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1[[quoteright:345:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/graveyard_school.jpg]]
2
3''Graveyard School'' is a 28 book series of children's horror novels written by Nola Thacker under the pen name [[PunnyName Tom B. Stone]], released from 1994 to 1998.
4
5One of many kids' horror series published in the wake of the growing popularity of the ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'' books, the ''Graveyard School'' series actually subverted some of the more common elements found in ''Goosebumps''.
6
7The series takes place in the small town of Grove Hill, where sixth graders deal with daily horrors out of Grove Hill Elementary School, not-so-affectionately dubbed Graveyard School due to the abandoned graveyard located right behind the school. Only the kids seem aware of the nightmarish effects the graveyard and the school seems to have on the town, while their parents and older siblings are either blissfully unaware or in denial.
8
9The school's staff includes the intimidating Dr. Morthouse, school principal and purported to have a silver fang in her mouth which the students can only catch glimpses of. There is also the overly saccharine Vice Principal Mr. Hannibal Lucre, the perpetually growling secretary Mr. Kinderbane, and the mysterious and elusive custodian Mr. Bartholomew, a.k.a. Basement Bart, alongside a rotating cast of teachers, some weird, some normal, and some evil.
10
11Unlike the ''Goosebumps'' books, the series focuses on one main cast of characters starting from ''Don't Eat The Mystery Meat!'' and does include transfer students moving to Grove Hill as the school year progresses. Likewise, these characters fluctuate from main to supporting to background character from book to book, and there is no specific star of the series. A definitive trait shared by these kids is that, while they may have some annoying younger or older siblings and may deal with bullies from time to time, none of them reach the levels of StrawLoser and ButtMonkey as the protagonists of the ''Goosebumps'' books do.
12
13A definitive answer is never given to what the actual cause of the Graveyard School hauntings are, nor is there a given background on the school principal and whether she is the cause of the horror or a by-product of it.
14
15Recaps of the books' storylines can be found [[http://www.pointhorror.com/jude/graveyard-school-by-tom-b-jones/01/ there]]; the books themselves can be borrowed at [[https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Stone%2C+Tom+B%22 Internet Archive]].
16
17The series consists of:
18
19* #1: ''Don’t Eat The Mystery Meat!''
20* #2: ''The Skeleton on the Skateboard''
21* #3: ''The Headless Bicycle Rider''
22* #4: ''Little Pet Werewolf''
23* #5: ''Revenge of the Dinosaurs''
24* #6: ''Camp Dracula''
25* #7: ''Slime Lake''
26* #8: ''Let’s Scare The Teacher To Death''
27* #9: ''The Abominable Snow Monster''
28* #10: ''There’s A Ghost In The Boy’s Bathroom''
29* #11: ''April Ghouls Day''
30* #12: ''Scream, Team!''
31* #13: ''Tales Too Scary To Tell At Camp''
32* #14: ''The Tragic School Bus''
33* #15: ''The Fright Before Christmas''
34* #16: ''Don’t Tell Mummy''
35* #17: ''Jack and the Beanstalker''
36* #18: ''The Dead Sox''
37* #19: ''The Gator Ate Her''
38* #20: ''Creature Teacher''
39* #21: ''The Skeleton’s Revenge''
40* #22: ''Boo Year’s Eve''
41* #23: ''The Easter Egg Haunt''
42* #24: ''Scream Around The Campfire''
43* #25: ''Escape From Vampire Park''
44* #26: ''Little School Of Horrors''
45* #27: ''Here Comes Santa Claws''
46* #28: ''The Spider Beside Her''
47
48----
49!!This series contains examples of:
50
51%%* AdultsAreUseless: Would it be a kid's horror series if they weren't?
52* AlphaBitch: Polly Hannah, notable for being an unlikable Alpha Bitch and one of the few reoccurring characters to never be a starring protagonist. In fact, if ''Let's Scare The Teacher To Death!'' is anything to go by, even the teachers think she's nauseating.
53%%* AmusementParkOfDoom: Vampire Park.
54* AndIMustScream: ''Boys of Stone'', about an old man capable of turning people to stone by touching them. [[spoiler:The ending reveals he can undo the process at will ''and'' his victims are only vaguely aware of their surroundings while petrified.]]
