Line #9 Literature/TheGraveyardBook


1	[[quoteright:334:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/The_Graveyard_Book_8526.jpg]]
2
3	->''There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.''
4
5	''The Graveyard Book'' is a 2008 young adult novel written by Creator/NeilGaiman and illustrated by Creator/DaveMcKean in the US edition and [[Literature/TheEdgeChronicles Chris Riddell]] in the UK that can best be summarized as ''Literature/TheJungleBook'', [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace but]] {{goth}}ic.
6
7	When a young boy's family is killed, he takes refuge in a graveyard. The dead inhabitants of the graveyard take the boy in, and dub him Nobody Owens (although his friends call him Bod). There, taken care of by a vampire, a werewolf and his adoptive (but dead) parents, Bod learns from the dead all the things he needs to know about life. However, the world outside of the graveyard where he is sheltered is not a safe place, as the people who killed his family are still out there, and they are searching for him.
8
9	Gaiman won a slew of awards for the book, including the MediaNotes/HugoAward and both the MediaNotes/NewberyMedal and the MediaNotes/CarnegieMedal (it is the first book ever to win the Newbery and Carnegie).
10
11	A movie is, as of 2012, in pre-production over at Creator/{{Disney}}. First Creator/HenrySelick was slated to direct, followed by Creator/RonHoward, and [[DevelopmentHell as of 2022]], Creator/MarcForster is attached to the project.
12
13	----
14	!!''The Graveyard Book'' contains examples of:
15
16	* AccidentalMisnaming: It's a RunningGag that the human antagonists who find out Bod's name call him "Bob". Even [[spoiler: the Man Jack does it under his Mr. Frost]] guise.
17	* AffectionateNickname: Miss. Lupescu starts calling Bod "Nimini".
18	* AncientConspiracy: [[spoiler:The Jacks of All Trades]] are a good example of this. And possibly [[spoiler:the Honour Guard]]. The latter "protects the borders of things", but the motives of the former, if there are any besides "continue existing", are unknown.
19	* ArcWords: "Sleep, my little babby-oh..." [[spoiler: Mrs. Owens only remembers the last part of the song as she's saying goodbye to Bod forever]].
20	* TheAtoner: Silas. He admits to Bod at one time, he was ''worse'' than the Man Jack, which is why he joined [[spoiler: the Honor Guard.]]
21	* [[BitchInSheepsClothing Bastard In Sheep's Clothing]]: [[spoiler: Mr. Frost, who moves in and pretends to be a nice lonely bachelor to Scarlet and her mother, is actually the Jack who murdered Bod's family years before and is once again out to get him.]]
22	** Notable in that he's used his magic to completely create this persona: while he wears it it's apparently genuine, but he removes it after he recognizes Bod and thereafter it's gone.
23	* BecauseDestinySaysSo: Bod is being pursued by the [[spoiler: Jacks of All Trades]] because [[spoiler: one of their people predicted around four thousand years ago that a child would be born who would destroy their organization.]]
24	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The ''Danse Macabre'' is an InUniverse example. One day every 80 years or so (which is probably not coincidentally about once in a human lifetime), white flowers bloom in the graveyard and TheGrimReaper leads a dance between the living and the dead. Even people who are not aware that ghosts exist proceed about like this is normal, but the living cannot remember it after it happens and the dead are forbidden from talking about it with the living. Those who are not living or dead, such as Silas, cannot participate in the ''Danse Macabre'' and Bod questions him about the sheer [=BLAM=]-ness of it after he finds out that none of the ghosts will discuss the events of the previous night.
25	* BilingualBonus: Ms Lupescu begins to refer to Bod as Nimini, which is Romanian for 'nobody'.
26	* BittersweetEnding:[[spoiler: Bod defeats the Man Jack and grows old enough to leave the graveyard, to explore the world to his liking. However, he no longer has a proper home and his childhood friend Scarlett has forgotten about him. Also, Miss. Lupescu pulled a HeroicSacrifice to save him.]] Neil has at least confirmed that he may write more adventures about Bod.
