The Whispering Skull Quotes
"Don’t look now, but there’s two of them."
"Twelve months I’d been working for Lockwood & Co. as a Junior Field Operative, tackling spectral Visitors of every horrific shape and size."
"A Source is an object to which a ghost is tied. Locate that, and you soon have your haunting under control."
"We’re psychical investigation agents, and I can tell you it takes more than fifteen Visitors suddenly showing up to make us snap."
"That’s the thing about Wraiths: they’re hungry, they’re malevolent, and they simply don’t give up."
"In a fair fight we’d beat you hands down."
"You’re not really a proper agency at all. Three agents? Scarcely a single flare to call your own?"
"We’re the best agents in London, aren’t we?"
"It’s a massive cemetery, how many graves are you digging up?"
"New Visitors appearing all the time. That Stepney grave was three hundred years old. Had it caused trouble before? No!"
"If you know it’s dangerous, why not excavate it during the day, like you do the others? Why do you need to bring us in?"
"New DEPRAC guidelines. We have a legal obligation to bring in agents for all graves that may contain a Type Two Visitor."
"Coffin opening’s never that simple. Something always goes wrong."
"You can’t even afford a uniform! Any time you come up against a real organization, you’ll end up a sorry second best."
"We had it under control, but still – that flare came in handy."
"I felt like something was rushing up beneath me. It was about to clasp me and swallow me. Such baleful energy! Such malice!"
"A moment's glimpse was all it took. Ah, it made me swoon!"
"We were the centre of a ring of frightened spot-lit faces."
"Perhaps we’ll get a moment’s peace in here."
"Most children with strong psychic abilities become agents, but if you’re not quite good enough for that, you swallow your pride and join the night watch."
"It’s all getting curiouser and curiouser."
"Look what I’ve found! No, not you, please, Mr Joplin – you’d better stay beyond the iron."
"Secretive, deceitful. You know it’s true."
"Um... what would have happened if she wasn't in a good mood?"
"I saw her chuck an agent into the river once."
"Just don’t say much, and stay out of stabbing distance."
"Yeah. See you still can’t afford a suit that fits."
"Don’t bend over quick wearing those trousers."
"I thought I said I never wanted to see you again."
"Like that changes anything. Give them here."
"There’s a code of silence among our kind."
"The two things ain’t mutually exclusive, if you want to stay healthy."
"First just a little gentle scrabbling in the mud."
"Yes." Her eyes glittered; her mouth grinned broadly.
"What’s the matter? You’re an agent. You’re not afraid."
"So the idea is, we’re to stand guard while you go digging for a dead kid’s bones?"
"A strong weight pressing down on me. Such grief..."
"No death-glows. We wouldn’t expect to see them, if they died in fresh water."
"She’s tricked us. This is some kind of trap."
"Trap? This is your side of the bargain."
"If we’re going to talk to it we have to be on our guard. It’ll try to cause trouble. I know it will."
"Spirits were deceitful, dangerous and guileful, and they did not have our interests at heart."
"Trust me. It’s a foul thing and there’s no point pretending otherwise."
"It gives knowledge. It gives enlightenment."
"You know that the door on Lockwood’s landing is lined with iron strips, on the inside."
"I spoke to the Hampstead authorities. The site of the Green Gates Sanatorium is still derelict."
"Nothing happened to you, because you were upstairs hobnobbing with the owner."
"His darkness was in him always – in those staring wolf-like eyes, in that savage rage he unleashed at the merest slight."
"His voice was honey. He mesmerized us all with talk of his great Project, of the wondrous Device that might be made if we had the stomach for the work."
"We went on expeditions to the churchyards, gathering materials for the Device. The Boy protected us from the vengeful Spirits until we had trapped them in the glass."
"I cannot forget it – how he broke Lucan’s arm when he dropped the candles, how he threw Mortimer down the stairs!"
"Yes, I killed a man. But murder? No! Should I one day stand in Judgement I shall claim it an act of self-defence."
