Coraline - wikipedia Coraline This article is about the novel. For the film adaptation, see Coraline ( film ). For other uses, see Coraline ( disambiguation ). This article consists almost entirely of a plot summary. It should be expanded to provide more balanced coverage that includes real - world context. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot. ( August 2015 ) Coraline Front cover by Dave Mckean Author Neil Gaiman Illustrator Dave McKean Cover artist Dave Mckean Country United Kingdom Language English Genre Dark fantasy Publisher Bloomsbury ( UK ) Harper Collins ( US ) Publication date 24 February 2002 Media type Print, e-book, audiobook Pages 163 ISBN 0 - 06 - 113937 - 8 OCLC 71822484 Dewey Decimal 813 LC Class PZ7. G1273 Co 2002 Coraline / ˈkɒrəlaɪn / is a dark fantasy children 's novella by British author Neil Gaiman, published in 2002 by Bloomsbury and Harper Collins. It was awarded the 2003 Hugo Award for Best Novella, the 2003 Nebula Award for Best Novella, and the 2002 Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers. It has been compared to Lewis Carroll 's Alice 's Adventures in Wonderland and was adapted into a 2009 stop - motion film directed by Henry Selick. Contents 1 Plot 2 Characters 3 In other media 3.1 Television 3.2 Film 3.3 Comic books 3.4 Musical 3.5 Video games 3.6 Opera 4 References 5 External links Plot Coraline Jones and her parents move into an old house that has been divided into flats. The other tenants include Miss Spink and Miss Forcible, two elderly women retired from the stage, and Mr. Bobo, initially referred to as `` the crazy old man upstairs '', who claims to be training a mouse circus. The flat beside Coraline 's is unoccupied, and a small door that links them is revealed to be bricked up when opened. Coraline goes to visit her new neighbours. Mr. Bobo relays to her a message from his mice : `` Do n't go through the door. '' Coraline also has tea with Miss Spink and Miss Forcible, and Miss Spink spies danger in Coraline 's future after reading her tea leaves. She then gives her a lucky stone with a hole in the middle, which is supposed to be `` good for bad things. '' Despite these warnings, Coraline decides to unlock the door when she is home by herself. This time, she finds the brick wall behind the door is gone. In its place is a long hallway that leads to a flat identical to her own, except inhabited by the `` Other Mother '' and `` Other Father, '' who have black buttons for eyes. The Other Mother is notably taller and thinner than her real mother. Her black hair seems to move by itself, her skin is paper - white, and her nails are long and red. Coraline finds the `` Other World '' more interesting than her own ; the Other Mother cooks food that she actually enjoys, both of her Other Parents pay more attention to her, her toy box is filled with animate toys that can move and fly, the Other Miss Spink and Miss Forcible perform a never - ending act in their flat, and the Other Mr. Bobo performs a mice circus. She even finds that the feral black cat that wanders around the house in the real world can talk. The cat identifies itself as the same cat that lives in the real world, and possesses the ability to travel through the gaps between the two worlds. Although intentionally rude and unhelpful for the greater part of the conversation, it briefly praises her for bringing `` protection '', then vanishes. After Coraline returns to the copy of her flat, the Other Mother offers Coraline the opportunity to stay in the Other World forever, but in order to do so, Coraline must allow buttons to be sewn into her eyes. Coraline is horrified and returns through the door to her home. Upon return to her apartment, Coraline finds that her real parents are missing. They do not return the next day, and the black cat wakes her and takes her to a mirror in her hallway, through which she can see her trapped parents. They signal to her by writing `` Help Us '' on the glass, from which Coraline deduces the Other Mother has kidnapped them. Though frightened of returning, Coraline goes back to the Other World to confront the Other Mother and rescue her parents. In the