“The house smelled musty and damp, and a little sweet, as if it were haunted by the ghosts of long-dead cookies.”

“He was standing on the pavement outside Nick Farthing's house, his face damp from the thick night mist.”

“The junkie whine had vanished from his voice now, replaced with a resigned flatness, as if the words were being broadcast from a long, long way away, dead words being sent out on a dead frequency.”

“Trolls can smell the rainbow, trolls can smell the stars. Trolls can smell the dreams you dreamed before you were ever born.”

“This little piggy went to HadesThis little piggy stayed homeThis little piggy ate raw and steaming human fleshThis little piggy violated virginsAnd this little piggy clambered over a heap of dead bodies to get to the top”

“It seemed to Coraline that it was crouching, and staring down at her, as if it were not really a house but only the idea of a house—and the person who had had the idea, she was certain, was not a good person.”

“Perhaps it's a hard thing to say, but joy and sorrow are like milk and cookies.”