55* AssholeVictim: No tears are shed when it appears that [[spoiler: Ms. Beak, the mean-spirited science teacher and bane of David Pike's existence in ''Revenge of the Dinosaurs'', gets devoured by a ''T. rex''. The doppelgangers of David and Richie at the end imply that something else happened to her we never learn what that was.]]
56* AxCrazy: Ms. Stoker, to the point [[spoiler: she kidnaps Jaws and later tries to run down Park, Stacey, and Jaws with her car when they try to escape]].
57* BigCreepyCrawlies: ''The Spider Beside Her'' and the short tale ''Don't Open The Door!''
58* BigEater: Jaws Bennett, rumored to be able to eat anything, even roadkill.
59%%* TheBigGuy: Jaws and Jason Dunbarr share this status. Jaws is a benevolent example, Jason isn't.
60* BodySwap: ''April Ghoul's Day'' where Maria Medina collides with Dr. Morthouse and the two switch bodies. It actually takes a while for them to realize they've swapped.
61* BoyMeetsGhoul: Never stated explicitly, but can be read as subtext [[spoiler:between Park and Morton]] in ''Don't Tell Mummy''. The two develop a close friendship, and [[spoiler:Park]] decides to become an archeologist thanks to his relationship with [[spoiler:Morton]], implying that his feelings for her may be more than just friendly.
62* TheBully:
63** Jason Dunbarr is Graveyard School's resident bully, though after ''The Headless Bicycle Rider'' he deflates to a typical asshole.
64** Eddie Hoover's got it out for Skate [=McGraw=] and Vickie Wheilson, to the point he once pushed Vickie into the path of several small kids when she was trying to out-race him. [[spoiler:After Skate saves Eddie from Ben Marrow, he stops antagonizing Skate and Vickie but still picks on other kids.]]
65** Jean Paul and Larry, the veteran campers from ''Scream Around The Campfire'' enjoy harassing poor newcomer Garth every chance they get. Alex is vocally disgusted by them and frequently makes snide comments about their petty behavior to their faces before telling Garth to stick with him. Tellingly, Jean Paul and Larry never really retaliate against Alex even though he's roughly their size, [[spoiler: except for the hook prank near the end.]]
66* ButtMonkey: While most of the kids avoid the levels of ButtMonkey found in ''Goosebumps'', Polly Hannah is a more typical version due to what a spoiled and haughty brat she is.
67* CatsAreMean: Aunt Mab's companion Natasha.
68* ChristmasEpisode: ''The Fright Before Christmas'' and ''Here Comes Santa Claws''.
69* CompanionCube: Skate [=McGraw=] both loves and respects his skateboard.
70* ConvenientlyAnOrphan: [[spoiler: Ari Spinner. It's never stated what happened to her parents, or how she managed to live on her own for so long.]]
71* CoolOldLady: Algie's Great Aunt Marie from ''The Gator Ate Her'' gives tours of Howling Swamp and is vocal about treating animals with respect.
72%%* CoolTeacher: Ms. King, the substitute in ''Creature Teacher''.
73* CordonBleughChef: Ms. Stoker the lunch lady in the first book, whose dishes are made from [[spoiler: stolen pets.]]
74%%* CorruptCorporateExecutive: [[MeaningfulName Mr. Dolarman]] from ''Row Your Boat'', and George Quayle from ''Slime Lake''.
75* CreepyChild: Ari Spinner, Dolores, and the kids in Mrs. Storch's homeroom except for Blue and Tim. [[spoiler: Although the kids in Mrs. Storch's class are actually pretty nice beyond their monster exteriors.]]
76* DeadAllAlong:
77** In "Don't Tell Mummy", [[spoiler:Morton, the weird sarcastic girl whom the protagonist met during a class trip to the museum, turns out to be a mummy.]]
78** In "The Headless Bicycle Rider" [[spoiler:it's revealed that Kirstin Bjork was the titular ghost al along.]]
79* DeadpanSnarker: While all of the kids can dish out the snark to various degrees, the snarkiest would have to be Jordie Flanders and Morton.
80%%* DealWithTheDevil: ''The Dead Sox'' and ''The Skeleton On The Skateboard''.
81* DemBones: The Skeleton on the skateboard, and [[spoiler: its brother.]]