garden, Coraline is prompted by the cat to challenge the Other Mother, as `` her kind of thing loves games and challenges. '' The Other Mother tries to convince Coraline to stay, but Coraline refuses, and is locked within a small space behind a mirror as punishment. In the small dark closet space, she meets three ghost children. Each had in the past let the Other Mother, who they archaically refer to as the `` beldam, '' sew buttons over their eyes. They tell Coraline how the Other Mother eventually grew bored with them, leaving them to die and cast them aside, but they are trapped there because she has kept their souls. If their souls can be rescued from the Other Mother, then the ghosts can pass on. The ghost children implore Coraline to escape and avoid their fate. After the Other Mother releases Coraline from the mirror, Coraline proposes a game : if she can find the ghost children 's souls and her parents, then she, her parents, and the ghost children may go free. If she loses, then Coraline will let the Other Mother sew the buttons into her eyes and become a loving daughter to her. The Other Mother agrees and they both swear on their right hands. Coraline searches through the Other World and overcomes the Other Mother 's obstacles by using her wits and Miss Spink 's lucky stone to find the marble - like souls of the ghost children. She also deduces that her parents are imprisoned in a snow globe on the mantelpiece. The ghost children warn her that even if Coraline wins, the Other Mother will not let them go, so Coraline tricks the Other Mother by announcing that she knows where her parents are hidden : in the passageway between the worlds. The Other Mother can not resist gloating by opening the door to show Coraline that her parents are not there. When the Other Mother opens the door Coraline throws the cat at the Other Mother, grabs the snow globe, and escapes to the real world with the key, and the Cat quickly follows. While escaping, Coraline forces the door shut on the Other Mother 's hand. Back in her home, Coraline falls asleep on a chair. She is awoken by her parents who have no memory of the events. That night, Coraline has a dream in which she meets the three children at a picnic. The children are dressed in clothes from different periods and one seems to have wings. They warn her that her task is still not done : the Other Mother will attempt to get her back and will try to get the key to open the door between the worlds. Coraline goes to the old well in the woods to dispose of the key. She pretends to have a picnic, with the picnic blanket laid over the entrance to the well. The Other Mother 's severed hand attempts to seize the key, but steps on the blanket and falls into the well. Coraline returns to the house, greeting her neighbours ( who finally get her name right ), and getting ready for school tomorrow. Characters Coraline Jones -- The young explorer. She is curious, intelligent, resourceful, and courageous. Coraline is often irritated by rain, crazy grown - ups ( as they all seem to be ), and not being taken seriously because of her young age. She 's described as being `` small for her age '', but Coraline is not afraid to face anyone ; she is the most adventurous person in the book. Mrs. Jones -- Coraline 's mother. She is very busy most of the time, and sometimes a little inattentive, but she loves and cares about Coraline. She is nice, and helpful, though Coraline considers her to be rather boring. Coraline also gets annoyed with her real mother because she does n't seem to want to let Coraline `` fit in ''. In the film, her first name is Mel. Mr. Jones -- Coraline 's father. He works at his house on the computer. He cares about Coraline very much and is kind, brave, and helpful. He makes interesting food creations that Coraline strongly dislikes. He, too, is usually too busy to spend time with Coraline. In the film, his first name is Charlie. The Cat -- A black cat from Coraline 's world. The cat acts as a mentor to Coraline and guides her through her journey. It claims to have no name, explaining that cats do not need names to tell each other apart. Unlike many of the characters in