27	* BullyHunter: Bod decides to use his powers to take on some bullies when he goes to school. It turns out to be more complicated than he anticipated.
28	* ChameleonCamouflage: Being raised by ghosts, Bod does it very well.
29	%%%* CrapsaccharineWorld: The world of ghouls.
30	* ChekhovsArmory: Every bit of the graveyard comes in handy when Bod has to outwit [[spoiler: the Jacks]]
31	** The overgrown part of the graveyard [[spoiler: serves as a natural trap for the first Jack, who has a silken cord.]]
32	** The ghoul gate sucks in [[spoiler: two of the Jacks, and Bod gives them a chance to live instead of getting crushed by the closing door]].
33	** The Sleer [[spoiler: "protects" Jack Frost as his master, dragging him into the earth]].
34	* ChekhovsClassroom: Bod is made to learn how to call for help in "Night Gaunt" by Ms. Lupescu, despite his complaints that he'll never need to know it. Sure enough, when Bod is later held captive by the Ghouls, he remembers the lessons and calls to the Night Gaunts for help.
35	* ChekhovsSkill: Bod's ability to "fade", or turn invisible. [[spoiler: When Jack Frost corners him in the house, this ability buys him enough time to escape with Scarlet to the graveyard]].
36	* ComicBookAdaptation: Got a two-part graphic novel on 2014 drawn by P. Craig Russell who has adapted some of Gaiman's other works.
37	* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: Bod normally leaves the living alone, but he pegs the bully Maureen for asking her cop uncle to arrest him on false charges. Cue a BewareTheNiceOnes moment; he confronts her while she's alone in the school laboratory, telling her off for using her connections to have her way. Bod also knows she's scared of the dark, and of ghosts; as a parting gift, he makes her the Paranoiac, where she thinks Bod is always haunting her.
38	* CompellingVoice: Silas is able to persuade people to do anything he suggests simply by talking to them, including altering their memories.
39	* CrazyPrepared: Miss Lupescu makes Bod learn (among other things) how to shout for help in every language of the world and some from beyond (for example, in Night Gaunt). Naturally, [[ChekhovsSkill this comes in handy.]]
40	* DarkIsNotEvil: The ghosts are as kind as the living. [[spoiler: The vampire, werewolf, ifrit, mummy, and witch ghost are also nicer than they sound.]]
41	** The snakelike guardian, however, [[AmbiguousInnocence is much worse.]]
42	** Bod himself, who learns to use dark magic, to [[ChameleonCamouflage figuratively remain in the shadows]], and even acquires some of the BlueAndOrangeMorality of the ghosts, but overall is a fairly nice person.
43	* TheDeadCanDance: They dance the Danse Macabre (And never, ever talk about it, before or afterwards).
44	* DeadpanSnarker: A few characters, especially Silas.
45	* DeathByNewberyMedal:
46	** It won the Newbery for a reason. The novel starts with Bod's family getting killed, even his older sister who hasn't even reached puberty. Bod toddles to the graveyard, where the ghosts and Silas protect him from the Man Jack. Mrs. Owens sees the specter of Bod's mother begging for someone to look after her baby; she agrees to do it. Death, aka the Gray Lady, appears to convince the graveyard ghosts to take in Bod and protect him; Silas also vouches for him.
47	** A metaphorical case of this happens at the end, with [[spoiler:Bod losing his ability to see ghosts after he turns sixteen, resulting in emotional goodbyes with his foster parents, his mentor Silas, and possible love interest Liza]].
48	* DeliberateValuesDissonance:
49	** When Silas explains to Bod about how the Potter's Field is un-consecrated ground where criminals, suicides and witches were laid to rest, Bod asks if the people buried there are bad. Silas doesn't remember anyone there being ''particularly'' evil, and reminds the boy that punishments in the past were very harsh and one could be hanged for as little as stealing a shilling. He also muses on those who've committed suicide, who are pitied and mourned today but harshly condemned in past centuries. Later on we learn that Liza Hempstock was essentially murdered after she was accused of being a witch (the fact that she ''was'' a witch is entirely beside the point).