82** There's also the short story ''Mr. Bones'', ''One More Step Faster'', and ''Homebones''.
83* DirtyCoward: Howard, a.k.a. "Howard the Coward" of ''Boys of Stone'' became the leader of the bullies by adeptly sensing the weakness in others because he's weak himself.
84* DisguisedInDrag: [[spoiler: Ms. Cheevy, a.k.a. Mr. Chalmers, was a government operative who had to go into hiding when his cover was blown.]]
85* TheDreaded: Dr. Morthouse, the sheer mention of who can cause the younger students to burst into tears. To a lesser degree, Basement Bart.
86* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first ten books often ended with the reveal that the kids were more connected to the strangeness of Gravyeard School than one would assume at first glance. [[spoiler: Kirstin Bjork's the Headless Bicycle Rider, Skip comes from a family of werewolves (but it skipped him over), Marc and Terri's uncle protects the Slime Lake monster, and Jeep's family works for an agency that monitors vampire activity with Jeep himself a junior agent.]]
87* EveryoneHasStandards: Not even Polly Hannah likes Mrs. Beak, or at the very least, couldn't believe she just said she ''did''. Likewise, even Polly is willing to give a decent gift unprovoked when [[spoiler:she gives Stacey shoelaces with bulldog designs on them as a reminder of how much Stacey loves her dog Morris.]]
88* EvilTwin:
89** Marc Foster is still trying to figure out if he or his sister Terri is the evil twin.
90** The plot of the story ''Twins'' involves brothers who were separated when they were very little, with one of them being spoiled mercilessly by his wicked parents and becoming a horrible tyrant when he grew up.
91* [[EvilUncle Evil Aunt]]: Kyle Chilton's Aunt Mab, though this is subverted. [[spoiler: Mab's magical hijinks are not unprovoked.]]
92* FairFolk: Invoked with Kyle's Aunt Mab. [[spoiler: Mab is sometimes referred to as the Fairy Queen in Shakespearean lore.]]
93* FairyTaleEpisode:
94** ''Jack and the Beanstalker.''
95** ''Tales Too Scary To Tell At Camp'' has the kids enduring a situation similar to ''Literature/HanselAndGretel'' and ''Literature/ArabianNights''.
96* FantasticRacism: Explored in ''Little School of Horrors'' concerning humans and monsters. [[spoiler: The monster kids in Mrs. Storch's class tend to avoid human kids. Some, like Eduardo the vampire, are contemptuous of humans, while others just don't feel comfortable around humans because they have to lie about who they are. They don't actually have a problem with having Tim in their class, and some find Eduardo's contempt to be annoying.]]
97* FatteningTheVictim: [[spoiler: Ms. Stoker kidnaps Jaws in ''Don't Eat The Mystery Meat!'' with the obvious implications that she plans to use him for her next lunch recipe after feeding him up some. Jaws literally doesn't realize what she's doing until Park and Stacey save him.]]
98* FormulaBreakingEpisode:
99** Oddly enough, the first book in the series doesn't have any supernatural elements. Same said for the eighth book.
100** ''Tales To Scary To Tell At Camp'' is the only anthology book in the series. Not only that, but a few of the stories are about adults.
101* FoulCafeteriaFood: The Graveyard School cafeteria leaves much to be desired on a good day. The only person who enjoys eating the food served for lunch is Jaws, although the nastiness of the meals tends to vary from book to book. The worst offered is ostensibly Ms. Stoker's cooking in the first book, which is understandable since [[spoiler:she's serving stolen pets, such as a poodle, goldfish, ants, and an anaconda.]]
102* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: At the end of ''The Spider Beside Her'', after Ari [[spoiler: is turned human for good she claims she couldn't help herself when she tried to eat Park, Stacey, Maria and Algie claiming a spider her size couldn't live on insects. Park coldly points out there are a lot of animals between insects and humans on the food chain and doesn't fall for her sob story.]]
103* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Polly Hannah still hangs out with the other kids even though she doesn't like them and they don't like her.
104* GenerationXerox: Kids who've met Polly Hannah's mother regard her as an older, frillier, and meaner version of her daughter.
105%%* GenkiGirl: Terri Foster and maybe Vickie Wheilson judging from her wardrobe.
