“That’s how stories start”
Bones & All“That’s how stories start” is Sully’s explanation of why people may disclose the truth by presenting it as fiction. The phrase turns storytelling into a disguise: listeners can laugh off what they would otherwise struggle to believe, while the teller still gets to say it.
The Phrase in Context
Sully offers the explanation after Maren says there is no devil. He describes going into bars, buying a round of drinks, and telling the patrons about himself without identifying himself as the figure in the tale. He even warns them to watch behind them on the way home, lock their doors, and look under their beds; they laugh and call him imaginative. His performance makes the danger sound like entertainment, allowing the people who hear it to avoid recognizing the speaker’s account as true.
Storytelling as Disguise
Sully’s hand cupped beside his mouth as if he were whispering on a stage underscores the double performance: he tells a story while acting out the role of its storyteller. He then lifts the needle from the record and turns it to the B side before explaining, “That’s how stories start. We tell ’em about ourselves like they ain’t true, ’cause that’s the only way anybody’s gonna believe us.” The phrase links the creation of a story to the teller’s need to make personal truth bearable—or dismissible—to an audience. In this scene, a story is not simply invented; it is a way of speaking about oneself when direct disclosure would not be believed.
