How we cite our quotes: (Section.Paragraph)
Quote #1
My mother always hated having her picture taken. She said photographs were a tool of witchcraft. And that may have been so, because hers was riddled with pinpricks, and at the location of the heart there was a hole you could stick your middle finger through. (2.39)
Even though we don't have any ghosts yet, this early reference to witchcraft prepares the reader for the supernatural roller coaster that is to come. This book is scarier than The Haunted Mansion.
Quote #2
"The fact is, though, that he had another calling: conjuring. He conjured up dreams. That was who he really was. And he put it over on your mother, like he did so many others. Including me. Once when I was feeling bad, he showed up sand said, 'I've come to give you a treatment so's you'll feel better.' And what that meant was he would start out kneading and rubbing you: first your fingertips, then he'd stroke your hands, then your arms. First thing you knew he'd be working on your legs, rubbing hard, and soon you'd be feeling warm all over. And all the time he was rubbing and stroking he'd be telling you your fortune. He would fall into a trance and roll his eyes and conjure and curse, with spittle flying everywhere—you'd of thought he was a gypsy. Sometimes he would end up stark naked; he said we wanted it that way. And sometimes what he said came true. He shot at so many targets that once in a while he was bound to hit one." (9.11)
The conjurer in this scene is an early example of superstitious beliefs that seem to guide the behavior of Comala's population. They best start believing in ghost stories, after all: they're in one.
Quote #3
"Now go, and rest in peace, Miguel. I thank you for coming to say good-bye." (11.20)
Eduviges doesn't seem to find anything strange with the fact that a dead man is standing at her window and talking to her, which is part of the reason that it's hard for Juan Preciado to realize that she is dead. It's way easier to think of her as crazytown.