The Residents (Characters)
This curious, brave young girl is the main protagonist who moves into the Pink Palace.
Caroline Jones
The name of the very old, big house that is divided into separate apartments where Coraline's family lives.
The Pink Palace
The shiny, dark items that the Other Mother and Other Father wear instead of eyes.
Black Buttons
When Coraline complains to her mother about being bored, what does her mother suggest she do?
Count the doors and windows (or explore)
Unlike the real world, the animals and toys in the Other World have the special ability to do this.
talk, move, and sing
These two eccentric retired actresses live in the flat below Coraline and used to perform in the theater.
Miss Spink and Miss Forcible
The formal room in Coraline's house where she discovers the small locked door.
The parlor
The old, heavy, dark metal tool that unlocks the secret door in the parlor.
Large Black Key
What delicious meal does the Other Family serve Coraline when she first steps into the Other World?
Roast chicken, potatoes, and peas?
When Coraline looks through her stone with a hole in the real world, what do the colors and surroundings look like?
gray, dull, and washed out
This energetic old man living in the upstairs flat is training a troupe of jumping mice.
Mr. Bobo (the Crazy Old Man Upstairs)
What blocks the doorway when Coraline's mother first unlocks the small door with the black key?
A solid wall of red bricks
The special gift given to Coraline by Miss Spink and Miss Forcible—a round object with a natural hole in the center used for spotting hidden things.
A stone with a hole (or a seer stone)
What specific challenge does Coraline propose to the Other Mother to win back her parents and the ghost children?
A game of hiding/finding things
The urgent advice whispered to Coraline by the ghost children to help her survive.
"Find our eyes"
This mysterious animal guides Coraline and can talk when she visits the Other World.
The black cat
The eerie, mirror-image domain created by the Other Mother to lure Coraline in.
The Other World (or the Other House)
The deep, dark hazard located in the yard where Coraline eventually traps the Other Mother's crawling hand.
The Well
Where does Coraline discover her real parents are trapped after they disappear?
Inside the snowglobe (or behind the mirror)?
What happens to the landscape of the Other World as Coraline escapes and locks the door for the last time?
It begins to fall apart, fade, or dissolve into nothing
These three spectral figures were trapped by the Other Mother long before Coraline arrived.
The ghost children
The cramped, dark prison behind the hallway mirror where the Other Mother hides captured souls.
Behind the mirror
The sharp sewing tool that the Other Mother tries to use on Coraline.
A Silver Needle
How does Coraline finally outsmart and defeat the Other Mother's severed hand at the very end of the story?
By tricking it into falling down the deep well during a tea party
What item does Coraline use to weigh down the tablecloth during her trap for the Other Mother's hand?
The well cover (or a fake picnic setup / old toys)