Jack Skellington Quotes

“He kisses me again, folding me in his arms--the place I want to stay for a thousand years. When I first discovered Dream Town, I wasn't sure where I belonged, where my true home was. But now I know. Sometimes home is a town, a house with four walls. Other times, it's two hollow eyes in a skull, a skeleton without a heartbeat. It's here---not in Dream Town or Halloween Town---but in Jack's arms.
Folded against this hollow, skeleton chest is where I belong.
I let the tears stream down my face, I let them bind us together, salt and water and fabric and bone. Woven parts of ourselves that become one.”
― Shea Ernshaw, Long Live the Pumpkin Queen

“Jack pulls me back into his arms, as if he could absorb the pain and take it from me. And I know, I would do it all over again: I would leave Dream Town and never return a thousand times just to be here with Jack, to touch his face, to feel his ice-cold lips on mine, to have a life with him in this town. To stand beside him as Pumpkin Queen.
This is the life I want. The one I'm willing to sacrifice everything for.”
― Shea Ernshaw, Long Live the Pumpkin Queen

“You had a bad dream." Jack tenderly tucks a strand of bloodred hair behind my ear. "I've got you now, Sally. Through sweet dreams or nightmares, I've always got you."
"Oh, Jack." I bury my face against his rib cage. "It didn't feel like a dream."
As I sink into his hold, letting my twisted-up stuffing of cotton and crisp autumn leaves unravel back into place, I try to tell myself that he's right: It was only a dream.
I may now be the queen of a land of nightmares-- but I come from a place of sweet dreams. And even though my life is happier now than I ever imagined, it seems that, even in slumber, I still can't find my place between those worlds.”
― Megan Shepherd, Hour of the Pumpkin Queen

“Your curiosity will kill you, Dr. Finkelstein once told me. Maybe he was right. But instead of killing me, it's taken the man, the skeleton, I love.”
― Shea Ernshaw, Long Live the Pumpkin Queen

“The guilt is a double-edged dagger, twisting inside me, breaking threads and tearing me apart.
Can the fool of a story also be the hero?
Doubtful.
But I have loved Jack for too long to let him be fated to a life worse than death. A life spent in a nightmare he can't wake from. I would cross a thousand thresholds into a thousand different worlds for him.”
― Shea Ernshaw, Long Live the Pumpkin Queen

“We could try something else..." she suggested, not wanting to bruise his ego along with his backside.
But Jack only shook his head, his dark eyes glistening. "Are you kidding?" he cried. "I'm not letting some silly ice skates defeat me!"
Of course you won't, Sally thought fondly, watching him scramble to his feet again, wobbling a bit but somehow managing to stay upright this time. Jack didn't let anything defeat him. It was one of the things she'd always admired about him.”
― Mari Mancusi, Sally's Lament

“But first I have to sew my leg back on. Properly this time, so it doesn't come apart again." She reached for her leg, her hands still shaking from residual adrenaline after their near escape. She hoped she'd be able to thread her needle.
Jack placed a hand over her arm. "Allow me," he said, and Sally's eyes widened as he carefully aligned her lower leg with the stub of her knee.
"I can do that---" she started. But Jack put a finger to her lips.
"I know you can," he said, meeting her eyes with his own. "But right now your hands are still trembling from trying to help me up and I don't want you to hurt yourself. So why don't you just rest for a second? Allow me to make myself useful for once." He wagged a playful finger at her. "You don't get to save the day every time, you know."
Sally tried to laugh, but it came out more like a choke as grateful tears began to well in her eyes. A part of her still wanted to argue, to insist she could do it herself. But then, Jack already knew that, didn't he? Even in the darkness she could see his confidence in her, reflected in his dark eyes.
Sally had always hated when Dr. Finkelstein had sewed her back together. It made her feel weak. Helpless. Yet another thing he didn't trust her to do on her own. Another way to retain control.
But Jack wasn't trying to control her, she realized. He was trying to help her. And wasn't it nice, sometimes, to lean on another? To trust that someone cared enough to do the job right?”
― Mari Mancusi, Sally's Lament

“If you want people to believe in you, you have to know your own worth.”
― Mari Mancusi, Sally's Lament

“You and I can accomplish anything when we work together, Sally. You're soft where I'm hard. You're quiet when I am loud. We fill each other's gaps, don't you see?”
― Megan Shepherd, Hour of the Pumpkin Queen

“Oh, Jack," she whispered, leaning longingly against the gravestone. "I know how you feel."
Suddenly there was a shift beneath her--- the gravestone crumbling under her added weight. She cried out in surprise, trying to move, but only managed to lose her balance in the process. She was flung from her hiding spot, tumbling forward into a wide-open space.
And when she managed to look up again?
She found herself staring straight into the eyes of Jack Skellington.”
― Mari Mancusi, Sally's Lament