106* GiantSpider: ''The Spider Beside Her''. Though this is a subversion. [[spoiler: The spider on the cover is one of the main characters, Ari Spinner. By the end she's reduced to a normal size spider.]]
107* GorgeousGorgon: Melissa is a subversion. She can turn her snakes into hair, but it's never stated if she can turn people into stone by looking at them.
108* GreenAesop: Here and there. Some of the books offer brief tracts against rampant commercialism and environmental destruction. That they aren't shoved down the throats of the readers means they work better than some attempts at the GreenAesop trope are.
109** In ''Slime Lake'' Mr. Quayle expresses contempt at those who protest his plans to dredge Slime Lake and turn the area into a commercial resort by wrecking the local wildlife. The kids, especially Stacey Carter (but not Polly Hannah), are disgusted by this.
110** In ''The Fright Before Christmas'', Christopher is shown a BadFuture where he became a politician whose greed managed to destroy most of America's forests and air.
111* TheGrinch: Appears in ''The Fright Before Christmas''. Christopher Hampton is shown a vision of his parents discussing their worries over his miserly tendencies and dislike of Christmas. While they do agree with his views on how grossly commercialized the holiday season has become, they voice concern that his unhappiness is far deeper rooted beyond hating Christmas and are more focused on trying to figure out why he is so unhappy and how they can help him.
112* GuileHeroine: Terri Foster knows exactly how to get people to answer her questions, by being sweet and pleasant and asking them politely. Her brother Marc never understands why she acts so nice to even the worst people around them when it's clear she's got them eating out of her hands.
113* HairRaisingHare: The demonic rabbit David Pike's brother hatches in ''The Easter Egg Haunt'', which has fur like needles and teeth like kitchen knives.
114* HeadlessHorseman: A Headless Bicycle Rider. [[spoiler: This is actual a benign example, because the Rider is also Kirsten Bjork, the sixth grade class president.]]
115* HorrorDoesntSettleForSimpleTuesday: ''The Skeleton On The Skateboard'' is on Halloween, its sequel ''The Skeleton's Revenge'' is on Thanksgiving, ''Boo Year's Eve'', ''April Ghoul's Day'', ''The Easter Egg Haunt'', ''The Fright Before Christmas'', and ''Here Comes Santa Claws''.
116* HumansAreBastards:
117** The real villains of ''Escape from Vampire Park'' are park owner Fang Gore and his assistant, Mary. [[spoiler: Fang kidnapped and has been holding hostage a vampire who was just minding his own business and uses him in his carnival attraction. While Mary stitched together and created an entire person all for the sake of running a different attraction. It's hard not to see that Nathan and Jordie freeing the vampire and monster was the best thing they could've done given how loathsome their captors are.]]
118* IAteWhat: The horrified reactions Stacey and Park have when they dawn upon the realization that [[spoiler: Ms. Stoker is feeding the school stolen pets, including an anaconda and an ''ant farm''.]]
119* ImAHumanitarian: What Ari Spinner was dangerously close to becoming [[spoiler:after becoming a giant spider]] and what Ms. Stoker was hinted to be as well.
120%%* ImprobableInfantSurvival: Played straight and [[DeathOfAChild averted]] a few times.
121* InsufferableGenius: Jordie Flanders knows she's the smartest kid in school, and while she doesn't necessarily flaunt her grades her snarkiness can rub certain people the wrong way.
122* InvisibleToNormals: Inverted in ''Boo Year's Eve''. [[spoiler: It is pretty much outright stated the party guests were all ghosts, yet from their perspective they believed ''Jordie'' was a ghost and could only briefly catch glimpses of her. This seems to imply they don't realize they're dead.]]
123* JerkWithAHeartOfGold:
124** Alex Lee starts out as someone not particularly brave or willing to get involved in matters of bullying, but when push comes to shove he always ends up doing the right thing. In ''There's a Ghost in the Boy's Bathroom'' he was content to stay as far away from the haunted bathroom as possible and let someone else handle it until he found out the ghost went after a small child, and in ''Scream Around The Campfire'' he tells his naive bunkmate Garth to stick by him when Garth is being bullied (even though Alex doesn't think that much of him).
