“Was it like in the movies?” he asked, flipping a burger. Kssssss. “You know, like a montage with a music backing, and you’re beating up a kick-bag and throwing wooden stakes at a dummy?” “That’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Robin gave him a dark eye.” MoviesDummyBuffy The Vampire SlayerBuffyWooden StakesBuffy Summers Book:Burn the Dark Source: Burn the Dark
“Look, the witches were one thing—she’d been fighting monster-faced hags for a couple of years at this point, gnarled old witches and chubby-cheeked bohemians that could Force-throw furniture like Carrie, fill your car with snakes, and turn themselves into raving gorgons.” MonstersCarrieWitchesBohemiansGorgonsOld Witches Book:Burn the Dark Source: Burn the Dark
“To get the dining-room table in, they carried the table up onto the front porch, then turned it on end like a giant coin and rolled it through the house. Leon ushered Wayne in ahead of the table, confusing him at first, but when his father started humming the Indiana Jones theme and pretending the table was the boulder from Raiders of the Lost Ark, he couldn’t help but run away from it in slow-motion.” RollingBouldersTableIndiana JonesRaiders Of The Lost Ark Book:Burn the Dark Source: Burn the Dark
“A chubby white kid with brush-cut hair was making his way up the driveway, his hands buried in his hoodie’s pockets. He seemed to be about Wayne’s age, if several inches taller. Wayne thought he looked like Pugsley Addams gone mainstream, or maybe the older brother from Home Alone.” DrivewayHoodieHome AlonePugsleyPugsley Addams Book:Burn the Dark Source: Burn the Dark
“Clutching his burning body were these impossibly strong arms, thick and hard and veiny, smooth, cold, so like the stony arms of an ogre Wayne expected to hear the battle-chant of Sauron’s army of Uruk-hai all around him, and the clank and clash of iron swords, and battle cries in unintelligible tongues.” Strong ArmsBattle CrySauronOgreBattle CriesIron SwordsSauron S ArmyStony ArmsUruk Hai Book:Burn the Dark Source: Burn the Dark
“Lot of Black folks, we talk about bein’ invisible, you know—white people, they can look right through you, like you ain’t even there. I judo that shit, right? I make it work for me. I’m like a ninja, I vanish. Ali said float like a butterfly. One minute I’m there, the next, I ain’t. Ain’t nothing but burnt rubber and a little bit of Forever Red in the air.” InvisibleBlack PeopleNinjaWhite PeopleMohammed AliBlack FolksBurnt RubberForever Red Book:Burn the Dark Source: Burn the Dark
“Steeling her nerve, she crossed herself with the Glock—mammaries, ovaries, wallet, and watch—and pushed the back door open.” Sign Of The CrossGlock Book:Burn the Dark Source: Burn the Dark
“Across the street from the van was a board fence. Someone had spray-painted incomprehensible graffiti on it—could have been an ambigram for all she knew, legible upside-down as well as right-side-up.” GraffitiAmbigramsAmbigram Book:Burn the Dark Source: Burn the Dark
“One last place we haven’t checked. There’s a closet out here on the landing you can sleep in, if you can fit.” “A closet?” “Yeah, like Harry Potter.” “Harry Potter lived under the stairs.” SleepHarry PotterSleepingClosetUnder The Stairs Book:Burn the Dark Source: Burn the Dark