“So you really think these all represent different holiday lands?" he asked, pulling open the door with the large bird on it. "What do you think this one could be?"
"A holiday to honor turkeys?" Sally guessed. Though somehow that didn't sound quite right.
"Maybe," Jack mused. "But why would anyone want to honor a turkey? They're such dumb birds. Really, the only good thing to do is eat them." He closed the door, then headed over to the tree with the heart on it. "This one's probably Dissection Town," he decided. "They spend all year long harvesting organs, and one day a year they gather together to eat them."
Sally made a face. "Or maybe it's Love Town?" she suggested. "And their holiday is filled with lots of romantic proclamations?"
Jack looked disappointed by this idea. He moved on to the tree with the four-leafed plant. "Garden Town," he pronounced. "They're completely vegetarian. And they hate turkeys with a passion.”
― Mari Mancusi, Sally's Lament

“After all, I'm Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King. And you're Scary Sally, the doll who can single-handedly frighten away an entire town just by using her head." He bared his teeth menacingly. "They have no idea who they're dealing with."
A chill spun down Sally's back as she caught the fierce look on Jack's face. It was the kind of swagger he usually reserved for Halloween night, and she had always been enthralled by it. That confidence! That conviction! That look that told her he seriously believed he could achieve anything--- if he just put his mind to it.
And maybe Sally could, too.”
― Mari Mancusi, Sally's Lament

“Did I hurt you?" he asked worriedly.
She shook her head wordlessly. It did hurt a little, of course--- it always did. But so much less than when Dr. Finkelstein would carelessly jab his needle into her cloth, without caring how she was feeling or even if his stitches would hold for the long haul.
But Jack was different. Meticulous. Gentle. And instead of feeling uncomfortable, she felt a strange warmth settle in her stomach.Soon Jack finished, giving her a shy smile as he tied off the last stitch. And from the look on his face, she realized he'd felt something, too. Maybe it wasn't exactly the same. Maybe not as strong. But something.
Which made her feel even warmer.”
― Mari Mancusi, Sally's Lament

“All those times she'd watched him waltz into town on Halloween night in all his pumpkin glory--- she'd always been so impressed. He'd been like a rock star to her, larger than life.
But he was also just a simple guy, it turned out. With hopes and dreams and desires, just like everyone else.
And she liked that Jack. Maybe even more than the illustrious Pumpkin King.”
― Mari Mancusi, Sally's Lament

“Oh, it is good to be home," he declared. And Sally agreed with him. There was so much she loved about Christmas Town. But Halloween Town was pretty great, too. And it was okay, she decided, to like both for what they were. If she learned anything from this adventure, it was that one thing didn't have to define you. You got to define yourself--- in any manner you saw fit.”
― Mari Mancusi, Sally's Lament

“Jack Skellington. Here to save the day?"
"My wife is perfectly capable of handling herself, Doctor. And you should consider yourself lucky that she didn't use her latest milkwort potion on you. She's twice the scientist you ever were.”
― Megan Shepherd, Hour of the Pumpkin Queen

“Oh, Jack. I know how capable I am, but I still wish he were here to help me solve this.
But in a way-- maybe he is here with me.
Ever since that magical day we were married, it's felt like I have a second heart nestled next to my own, bound up in string. Jack and I are linked by invisible threads that pluck and pull even across a great distance. Even now, with the two of us separated farther than we've ever been, there's a tiny hum like a cicada buried in my stuffing, still connecting me to Jack.”
― Megan Shepherd, Hour of the Pumpkin Queen

“I am the Pumpkin Queen of Halloween Town. There is nothing-- nothing-- more frightening than me."
I channel a lifetime lived among monsters. More Halloweens than I can count. Most of all, I channel Jack's advice about being scary.
Play with light and shadow, Jack said. I move toward Scorch's tail fire so its wavering shadows make my eyes look huge. Use your surroundings. I step into the wind, which lifts my hair like writhing silken snakes. Understand why you scare.
And I do-- for so long, I thought scares were simply about tricks and treats, but now I understand that the frightening faces we show to the world can do more than merely delight.
I am queen of a nightmare land-- and I must save it.
For the finishing touch, I let out a haunted wail, like a mournful black cat in the night.”
― Megan Shepherd, Hour of the Pumpkin Queen

“You might be surprised to see how frightening your wife can be."
For dramatic effect, I step back so the breeze blowing down the alleyway catches my hair, sending it into writhing snakelike locks. I stretch the seams on my cheeks into a ghoulish, haunting grimace, and let out the moan that sent a dragon quaking down to his paws.
Jack staggers three steps backward, startled and entranced, his jaw open so far it practically unhinges. When he finally finds his words, he exclaims, "My beautiful bride! I didn't think I could love you more, yet here you go tying my heart in knots. Talented, kind, and frightening?" He throws his arms around my waist and plants a kiss on the tip of my nose. "How did I get so lucky?”
― Megan Shepherd, Hour of the Pumpkin Queen