125** Bentley Jeste spent most of his debut appearance in ''Let's Scare the Teacher to Death'' being an asshole with the way he was pranking NervousWreck Ms. Cheevy. Come ''Creature Teacher'' Bent's softened up enough [[spoiler: he successfully recognizes Ms. King's been replaced with an evil impostor and works to rescue her.]]
126* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: Ms. Stoker gets away at the end of ''Don't Eat The Mystery Meat!'' and starts stealing pets in another town.]]
127* KidsAreCruel: Subverted. There are some bullies at Grove Hill, and while the kids might tease each other once in a while, they're never cruel or malicious about it. In fact, whenever someone is acting ''really'' mean and vicious, it's sign that something is very wrong.
128** The two kids who come the closest to this are Jason Dunbarr and Bentley Jeste in their earlier appearances. Not even Polly Hannah was as bad as them.
129** A younger example would have to be Christopher Hampton's little sisters, Lara and Kelli, from the way they manhandled that poor MallSanta.
130* KidHero: The kids in these books are more action-oriented, taking it upon themselves to save those around them from being killed by whatever threat they're facing.
131* KnowWhenToFoldEm: In ''Don't Tell Mummy'', Morton scoffs at Polly Hannah's tiny gold earrings as Polly brags about them. Polly almost says something in response to the snark until she catches sight of Morton's huge, ornate earrings and shuts her mouth, realizing this is an argument she can't win.
132* LackOfEmpathy: Polly Hannah has got no time or energy to consider the feelings of anyone around her.
133%%* LaserGuidedKarma
134* LethalChef: Ms. Stoker from ''Don't Eat the Mystery Meat!'' [[spoiler: She makes school lunches from kidnapped pets, and even plans to use Jaws in one of her recipes.]]
135* LifeImitatesArt: In-universe with ''Scream Around The Campfire'', where the campfire stories are coming to life. Though it may also be a case of YourMindMakesItReal.
136* LonersAreFreaks: Ari Spinner is disliked by her classmates because she has an off-putting and unfriendly personality, coupled with her spider obsession. While they don't necessarily think she's a ''freak'', they do get the sense that she doesn't want to be around anyone and would rather leave her alone.
137* TheMagicTouch: How Old Man Stone acquires his statue collection in ''Boys of Stone''. Bonus points for his first name being Midas. [[spoiler: He can also reverse the process if he wishes.]]
138* MallSanta: ''The Fright Before Christmas'' had Christopher Hampton's little sister being pushed while on the lap of a mall Santa, causing her to accidentally punch him so hard he falls through the store's display and gets knocked out. This caused the rest of the kids to freak out because they think "Santa's been killed." Christopher's classmates start giving him grief over this, assuming, because they know how much he hates Christmas, that he got one of his sisters to attack Santa Claus on purpose.
139%%* MindScrew: ''Boo Year's Eve''.
140* MisplacedRetribution: Christopher Hampton's classmates vilify him instead of his little sisters over what they did to that MallSanta in ''The Fright Before Christmas'' even though Lara and Kelli were the ones who punched him and knocked him over while Christopher at least tried to help the guy up.
141* {{Mummy}}: [[spoiler: Morton turns out to be a good version of this]].
142* NaiveNewcomer: Garth in ''Scream Around The Campfire'' can't understand why he's being picked on by his bunkmates, leading Alex to realize, despite how big and clumsy Garth is, he's somehow never been bullied a day in his life. [[spoiler: It's because Garth is weird by human standards, but normal by Bigfoot ones.]]
143* NegativeContinuity: Here and there. It can be difficult to discern a timeline of events depending on when past incidents get referenced. This is especially disconcerting in the summer-themed books.
144** Since Grove Hill School ends at 6th Grade, naturally the books taking place over the summer should mention the kids are now free from Graveyard School. Instead, the narration usually mentions they won't have to go back to that school until the summer ends... despite references to what the kids endured in the 6th Grade (Alex and the ghost in the bathroom, Algie and the headless bicycle rider).
145** In ''The Gator Ate Her'', Algie is spending the summer with his relatives in Florida, even though he'd spent an entire summer season playing little league baseball in ''The Dead Sox''.
146* NeverSmileAtACrocodile: ''The Gator Ate Her''.
147* NeverMyFault: Mel West draws a nasty caricature of Polly Hannah after her freak out in ''The Spider Beside Her'', and when he gets in trouble for it he blames Ari Spinner since she threw the spider that made Polly freak out in the first place.