the novel, it does not have an `` Other World '' counterpart, saying that unlike other creatures in the world, cats can `` keep themselves together ''. It moves freely from one world to the other, although it seems to be only able to talk in the Other World. It is very sarcastic, though helpful to Coraline. It 's defiant of the Other Mother, but seems to tremble at the thought of being stuck in the Other Mother 's world. It befriends Coraline and helps her escape from the Other Mother, though Coraline also uses it as a weapon without its permission. The Other Mother -- The creature that created much of the Other World and the main villain of the novel. She looks similar to Coraline 's real mother but taller and thinner, with long black hair that seems to move by itself, black button eyes, paper - white skin, and extremely long, twitchy fingers with long dark red nails. During the course of the novel, she grows taller, thinner, and paler, looking less and less like Coraline 's mother. She can not create, but only copy, twist and change things from the real world when constructing her version of it. She collects children, whom she loves possessively to the point of eventual destruction. She mainly wants someone to mother. It 's implied that she killed her own mother because when Coraline asked her if she had a grave she replied `` Oh yes, I put her there myself. '' In the film her true form is a spidery, skeletal creature. She is referred to several times as `` the beldam '', a Middle English word meaning `` grandmother '', `` ugly old woman '', `` hag '', or `` witch '', and also used to refer to creatures of fairy. The Other Father -- A creation of the Other Mother, the Other Father is used to help trick Coraline into staying in the Other Mother 's world. Like her real father, he has a study and sits there during the day and will not talk to Coraline for long. He does not work, however ; he merely occupies the study, as he is not permitted to talk to Coraline by himself. He is much more fun than Coraline 's real father and always tries to be cheerful and fun in front of Coraline. In reality, the Other Father is sad and nervous. The Other Mother ends up punishing him for revealing too much to Coraline -- she transforms him into a grub - like creature, and orders the Other Father to trap Coraline so she can not win her challenge, but Coraline escapes. Miss Spink and Miss Forcible -- A pair of retired actresses who live in the flat under Coraline 's. They own many ageing Scotties, such as Hamish, Angus, and Jock, and talk in theater jargon, often referencing their time as actresses. They recognize the danger Coraline is in after reading her fortune through tea leaves and give her a stone with a hole in it to help protect her. In the Other World they are young, pretty, and perform continuously in front of many different dogs, who, in the Other World, are anthropomorphic. Mr. Bobo -- A retired circus performer living in the flat above Coraline 's ; he is commonly referred to as the Crazy Old Man Upstairs. Over the course of the book he claims to be training mice to perform in a mouse circus, and often brings Coraline messages from them, though at first Coraline doubts he even has mice to train, and does n't listen to what he says to be messages from the mice. His counterpart in the Other World trains rats, and is in fact made of rats. ( In the film adaptation, this character is named Mr. Bobinsky. ) The three ghost children -- A trio of children who were previous victims of the Other Mother : two girls and one boy. The boy is described as having a dirty face and red trousers. One of the girls has brown hair, a pink blouse and a pink skirt. The other has a brown bonnet and brown dress. They were trapped by the other mother at different times before Coraline, and reside in the dark space behind the mirror. After having their souls restored, they go to the afterlife, but not before meeting Coraline for a last time, in a dream where she picnics with them. Here, she sees their true appearances and they thank her for freeing them from the Other Mother. In Other media Television Coraline inspired the `` Coralisa '' segment