TV show quotes
How can a house, just a collection of bricks, wood, and glass have that much power over people?
You've never been there.
Well, that's true. But see, neither have you, not for a long, long time. And I think that if you were to look at it today after all these years, empty in the woods, you'd find it's not a monster. It's barely even a house. It's a carcass.
In movies they always say that they, uh, look like they're sleeping. She doesn't look like she's sleeping. She looks dead. I mean, you, um She looks great. You did a really good job as usual.
Thanks. But she "doesn't look like she's sleeping."
I don't know why people say that.
Most of what people say at a funeral is a wish. "They're in a better place." "They're at peace." "They're smiling down." People just wishing out loud.
How bad was it? I mean, when she got here? How did she look?
Are you really asking?
No. You're right...
[to Hugh] Can I get you anything? We got tons to eat, plenty to drink.
This is Kevin's coping mechanism. He turns into a waiter.
[to his father] The only difference between you and the stuff of campfire stories is that you keep getting older.
[eulogizing] I was born 90 seconds before Nell, but she was always my big sister.
So, yeah, it's not my place. But if you find your missus is acting scattered... then, yeah, maybe a little time away would do the trick. From the house, I mean. And a little prayer, too. Most likely.
Well, prayer's not really our thing, but... I take your point.
Each to their own, I suppose.
[to Steven] Our family is like an unfinished meal to that house, and your brother is walking right back into.. That house is the most dangerous place in the world for all of us, but especially for you.
Nell was delusional, depressed, Luke's an addict, Shirley is a control freak, and Theo's basically a clenched fist with hair.
[to Steve about his mom] She used to say she was the kite and I was the line. She was a creature of the clouds and and I was a creature of the earth. And she'd say that without me she'd become untethered and she would float away up into the... And then without her, I would just, you know, crash, just drop right down to the ground.
I just need you to know, that it wasn't Kevin's fault and he didn't do anything...
Don't you fucking dare defend my husband!
All of us, all of us are just always helping you keep up this idea in your head that you're perfect Shirley, and we're just a bunch of fuck-ups fucking up! Perfect Shirley's! Perfect fucking...
[Gives Theodora a hard shove in anger] Get out!
No! You do not just get to shut me out of your life...
[Shirley punches Theodora in her left breast]
Did you just punch me in the boob?
Yeah... Yeah! If you kiss my husband, that's what you get! You get punched in the fucking boob! And get evicted from my fucking house!
[after Theo and Shirley sees Nell's ghost. Theo is extremely emotional] That was her! That was her! That was her! Did you see that, Shirley? Do you fucking believe THAT? You ought to know why I did it. I touched Nell because I had to know. You know what I'm talking about. Don't pretend that you don't. You know what happens when I touch people. A part of you knows, it always has. I had to know and I... I touched her. And I felt nothing. Just nothing. And it spread, it spread everywhere in me, this nothing, until I couldn't feel anything anymore. I was just this dark, empty black hole. And I tried to fill it up, I tried to fill me back up, and I called Trish and she came right away and I felt nothing. And then I tried to mourn at the wake and I felt nothing, and so I drank and I drank, and nothing worked. I couldn't feel anything, Shirley. After I touched her skin, I couldn't feel anything. And then we're in the basement and the lights go out. And I can't see. And I can't feel. And I'm just - I'm just floating in this ocean of nothing, and I wonder if this is it, if this is what death is, just out there in the darkness, just darkness and numbness and alone, and I wondered if that's what she felt and that's what Mom feels, and it's just numb and nothing and alone. What if that's what it is for all of us when the time comes? And then the lights came on and there he was, and I... I didn't see him. I didn't see him. He was the light in the darkness. He was a life preserver in the ocean. I just - I reached for him because I had to feel something. I had to feel anything. And I didn't see him. I didn't - I didn't see him. I didn't see him. I didn't see him! And he stopped me. He stopped me. He took my hands, and he said no, and then I saw him, and then you walked in. God, I'm so glad I did it, though. Because it worked. Oh, God, it worked. I started feeling things again, and I felt - I felt shame, and I felt grief, and I felt scared. I felt so fucking scared that I was gonna lose the only sister that I had left. And I... Honestly, I had to do it, because it felt better than nothing. That thorough fucking shame was so much better than that horrible, empty nothing. I can't - Shirley, please. I am - I am so - I am so, so, so sorry. I'm so sorry. Please, just please.
[Shirley bends down to help Theo up]
[admonishing Olivia] If you're worried about your children, you don't let anyone tell you what you're feeling is wrong. You don't let anyone tell you to relax, especially someone who didn't carry those souls in their core - feel them growing. Stand firm between the world out there and these little souls, because the world out there has teeth, and it is hungry, and it is stupid, and it eats and eats mindlessly. It doesn't care that they're innocent. You listen to your gut. Hold the door. Even if it makes them hate you.
When Daddy died, I made it rain rocks.
[about the red room] It's open! You found the key!
You want to know the secret? We ARE the key.
I'm dreaming, aren't I?
Of course you are. I'm a dream, and so are you, and so are we. Ah, you are a looker, aren't you?
These quotes come from Wikiquote's The Haunting of Hill House pages and are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