148* NoNameGiven: [[spoiler: The unnamed body which was discovered in the boys room.]]
149* NonMaliciousMonster:
150** [[spoiler: The kids in Mrs. Storch's class (except for Tim) may be young monsters, but they don't actively terrorize anyone and most of them grew up hearing horror stories about humans the same way human kids grew up hearing stories about monsters. Also, they make it very clear that whatever is wrong with the school they are ''not'' a part of it, and they're also scared by some of the teachers and the principal.]]
151** Also, [[spoiler: Morton is a living mummy]].
152** There are a few other examples of benign monsters. This includes [[spoiler: Kirstin the Headless Bicycle Rider, Skip Wolfson's family who are benevolent werewolves, and Emmie the Slime Lake monster.]]
153* NothingIsScarier: No definitive origin is ever given towards the source of the horrors in the series.
154* OffWithHisHead: The ending of ''Twins''.
155* OlderThanTheyLook: Kyle's Aunt Mab looks nothing like someone who is supposed to his grandfather's cousin's aunt, which is the first blatant hint [[spoiler: she's not entirely human.]]
156* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Ginger, who can shift from human to dragon form.
157* OurVampiresAreDifferent: The nameless vampire in ''Escape from Vampire Park'' mentions the differences among vampire clans. Some can ingest garlic, some can withstand sunlight to certain degrees, and some hold no fear of mirrors. This is backed up by ''Camp Dracula'', where [[spoiler: the campers can survive in sunlight with heavy duty sunscreen (but still get sunburned), and have no problem eating garlic (except Martin, who just doesn't like the taste and is teased for it.]]
158* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: ''Little Pet Werewolf'' and ''Little School of Horrors'' have two different examples of werewolves.
159* ParentalObliviousness:
160** The parents of Grove Hill send their children to a school run by a woman so intimidating that she can make first graders cry simply by looking at them.
161** Averted, in at least one sense, with Mr. and Mrs. Hampton, who are indeed concerned about their son's unhappiness and want to help him but aren't sure how.
162* PetTheDog: In ''The Fright Before Christmas'', Stacey Carter is given shoelaces with little bull dog designs on them as apparently someone remembered how deeply she loves her dog Morris. It turns out her Secret Santa was none other than [[spoiler: Polly Hannah]]. Stacey is left almost speechless.
163* ProperlyParanoid: ''Here Comes Santa Claws'' opened with Kyle Chilton begging his mom not to leave him alone with a weird aunt he's never met before, and Kyle proceeds to act snotty towards the woman and her pet cat. [[spoiler: The ending reveals Kyle had been right about Aunt Mab from the start, and that she already planned to terrify him with Natasha and their rat compatriots before she even met him. Kyle's pranks just gave her more incentive to get creative.]]
164* PsychoPink: Polly Hannah, while not evil, is a legitimately obnoxious and nasty young girl who almost always dresses in shades of pink.
165* RememberTheNewGuy: Justified. There are three new students who join the sixth grade, and when a character is mentioned for the first time it's still justified since the books wouldn't focus on every single student in Grove Hill.
166* SadistTeacher: Played straight by many of Grove Hill's teachers, such as Mrs. Beak, and averted with Mr. Melon, Ms. Camp, Ms. Beamer, and Ms. King.
167* SatelliteCharacter: Some characters tend to only be really prominent in one book depending on the main character. Maria Medina's this to Stacey Carter, and Vickie Wheilson's this to her cousin Skate.
168* SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl: Skate [=McGraw=] is the savvy to his cousin Vickie's energetic.
169* ScheherezadeGambit: ''Tales Too Scary To Tell At Camp''.
170* TheScrooge: Christopher Hampton, [[spoiler: but he's mostly scared straight when he's shown a BadFuture where he becomes a politician who dies alone after being responsible for massive environmental damage across America.]]
171* SecretSanta: ''The Fright Before Christmas'' opens with Mr. Melon announcing the class will be doing a Secret Santa exchange (which he also refers to as "Holiday Elves" for those who don't celebrate Christmas). Skate mentions there are other kids who aren't doing the Secret Santa, but Christopher Hampton stands out because of his petulant attitude ruining everyone else's fun. Shockingly, Stacey receives a really thoughtful gift of shoelaces with bulldog designs on them from none other than [[spoiler:Polly Hannah]], while Park got [[spoiler:Mr. Melon, and gave him a baseball "autographed" by Santa and his reindeer]].