of The Simpsons episode `` Treehouse of Horror XXVIII '', which aired on 22 October 2017. Neil Gaiman provided the voice to the Simpsons ' cat, Snowball V. Film Main article : Coraline ( film ) With the help of the animation studio Laika, director Henry Selick released a stop motion film adaptation in 2009 that received critical acclaim. At the 82nd Academy Awards, the film was nominated for Best Animated Feature but lost to Pixar 's Up. In the film, Coraline is depicted as having short blue hair and freckles. Henry Selick added a new character, Wyborn `` Wybie '' Lovat, who is an annoyance at first to Coraline in the real world but she grows to like him. In the Other world he can not speak, but is an ally to Coraline. At the end of the film, Coraline reaches out to help Wybie tell his grandmother what is behind the little door. Comic books A comic book adaptation, published in 2008, was illustrated by P. Craig Russell and lettered by Todd Klein. Musical Main article : Coraline ( musical ) A theatrical adaptation, with music and lyrics by Stephin Merritt and book by David Greenspan, premiered on 6 May 2009, produced by MCC Theater and True Love Productions Off - Broadway at The Lucille Lortel Theatre. Nine - year - old Coraline was played by an adult, Jayne Houdyshell, and the Other Mother was played by David Greenspan. Video games Main article : Coraline ( video game ) A video game adaptation, based on the film, was published and developed by D3 Publisher of America. The game was released on 27 January 2009 for the PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS and Wii platforms and contains features such as playing as Coraline, interacting with other characters, and playing minigames. The game received mostly negative reviews. Opera Main article : Coraline ( opera ) An opera by Mark - Anthony Turnage, based on the novella, made its world premiere at the Barbican Centre in London on 27 March 2018. References Jump up ^ `` The theatrical trailer for Coraline ''. Retrieved 8 December 2010. Jump up ^ `` The Hugo Awards : 2003 Hugo Awards ''. World Science Fiction Society. Archived from the original on 7 May 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2009. Jump up ^ `` The Nebula Awards ''. Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 25 October 2009. Jump up ^ `` Past Stoker Nominees & Winners ''. Horror Writers Association. Archived from the original on 20 November 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2009. Jump up ^ Schwartz, Dana ( 18 October 2017 ). `` Neil Gaiman would love to see a Sandman parody on The Simpsons ''. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 29 October 2017. Jump up ^ Smith, Zack ( 19 August 2008 ). `` P. Craig Russell -- Adapting Coraline and More ''. Newsarama. Retrieved 27 October 2011. ^ Jump up to : Blankenship, Mark ( 7 June 2009 ). `` The Score and the Story, Inseparable ''. New York Times. pp. AR4. Jump up ^ http://m.ign.com/articles/2009/01/29/coraline-review-2 Jump up ^ http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-2/coraline Children 's literature portal External links Chapter One Audiobook page from publisher, with audio excerpt Coraline video interview `` The Other Mother '' Guardian review by Philip Pullman Rudd, David `` An Eye for an ' I ' : Neil Gaiman 's Coraline and the Question of Identity '' Children 's Literature and Education 39 ( 3 ), 2008, pp. 159 -- 168 The Lesson of Coraline -- Business Week article about Polyjet Matrix in Coraline animation Coraline at the Internet Off - Broadway Database Coraline Blu - ray 2D & 3D disc review by Christian Hokenson Links to related articles Neil Gaiman bibliography Novels Good Omens Neverwhere Stardust The Sandman : The Dream Hunters American Gods Coraline Anansi Boys InterWorld Odd and the Frost Giants The Graveyard Book The Silver Dream The Ocean at the End of the Lane Eternity 's Wheel Short story collections Angels and Visitations Smoke and Mirrors Fragile Things M Is for Magic A Little Gold Book of Ghastly Stuff Picture books The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish The Wolves in the Walls Blueberry Girl Crazy Hair Short fiction `` Murder