50	** Mr. and Mrs. Owens died several centuries before beating children began to be frowned upon, so when Bod leaves the graveyard and endangers himself, Mr. Owens (regretfully) spanks him so hard that his backside still hurts several hours later.
51	* DidNotGetTheGirl: Despite heavy ShipTease with both, [[spoiler:Bod ends up with neither Liza nor Scarlett, the former because he loses his ability to see her, and the latter due to her being horrified at [[GoodIsNotNice how ruthlessly he dispatched the Jacks]]. He gets his FirstKiss with Liza at the end, however.]]
52	* DontFearTheReaper: The Lady on the Grey. She actually tells the dead to take care of Bod. This is [[Characters/TheSandman1989 Gaiman's Death]], after all
53	* DontMakeMeTakeMyBeltOff: Unfortunately for Bod's bottom, his adoptive parents lived several hundred years before it was decided that corporal punishment for children was wrong.
54	* DownerBeginning: The book starts with the murder of Bod's family. Jack describes how he left Bod's older sister, who is no older than seven, in her bed with her throat slit.
55	* DueToTheDead: Liza Hempstock, being accused as a witch, was buried without a memorial headstone. Bod helps get one for her.
56	* DungeonCrawling: Silas and the Honor Guard attack on the fortress of the Jacks is described like this, with Silas, Miss Lupescu, a Mummy, and an Ifrit going down successive levels avoiding traps and fighting waves of enemies.
57	* EldritchAbomination: The Sleer. It's not clear [[NothingIsScarier what it is or what its precise motivations are]], and [[spoiler:when it appears to collect its "master", it resembles a grotesque, nightmarish snake-slug monster, that drags Jack within its coils for all eternity]].
58	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: [[spoiler:The Jacks of All Trades is an organization of men from a variety of trades that are all named Jack. Who happen to practice some form of necromancy.]]
59	** The book itself is an example of this. It's a book. About a graveyard.
60	* {{Expy}}: From Literature/TheJungleBook, of course. There are probably even more than the ones that are listed.
61	** Mowgli: Nobody Owens.
62	** Mother and Father Wolf: The Owens
63	** Bagheera: Silas
64	** Baloo: Miss Lupescu
65	** Shere Khan: Jack
66	*** The Dholes: [[spoiler: The Jacks of All Trades]]
67	** The White Cobra: The Sleer
68	** Bandar-Log: Ghoul-folk
69	** Chil the Kite: Night-Gaunt
70	** Kaa: Elizabeth Hempstock
71	** Akela: The Lady on the Grey
72	* FateWorseThanDeath: It's a Neil Gaiman story. Stand by for some horror, including: Becoming a ghoul. Getting trapped in mirrors for eternity. Getting buried in the earth by [[spoiler:the Sleer]], and possibly the fate of the creatures that were sacrificed to make the Sleer. [[WhoWantsToLiveForever Being Silas.]]
73	* FishOutOfTemporalWater: Bod has a bit of this due to the fact that he was taught mostly by the dead concerning their own times.
74	%%* GainaxEnding
75	%%* GenocideBackfire
76	* TheGrimReaper: The Lady on the Grey is the Gaimanian form of Death (though she's probably not ''[[ComicBook/TheSandman1989 that]]'' form of Death).
77	* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Silas]] apparently did one when he was younger; he tells Bod at one point that in his youth he was ''far'' worse than [[spoiler:the Jacks Of All Trades]].
78	* HistoricalInJoke: It's possible that Silas the Vampire, living in a central London Cemetery, is a reference to the Highgate Vampire from the 1970s. If so, Silas clearly outsmarted his pursuers.
79	* ImNotAfraidOfYou: The Indigo Man is just an illusion, and once the children realize that, he disappears.
80	** Maureen, of all people, also says it a few times when she encounters Bod. Even though she's an ordinary human, she's able to see through his illusions and knows perfectly when he casts spells on her.
81	* InNameOnly: The ghouls who bear the names of famous public figures aren't really them. Ghouls are named after their first meal, and prefer to pick noteworthy dinners. This doesn't necessarily mean they killed the figures, as they likely just ate their dead corpses.