"Covering my face as Bickerstaff clawed at me and screamed, I shot – the bullet passed directly through his forehead."
"You think you can rob me? I will kill you both."
"Sportsmanship only goes so far. That spirit-glass is something special, and I had my heart set on it."
"I think your last spot of Greek Fire almost knocked Winkman right through the wall."
"‘So?_’ the ghost sneered. ‘So you destroy me. How will that help you? And how do you know that’s not exactly what I desire?’"
"‘Thing is,’ I went on implacably, ‘the same fear’s driving you now. You still can’t bear to be alone. That’s why you’re always yabbering on at me, why you’re always pulling faces. You’re desperate for connection.’"
"‘Stuff that. Our friend is more important. Last chance, skull. Spill the beans.’"
"‘Well, you’re right, as it happens,’ the whispering voice said. ‘Cubbins was here. He beat you home by almost an hour. He had the master’s mirror in a dirty sack. And he hadn’t been back long before someone else showed up. A little mousy fellow with spectacles and tousled hair.’"
"‘Have fun, then,’ the ghost called. ‘Give my regards to Cubbins, or whatever’s left of him. He’ll be— Wait, what are you doing?’"
"‘You wouldn’t do that,’ the ghost said, but for the first time I heard uncertainty in its voice."
"‘My master has been talking to them. You can see it in their eyes. Especially the other one – he’s desperate to be enlightened. But Cubbins has the madness too. Did you not notice?’"
"‘Look . . . look . . . I give you your heart’s desire . . .’"
"‘This is the best evening I’ve had since I was alive! Look at you both! Your faces are priceless.’"
"‘Oh, you think?’ the skull scoffed. ‘Honestly, this is pathetic. It’s like teaching cats to read.’"
"‘Can you feel them?’ its voice said. ‘The others. They’re all around you.’"
"‘They hear your footsteps. They hear the frantic beating of your heart.’"
"‘That’s what the master does. He takes the weak and feeble-minded and bends them to his will. Like this, for example. Lucy – I order you! Smash my glass prison and set me free! Set me freeeee!’"
"‘Curse you, Lucy!’ the skull hissed. ‘Why don’t you obey me?’"
"‘You can see he’s trying to recreate the original experiments,’ the skull was saying. ‘Got the mirror set up nicely on its stand. There are the seven spirits, still as feeble as ever. Always moaning, never actually doing anything. And he’s even got the master standing by. It’s almost like the old days back again. Hold on – why are you putting me down?’"
"‘_Poor stupid Lucy . . .’ It was the skull’s voice breaking harshly through my dream. ‘A fool like all the rest. Can’t take her eyes away, when all she has to do is smash the glass.’"
"‘Hopeless,’ the skull whispered. ‘I bet a five-year-old could figure this out.’"
"‘Hey, why bring me into this? He’ll be as bad as Cubbins. Weird experiments, odd habits . . . Next thing you know he’ll have me with him in the bath.’"
"‘No!’ The skull spoke urgently. ‘I must be part of this. I wish to see the master! Take me to him!’"
"‘Master . . .’ The plaintive whisper was filled with fear and yearning. ‘Over here! It’s me!’"
"‘Yes,’ the skull said irritably. ‘Well, he’s not what he was.’"
"‘Oh, that’s typical. It was all going so well.’"
"‘Hey, this is exciting,’ the skull’s voice whispered in my ear. ‘I’m so enjoying this night out. Now I get to see you all killed. We must do this more often.’"
"‘You’ll be too late,’ a voice hissed in my ear. ‘Cubbins won’t have been able to resist taking a look. Peeped, choked, dead already: that’s my prediction.’"
"‘Well, he may have been mad,’ the ghost said simply, ‘but he wasn’t stupid. Of course he didn’t. The risks were too great. Tell me, don’t you think Cubbins may be busy dying? Aren’t you wasting time?’"