Mysteries '' `` We Can Get Them for You Wholesale '' `` Snow, Glass, Apples '' `` How to Talk to Girls at Parties '' `` A Study in Emerald '' `` I, Cthulhu '' Comic books and graphic novels Violent Cases Black Orchid The Sandman Signal to Noise Marvelman The Books of Magic The Last Temptation Angela Death : The High Cost of Living The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch Sandman Midnight Theatre Lady Justice Mr. Hero the Newmatic Man Death : The Time of Your Life Midnight Days Only the End of the World Again `` Green Lantern / Superman : Legend of the Green Flame '' Harlequin Valentine The Sandman : Endless Nights Marvel 1602 Creatures of the Night Eternals `` Batman : Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader ? '' Screenplays and film adaptations Neverwhere Babylon 5 `` Day of the Dead '' A Short Film About John Bolton MirrorMask Stardust Beowulf Coraline Statuesque Doctor Who `` The Doctor 's Wife '' `` Nightmare in Silver '' Lucifer ( TV series ) American Gods ( TV series ) How to Talk to Girls at Parties Good Omens ( TV series ) Miscellaneous Do n't Panic : The Official Hitchhiker 's Guide to the Galaxy Companion The Sandman : Book of Dreams A Walking Tour of the Shambles Two Plays for Voices Neverwhere ( radio play ) 8in8 ( lyrics ) Where 's Neil When You Need Him ? InterWorld series Neil Gaiman : Dream Dangerously Norse Mythology BSFA Award for the Best Short Fiction 1969 -- 1979 The Moment of Eclipse by Brian W. Aldiss ( 1970 ) The Deathbird Stories by Harlan Ellison ( 1978 ) `` Palely Loitering '' by Christopher Priest ( 1979 ) 1980 -- 1989 `` The Brave Little Toaster '' by Thomas M. Disch ( 1980 ) `` Mythago Wood '' by Robert Holdstock ( 1981 ) `` Kitemaster '' by Keith Roberts ( 1982 ) `` After - Images '' by Malcolm Edwards ( 1983 ) `` The Unconquered Country '' by Geoff Ryman ( 1984 ) `` Cube Root '' by David Langford ( 1985 ) `` Kaeti and the Hangman '' by Keith Roberts ( 1986 ) `` Love Sickness '' by Geoff Ryman ( 1987 ) `` Dark Night in Toyland '' by Bob Shaw ( 1988 ) `` In Translation '' by Lisa Tuttle ( 1989 ) 1990 -- 1999 `` The Original Doctor Shade '' by Kim Newman ( 1990 ) `` Bad Timing '' by Molly Brown ( 1991 ) `` Innocent '' by Ian McDonald ( 1992 ) `` The Ragthorn '' by Robert Holdstock and Garry Kilworth ( 1993 ) `` The Double Felix '' by Paul di Filippo ( 1994 ) `` The Hunger and Ecstasy of Vampires '' by Brian Stableford ( 1995 ) `` A Crab Must Try '' by Barrington J. Bayley ( 1996 ) `` War Birds '' by Stephen Baxter ( 1997 ) `` La Cenerentola '' by Gwyneth Jones ( 1998 ) `` Hunting the Slarque '' by Eric Brown ( 1999 ) 2000 -- 2009 `` The Suspect Genome '' by Peter F. Hamilton ( 2000 ) `` Children of Winter '' by Eric Brown ( 2001 ) `` Coraline '' by Neil Gaiman ( 2002 ) `` The Wolves in the Walls '' by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean ( 2003 ) `` Mayflower II '' by Stephen Baxter ( 2004 ) `` Magic for Beginners '' by Kelly Link ( 2005 ) `` The Djinn 's Wife '' by Ian McDonald ( 2006 ) `` Lighting Out '' by Ken MacLeod ( 2007 ) `` Exhalation '' by Ted Chiang ( 2008 ) `` The Beloved Time of Their Lives '' by Ian Watson and Roberto Quaglia ( 2009 ) 2010 -- current The Ship Maker by Aliette de Bodard ( 2010 ) The Copenhagen Interpretation by Paul Cornell ( 2011 ) Adrift on the Sea of Rains by Ian Sales ( 2012 ) `` Spin '' by Nina Allan ( 2013 ) Nebula Award for Best Novella ( 2001 -- present ) 2001 -- present The Ultimate Earth by Jack Williamson ( 2001 ) Bronte 's Egg by Richard Chwedyk ( 2002 ) Coraline by Neil Gaiman ( 2003 ) The Green Leopard Plague by Walter Jon Williams ( 2004 ) Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link ( 2005 ) Burn by James Patrick Kelly ( 2006 ) Fountain of Age by Nancy Kress ( 2007 ) The Spacetime Pool by Catherine Asaro ( 2008 ) The Women of Nell Gwynne 's by Kage Baker ( 2009 ) The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers beneath the Queen 's Window by Rachel Swirsky ( 2010 ) The Man Who Bridged the Mist by Kij Johnson ( 2011 ) After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall by Nancy Kress ( 2012 ) The Weight of the Sunrise by Vylar Kaftan ( 2013 ) Yesterday 