82	* InherentlyFunnyWords: Try to read this sentence in a sepulchral, blood-curdling voice: "Silas... consumed only one food, and it was not bananas". The last word totally undoes the chilling effect, and Neil Gaiman knows it.
83	* JackFrost: Maybe. He's never seen causing ice to appear or anything of that sort, but [[spoiler:The Man Jack goes by the pseudonym Mr. J. Frost]], and is stated to not be exactly human.
84	* KingInTheMountain: The graveyard is built around the barrow of an ancient king who lived about ten thousand years ago, whose treasures are protected by the Sleer. He has apparently since moved on, or at least never reawakens.
85	* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Silas is good at doing this, [[spoiler: being a vampire]]. He saves Bod's life as a baby by luring the Man Jack away from the graveyard, and when [[spoiler: Scarlett]] is worn out and traumatized by the events in Chapter Seven, he assists her with forgetting.
86	* LightmareFuel: Despite being a book about ghosts and graveyards, they're not what's scary at all. The graveyard is a warm and friendly place where Bod feels at home and loved and cared for by the ghosts and Silas. The scary moments, of which there are many, come when Bod is threatened by things from outside the graveyard.
87	* LivingGhost: Nobody "Bod" Owens learned several tricks from the {{Friendly Ghost}}s who [[RaisedByTheSupernatural raised him]], including [[TalkingInYourDreams talking to people through their dreams]] and "fading", though he can only become {{invisib\|ility}}le and not {{intangib\|ility}}le like the dead.
88	* MonsterMash: The team that takes on [[spoiler:the Jacks of All Trades]] include Silas ([[spoiler: a vampire]]), a werewolf, an ifrit, a winged Sumerian mummy, and a good-luck pig.
89	* MortalityGreyArea: Silas, Bod's guardian, is an outcast in the graveyard as he's neither alive nor dead. Notably it also means he can't take part in the Macabray, a surreal ritual when the ghosts get to dance with the living. It's never confirmed but strongly implied that [[spoiler: he is a vampire]].
90	* MurderTheHypotenuse: Back in the day, Mistress Jemima was jealous of Solomon Porritt ignoring her and mooning over Liza Hempstock...and it's heavily implied that she riled up several people to join her in accusing Liza of being a witch.
91	* {{Necromancer}}: The Jacks can work magic, powered by death. Their powers are vaguely defined but include greatly enhanced senses (such as smell), magically barring and unbarring thresholds, creating personae for themselves [[ConsummateLiar so that they don't need to act when impersonating someone]], and setting magical traps which can bind someone into a set of mirrors.
92	* NiceJobBreakingItHerod: It's revealed that [[spoiler:the Jacks Of All Trades arranged for Bod's family to be assassinated by the Man Jack to prevent a prophecy that their child would bring about the destruction of their order. Sure enough, Bod survives and grows up to personally finish off the last ones of their order, concluding with the Man Jack himself]].
93	* TheNondescript: "that Owens boy..." (Bod using his powers to Fade)
94	* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Bod has this as a character trait when he tries to help out the dead and living; buying a headstone for Liza gets him in trouble with a shady pawnshop dealer, and interfering with school bullies and their extortion ring draws attention to his person.
95	* NotAllowedToGrowUp: The ghosts. Bod starts noticing this, as he outgrows his playmates.
96	* NothingIsScarier: The Sleer. All the narrative makes clear is that it's incredibly old, looks like an EldritchAbomination, desires to protect its master above all else, and suffers from a ''major'' case of BlueAndOrangeMorality.
97	* NotUsingTheZWord:
98	** Or, in this case, the [[spoiler:V]] word, as Silas is never explicitly called [[spoiler: a vampire]] in the text.
99	** Miss. Lupescu is a 'Hound of God', as opposed to a generic werewolf.
100	* OnlyAFleshWound: When Bod's "father" ([[spoiler:Silas]]) is hit by a car.