172* SeductiveMummy: [[spoiler: Morton may be a subtle variant of this trope. She's not outright seductive, but her relationship with Park may have a shade of this.]]
173* TheShadowKnows: When Park sees Algie with Coach Geist in ''The Dead Sox'', he realizes Geist has no shadow. [[spoiler: The next time he sees the two together, Park notices that while one of them has a shadow he's not sure who it belongs to, proof Geist is trying to steal Algie's life.]]
174* ShoutOut:
175** ''The Tragic School Bus'' to ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicSchoolBus'', ''Little School To Horrors'' to ''Film/LittleShopOfHorrors'', ''The Dead Sox'' to the baseball team Red Sox.
176** In ''Scream Around The Campfire'', Alex is going to a camp run by a guy named [[Creator/WesCraven Les Raven]].
177** ''Camp Dracula'' is loaded with allusions to ''{{Dracula}}''.
178* TheSmartGuy: Jordie the "Human Computer" is regarded as the smartest kid in Graveyard School, and she knows it.
179* SpoiledBrat: Polly Hannah and Dolores from ''Boo Year's Eve''.
180* StrangeGirl: Ari Spinner, Morton, and most of the girls in Mrs. Storch's class.
181* StrawCharacter: Usually if an opinion is meant to be presented as wrong, Polly Hannah's the one used to express it. In ''The Fright Before Christmas'', Polly parrots her mother's complaints about ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'' such as how Charles Dickens' isn't even an American writer, to which Mr. Melon retorts by saying Dickens' abilities as an author transcend nationalities. Which basically translates to him telling her to shut her mouth.
182* TakenForGranite: ''Boys Of Stone''.
183* TakeThat: Polly Hannah was deliberately created as one towards ''Film/{{Pollyanna}}'', which Nola Thacker [[https://wickedhorror.com/horror-news/back-to-graveyard-school-with-nola-thacker-series-creator-discusses-how-buffy-served-as-inspiration-for-the-series/ stated in an interview]] she wasn't a fan of.
184* TeachersPet: Polly Hannah, who has no interest in learning, just sucking up. Although for as much as Polly wants the approval of the school's authority figures some, like Mr. Melon and Ms. Cheevy, don't like her as well.
185* TooDumbToLive: Jaws in ''Don't Eat The Mystery Meat''. [[spoiler: He doesn't find anything suspicious about Ms. Stoker wanting to "Play a trick" on Jaws' parents by making it look like he's missing and keeping him in her basement. A basement which is filled with cages containing dozens of missing animals.]]
186* TotallyRadical: But only to a slight degree in ''The Skeleton On The Skateboard''. There's brief usage of 90s skateboarding slang and Vickie Wheilson's basically a walking collage of neon colors, but not enough to make the book completely dated or cheesy.
187* UndeadChild: [[spoiler: Dolores.]]
188* VillainTeamUp: The vampire and the monster in ''Escape from Vampire Park'' team up and take over the carnival from Fang.
189* WeightWoe: In the first book, the kids are all shocked at how skinny Jaws became over the summer, due to his parents becoming vegetarians and forcing him to eat tofu.
190* WholesomeCrossdresser: [[spoiler:''Let's Scare The Teacher To Death''.]]
191* WhoNamesTheirKidDude: New student Blue, who was apparently named because he was born on a blue moon. [[spoiler: Because of it, he can move at super speed at night.]]
192* WhosLaughingNow: Coach Sandman in ''Scream, Team!'' rants about how he spent years being disrespected and mocked because of his work.
193* WithFriendsLikeThese: Averted. The kids in these books are often quite reliable despite any frustrations going on with their classmates.
194* YetAnotherChristmasCarol: ''The Fright Before Christmas''.
195* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: When Christopher Hampton agrees with Stacey Carter that the idea of a Secret Santa gift exchange is a waste of money, Stacey suddenly feels uncomfortable and assumes that she's starting to hate Christmas just like him. Stacey then reassures herself that she ''does'' like Christmas and participates in the gift exchange.

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