's Kin by Nancy Kress ( 2014 ) Binti by Nnedi Okorafor ( 2015 ) Complete List 1965 -- 1980 1981 -- 2000 2001 -- present Hugo Award for Best Novella Retro Hugos Animal Farm by George Orwell ( 1946 ) The Man Who Sold the Moon by Robert A. Heinlein ( 1951 ) A Case of Conscience by James Blish ( 1954 ) 1968 -- 1980 Riders of the Purple Wage by Philip José Farmer and Weyr Search by Anne McCaffrey ( 1968 ) Nightwings by Robert Silverberg ( 1969 ) Ship of Shadows by Fritz Leiber ( 1970 ) Ill Met in Lankhmar by Fritz Leiber ( 1971 ) The Queen of Air and Darkness by Poul Anderson ( 1972 ) The Word for World Is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin ( 1973 ) The Girl Who Was Plugged In by James Tiptree, Jr. ( 1974 ) A Song for Lya by George R.R. Martin ( 1975 ) Home Is the Hangman by Roger Zelazny ( 1976 ) By Any Other Name by Spider Robinson and Houston, Houston, Do You Read ? by James Tiptree, Jr. ( 1977 ) Stardance by Spider Robinson and Jeanne Robinson ( 1978 ) The Persistence of Vision by John Varley ( 1979 ) Enemy Mine by Barry B. Longyear ( 1980 ) 1981 -- 1990 Lost Dorsai by Gordon R. Dickson ( 1981 ) The Saturn Game by Poul Anderson ( 1982 ) Souls by Joanna Russ ( 1983 ) Cascade Point by Timothy Zahn ( 1984 ) Press Enter by John Varley ( 1985 ) 24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai by Roger Zelazny ( 1986 ) Gilgamesh in the Outback by Robert Silverberg ( 1987 ) Eye for Eye by Orson Scott Card ( 1988 ) The Last of the Winnebagos by Connie Willis ( 1989 ) The Mountains of Mourning by Lois McMaster Bujold ( 1990 ) 1991 -- 2000 The Hemingway Hoax by Joe Haldeman ( 1991 ) Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress ( 1992 ) Barnacle Bill the Spacer by Lucius Shepard ( 1993 ) Down in the Bottomlands by Harry Turtledove ( 1994 ) Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge by Mike Resnick ( 1995 ) The Death of Captain Future by Allen Steele ( 1996 ) Blood of the Dragon by George R.R. Martin ( 1997 )... Where Angels Fear to Tread by Allen Steele ( 1998 ) Oceanic by Greg Egan ( 1999 ) The Winds of Marble Arch by Connie Willis ( 2000 ) 2001 -- 2010 The Ultimate Earth by Jack Williamson ( 2001 ) Fast Times at Fairmont High by Vernor Vinge ( 2002 ) Coraline by Neil Gaiman ( 2003 ) The Cookie Monster by Vernor Vinge ( 2004 ) The Concrete Jungle by Charles Stross ( 2005 ) Inside Job by Connie Willis ( 2006 ) A Billion Eves by Robert Reed ( 2007 ) All Seated on the Ground by Connie Willis ( 2008 ) The Erdmann Nexus by Nancy Kress ( 2009 ) Palimpsest by Charles Stross ( 2010 ) 2011 -- present The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang ( 2011 ) The Man Who Bridged the Mist by Kij Johnson ( 2012 ) The Emperor 's Soul by Brandon Sanderson ( 2013 ) Equoid by Charles Stross ( 2014 ) ( No award given ) ( 2015 ) Binti by Nnedi Okorafor ( 2016 ) Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire ( 2017 ) List of joint winners of the Hugo and Nebula awards Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Coraline&oldid=833801217 '' Categories : 2002 British novels Hugo Award for Best Novella winning works British fantasy novels Novels by Neil Gaiman British novellas Children 's fantasy novels Ghost novels Gothic novels British horror novels British children 's novels British novels adapted into films 2002 fantasy novels Bloomsbury Publishing books HarperCollins books Nebula Award for Best Novella - winning works 2000s horror novels Dark fantasy novels Parallel universes in fiction Locus Award - winning works 2002 children 's books Hidden categories : Wikipedia pages semi-protected against vandalism Articles to be expanded from August 2015 All articles to be expanded EngvarB from September 2013 Use dmy dates from September 2013 Pages to import images to Wikidata Talk View source Contents About Wikipedia Català Čeština Deutsch Español فارسی Français 한국어 Հայերեն Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Suomi Svenska Українська 中文 14 more Edit links This page was last edited on 2 April 2018, at 14 : 05. 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Question: where does the other mother keep coraline’s parents
Answer: a mirror in her hallway