101	* OurGhoulsAreCreepier: Bod has a run-in with some in "The Hounds of God". Among other disturbing quirks, they take their names after the main course of their first meal, including "The Famous Writer Creator/VictorHugo" and "The [[UsefulNotes/HarryTruman 33rd]] [[OurPresidentsAreDifferent President of the United States]]". There is a ghoul-gate in every graveyard. Don't go near it.
102	* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: For one thing, they're called the Hounds of God. They will hunt to the edge of Hell and beyond to protect their charge, or destroy a creature of evil.
103	** Actually based on Slavic werewolves, apparently. ([[spoiler:Miss Lupescu's]] name is [[MeaningfulName a clear hint,]] and her cooking is also a tip for the culturally savvy.)
104	*** The Hounds of God legend is Lithuanian, and the MeaningfulName in question is Romanian - both Eastern European, yes, but neither is Slavic.
105	* PaperKeyRetrievalTrick: How Bod escapes the antique shop.
106	* PoliceAreUseless: Played with a little bit.
107	* PuppyLove: Averted. Scarlett and Bod's relationship initially seems like a set-up for this trope, but ultimately their relationship is close but platonic, even as they grow older.
108	* RecycledInSpace: The story is essentially a retelling of ''Literature/TheJungleBook'', only it's set in a graveyard instead of a jungle.
109	* RedOniBlueOni: Bod is the RedOni to everyone in the graveyard by virtue of being young and alive, and thus impulsive and inquisitive. But compared to everyone in the world of the living, he is very much a BlueOni, quiet, bookish and muted to the point of invisibility, especially compared to Scarlett (whose very name 'Scarlett Amber' suggests someone warm and vibrant).
110	* RelationshipResetButton: Bod and Scarlett, in a platonic sense.
111	* TheReveal: Scarlett investigates a potential home invasion that might have killed Bod's family. She finds out that his older sister was named Misty, and she was barely six or seven when the man Jack left her to bleed out in her bed. It's a small detail in the big scheme, but a reminder that Bod had a family and a name.
112	* SelfFulfillingProphecy: If [[spoiler:the Jacks of All Trades hadn't killed Bod's family, he'd never have had the means or even a reason to fight them. The Honour Guard only discovered that they existed when they tried killing a family that lived near a graveyard with one of its members in it.]]
113	* SharedUniverse: WordOfGod says that Liza Hempstock is connected to the Hempstocks from Literature/TheOceanAtTheEndOfTheLane.
114	* ShoutOut: The Night-gaunts are one to the Franchise/CthulhuMythos. However these Night-gaunts are friendly, and will help you to escape from the Ghouls.
115	* StrayingBaby: As a baby, Bod likes to escape his crib and explore; this trait inadvertently saves his life at the beginning of the story when the rest of his family is murdered.
116	%%%* SugarAndIcePersonality: Silas.
117	* TalkingInYourDreams: One of Bod's powers is to be able to enter people's dreams and converse with them.
118	%%%* TallDarkAndSnarky: Silas.
119	* ThouShaltNotKill: Bod, because anyone he kills in the graveyard will hang around for eternity.
120	* TimeSkip: Most chapters take place a few months to a few years after the previous.
121	* {{Tsundere}}:
122	** Mr. Owens reveals that a girl he knew was the same way, one day liking him and the next day throwing an apple at him. Mrs. Owens insists that "it was a pear".
123	** Liza becomes this when Bod turns fourteen; the dead are NotAllowedToGrowUp and Bod is getting older. This is her way of acting out when her friend is growing old enough for "interest", but slipping out of her world at the same time.
124	* TheUnreveal: We never find out Bod's birth name though Scarlett finds out his sister was named Misty. Bod doesn't either, when [[spoiler:the Man Jack]] uses this fact to taunt him. He realizes that it doesn't matter because he is Nobody Owens now.
125	* UnseenNoMore: Sleer, an EldritchAbomination that guards an ancient pagan tomb, is obscured in shadow until the book's climax.
126	* VoiceOfTheLegion: The Sleer speaks with what's described as a triple voice and identifies with plural pronouns, probably because it has at least three heads.
127	* WalkingTheEarth: Silas, though for most of Bod's childhood he hangs around the graveyard.
