How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Dealing with ghouls, boggarts, and all manner of wicked beasties would be all in a day's work. (1.11)
Yikes. Here's just a little bit of the Spook's job description. Sounds like his job is not that dissimilar from being a cashier at Wal-Mart. Right? Right.
Quote #2
I sometimes saw things in the dark, and a candle was the best way to keep them away so that I could get some sleep. (1.36)
This early in the book, it's easy to think Tom is just thinking of creepy-looking shadows or tree branches scratching at his window. But we soon learn that he really is seeing things in the dark, and that these things could be dangerous. We're not sure if our inability to see them is a good thing, or not. Have you ever heard that adage, "what you don't know can't hurt you"? We're not sure it applies in Tom's world.
Quote #3
[Jack] took a pinch [of salt] and threw it back over his left shoulder. It is an old County superstition. By doing that you were supposed to ward off the bad luck you'd earned by spilling it. (1.56)
Jack isn't just being superstitious here. Or creating an even bigger mess for his mam to sweep up. Salt actually does combat the supernatural, as we see when Tom uses it to injure Mother Malkin.