James Herbert > Quotes

“To be haunted is to glimpse a truth that might best be hidden.”
― James Herbert, Haunted

“Life is full of crises, we all know that. It's how we learn, how we grow. They help form character, mould the man (or woman), as it were. As an opposite to good times, they even help us appreciate life a little more; and a person without strife is a person without passion, for trauma both tests and strengthens moral fibre, becomes a measure of human depth. There is no adversity on this earth that cannot be overcome with fortitude and positive will.”
― James Herbert, Creed

“Terror was the key, of course, for there's a fine line between paralyzing dread and galvanizing fright.”
― James Herbert, Creed

“He died. And waited.”
― James Herbert, Fluke

“Now get out in that kitchen and rattle those pots and pans”
― James Herbert

“He never walked away from a problem, but occasionally liked to bury it and dig it up later.”
― James Herbert, The Fog

“Sometimes only evil could defeat another evil. Degrees,”
― James Herbert, Sepulchre

“The photographer was lost for riposte, obvious though it should have been; instead he turned to run. At least his mind did. In fact, his mind had already scooted down the Broad Walk and was clambering over the railings at the end, whereas his body had remained rooted to the spot. With some effort he looked down at his feet as if to reprimand them. They refused to take notice.”
― James Herbert, Creed

“The fact of the matter is, the more power you have, the easier it is to find solutions to any problems. You merely surround yourself with the right people, the right brains – they come up with the answers and you take the glory.”
― James Herbert, The Rats

“The dead body of Gardenia was crashing around the cabin, eyes rolling in its head and mouth grinning crazily.”
― James Herbert, Portent

“Still, that was the city, a great big filthy breeding-place for vermin – animal and human.”
― James Herbert, Lair

“was man, mortal bloody man, who created the myths.”
― James Herbert, Shrine

“rapscallion,”
― James Herbert, Ash

“But the point was it was the construction itself that had made a minor disaster into a major one. And the construction had been a cheaper means of building - a cheaper way of cramming thirty or forty families into the smallest square footage possible. That is what embittered Harris. The incompetence of 'authority'.”
― James Herbert, The Rats

“What have we done to deserve such blasphemy? Is it because we always seem to fall into some misfortune or other? Is it because we appear foolish? Is it because we're prone to over-excitement? Is it because we're fierce in a fight but cowardly when our master's hand is raised against us? Is it because we have dirty habits? Is it because we're more like you than any other living creature?

Do you recognise our misfortunes as being similar to your own, our personalities a reflection of yours but simpler? Do you pity, love and hate dogs because you see your own humanness in us? Is that why you insult our name? Are you only insulting yourselves?”
― James Herbert, Fluke

“  Reborn.
   I screamed and the scream woke me.
   My head felt as if it would explode with the new knowledge. I wasn't a dog; I was a man. I had existed before as a man and somehow I had become trapped inside an animal's body. A dog's body. How? And why?”
― James Herbert, Fluke

“Rivers had assumed this person was a fantasy, someone the twins had merely dreamt about or invented, but no, Josh had insisted he was real-real and living in Scotland.”
― James Herbert, Portent

“My emotions were fast becoming those of a dog, as though, now my search was over, a ghost had been vanquished. The ghost was my humanness. I felt free, free as any bird in the sky. Free to live as a dog. I ran for nearly a day and, when I finally dropped, the last remnants of my old self had been purged.”
― James Herbert, Fluke

“When Harry had held it, it had shat in his hand.”
― James Herbert, The Fog

“art stirred the imagination – my God, it allowed the imagination! – in a way that reality rarely does.”
― James Herbert, Others

“You take the drugs to escape your own reality, but in the comedowns the reality only becomes more depressing, and the stronger the substance, the harsher the aftermath.”
― James Herbert, Others

“I turned away, already wondering if he’d stick to the handout’s condition, or if he’d head straight for his regular supplier. A tenner wouldn’t buy him much, so maybe he’d just drink it away. I let it go: I could only make the offer – the rest was up to him. I’d learned a long time ago it was all you could do.”
― James Herbert, Others

“Rivers was momentarily surprised. Then his mind moved back into gear. 'Luminous phenomena aren't uncommon, especially around the time of earthquakes and suchlike. There's nothing unusual about such sightings.”
― James Herbert

“There is no adversity on this earth that cannot be overcome with fortitude and positive will.”
― James Herbert, Creed

“She'd never been what you might call beautiful, but her face posessed a quality that made it seem so.”
― James Herbert, Fluke

“I've talked with, eaten with, and played with so many different species my head aches trying to remember them all. I've been amazed at and chuckled over the neuroses in the animal world: I've met a pig who thought he was a horse; a cow who stuttered; a bull who was bullied by a shrew he shared a field with; a duckling who thought he was ugly (and he was); a goat who thought he was Jesus; a woodpigeon who was afraid of flying (he preferred to walk everywhere); a toad who could croak Shakespeare sonnets (and little else); an adder who kept trying to stand up; a fox who was vegetarian; and a grouse who never stopped.”
― James Herbert, Fluke

“It was soon plain to the climatologist that his host's knowledge of the global crisis was wider ranging: Poggs had conducted detailed studies of every disaster.”
― James Herbert, Portent

“Why anyone should do so, knowing full well the dangers, was beyond the soldiers’ comprehension, but they had learned from past experience never to underestimate the imbecility of certain individuals on occasions like these.”
― James Herbert, Lair

“More than enough for me to catch the drift, and centipedes fresh from the freezer crawled up my spine. Somehow I guessed what had confronted Bob in the kitchen.”
― James Herbert, The Magic Cottage

“Judy was in the bath, enjoying its cocoon warmth,”
― James Herbert, The Rats