128	* WeAllDieSomeday: A recurring theme, which Bod takes as a simple fact, what with being raised by ghosts and all. Bod is entirely at terms with his mortality and is rather looking forward to [[DontFearTheReaper riding the white horse of the Lady on the Grey]]. However, he learns that it is very important for him to have lived before that.
129	-->“Us in the graveyard, we wants you to stay alive. We wants you to surprise us and disappoint us and impress us and amaze us”.
130	* WerewolfThemeNaming: Ms. Lupescu.
131	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
132	** Although the Sleer make several reappearances, we never do find out exactly who their original master was... or indeed anything about him at all, except that he was alive so long ago that the plain where his treasures were buried has since become a hill, and that [[spoiler:the Jacks of All Trades have been seeking those treasures for a very long time.]]
133	** The fate of [[spoiler:Kandar and its lucky piglet]] is unclear. WordOfGod is that “there was meant to be a story about that”, which may possibly appear some day.
134	* WhatTheHellHero: Bod receives this several times:
135	** Liza and Silas berate him for leaving the graveyard to buy her a headstone, since he got locked up for his troubles (although Liza is touched that he would do such a thing).
136	** Silas delivers it (again) when Bod's interference with school bullies causes others to pay attention to him.
137	** [[spoiler: Scarlett]] asks Bod if she was bait for the Man Jack.
138	* WhenSheSmiles: Bod thinks that Eliza Hempstock looks like a goblin, but when she smiles she looks like a pretty goblin; "Bod didn't think she would have needed magic to attract Solomon Porritt [the boy she was accused of bespelling], not with a smile like that."
139	* WholePlotReference: The book as a whole is heavily inspired by ''Literature/TheJungleBook'', but some of the chapters deserve special mention:
140	** [[spoiler: Kaa's Hunting/The Hounds of God]]: A young boy, feeling frustrated at the no-nonsense attitude of his mentor, attempts to escape his predicament by joining a seemingly fun-loving band of mischievous creatures. He discovers that these creatures don't have intentions as innocent as they made out and ends up in far over his head. In a fit of desperation he calls to a flying creature for help in a language his mentor taught him shortly before his capture. A large and fearsome animal heeds his call for aid, and its appearance strikes terror into the hearts of his would-be captors. They abandon the boy to the mercies of his rescuer.
141	** [[spoiler: Mowgli's Brothers/How Nobody Came to the Graveyard]]: A cruel and sadistic villain murders an entire family, but their infant son eludes his grasp. He is discovered and protected by a charitable [[RaisedByNatives native couple]], but their peers urge them to give up the child because he belongs to a group outside of their social order. They are all eventually persuaded to adopt the child when swayed by the urgings of their leader and a [[DarkIsNotEvil shadowy predator]] living on their outskirts.
142	** [[spoiler: The King's Ankus/The Witch's Headstone]]: A boy journeys into an ancient and forgotten ruin underneath the earth, where he encounters a serpent as old as the ruin itself. The serpent is entrusted in guarding the priceless treasures that lie beneath the ground, and although initially intimidating, the serpent turns out to be insane and rather pitiful. The boy, against the serpent's wishes, robs the tomb of a treasure only to find out that the treasure is [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane cursed in a way that makes it act as a catalyst for human greed]]. The boy is immune to its charms, but other men end up killing each other in order to possess the forbidden prize, and the boy ends up returning the item back to its original place to the smug satisfaction of the serpent.
143	* YouCanSeeMe: Bod's signature move when in school is to be unnoticed and forgotten, at least until he starts to get involved with the other students. This also happens whenever a living character who can see the supernatural meets the Sleer.
144	* YouCantGoHomeAgain: [[spoiler: Bod was given the Freedom of the Graveyard so he could be safe from the Jacks of All Trades. But after they're defeated, Bod doesn't need it anymore, and that means he can't even ''see'' his friends and adopted family.]]
145	* YouMonster: [[spoiler: SCARLETT of all people]] says this to Bod after thinking that he used her in a BatmanGambit when really it was an IndyPloy, saying he's no better than the Jacks.

Context Literature / TheGraveyardBook