* LesYay: Christina/Anya, Christina/Dolly.
* NightmareFuel: And how!
** The ending of ''Fire'' when [[spoiler: the Shevvingtons are burned alive and their remains are dumped out in front of beach party guests.]]
** Pretty much the entire series.
** The revelation that the Shevvingtons are [[spoiler: collecting souls]] by [[spoiler: taking away everything that matters to young girls and then forcing them to live in rooms surrounded by all the things they used to find beautiful or calming.]]
** The sequence in ''Snow'' where Christina is chased through the school by a mysterious, utterly terrifying figure, who nearly crushes her to death under the bleachers where she has taken refuge.
** Also when Christina and Dolly are trapped on the bluffs battling both the freezing temperatures and the rising tide.
* ParanoiaFuel: Hoo boy.
** The painting constantly changing from a calm, quiet sea to a stormy violent sea.
** Mr. Shevvington's changing contacts.
** Objects like cigarettes randomly getting planted in Christina's bag to get her into trouble.
** The real guest bedroom into which Christina moves later in the trilogy, which seems to be a reflection of her soul.
%%* TearJerker
* ValuesDissonance: The books (written 1989-1992) can seem quite jarring 30 years later with the apparent unassailability of the Shevvingtons' reputation and authority as teachers (especially since Mrs Shevvington is openly psychologically cruel and bullying to her students), considering the much greater wariness of abuse in today's schools. While the Shevvingtons are admittedly subtle in their manipulations and their charm is well-practised, the fact that Christina only has her parents and other teachers to report the Shevvingtons to rather than any external authorities seems unlikely to occur nowadays.
** Mr Shevvington can be physically affectionate toward the young girls in his care, specifically kissing them on the forehead when he welcomes them to his home, along with hugs and head-pats. These days such gestures would be a massive red flag, but here -- though it makes Christina uncomfortable -- it's not treated by the narrative as overstepping any bounds.
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