But I almost don’t want to ask this, given our experiences these last two days, but when you held the locket just now, I don’t suppose you . . . felt anything, did you?"
"The man who gave her this necklace? He’s the one who killed her too."
"Poor Annie Ward died long ago, but her killer can still be brought to account."
"We want to dispose of Visitors, of course, but we’re also interested in the human stories behind the hauntings."
"This is just what we need – as long as we treat it right."
"I’m not having anyone on my team who can’t be trusted."
"I can sense death-glows everywhere, but I can't quite see them yet."
"The true crimes are Fairfax’s outrageous preconditions."
"It promises to be a very intriguing night, sir."
"I guess it’s possible. What do you say, Lockwood?"
"Perhaps, sir, you’d be making one of your clever college jokes about me?"
"We need to say well done, Lucy, you’re a genius."
"There’s no ghost in that cottage because that’s where I live."
"It’s a very peculiar mishmash of a place."
"Time is passing. I need to be in Pimlico in fifteen minutes!"
"Which is why we should take full advantage and see what happens."
"You mean they couldn’t tell how he died? I mean they never found him."
"To follow them in, without time for proper preparation, would be bordering on madness."
"I don’t expect a decision from you now, of course. Let me know by the end of the day."
"If he can’t hold it in now, how will he cope tonight, when the light begins to drain away from the Long Gallery?"
"Who’s going to take them? Not the Inhabitants of the Hall, I’m sure; they don’t stir before sundown."
"I think you’ve made a key connection. This is a crucial clue."
"We’ve made the house secure. They won’t burgle us again."
"Doubt thou the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move, Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love."
"We’re going to have to find the Source. Then—"
"You’re still a child, Miss Carlyle. You know nothing of such things."
"All the light bulbs in the library blew."
"But ghosts, right then, weren’t my main concern."
"She clasped him to her, drew him downwards in a cold embrace."
"The room was dark. I tilted my hand; the locket fell and broke into pieces on the floor."
"He turned: a flash, a crack, a bullet whipped between us into the dark."
"Of course, events didn’t stop just because I was side-lined."
"We’ve neutralized a major cluster of Visitors and overcome a determined and ruthless foe."
"Put those teeth away. It’s too early in the morning and I haven’t had my breakfast."
"I think he was too busy trying to kill us, Mr Barnes."
"By the way, one of the helmets seems to lack its eye-piece. Any idea where it might be?"
"The remains of the locket were swept up and removed by Barnes’s men in a special silver-glass canister."
"Spending eternity without your trousers!"