The Graveyard Book Summary: Plot, Characters and Ending
The Graveyard Book follows Nobody Owens, called Bod, a boy who wanders into a graveyard as a toddler on the night his family is murdered. The ghosts adopt him and protect him from the killer, the man Jack, who is still looking for him years later.
The book is loosely inspired by Kipling's Jungle Book, with a graveyard in place of a jungle.
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Nobody Owens (Bod) | Boy raised in the graveyard |
| Mr. and Mrs. Owens | Kindly ghost couple who adopt him |
| Silas | Bod's mysterious guardian, neither living nor dead |
| Miss Lupescu | Strict teacher who is a werewolf |
| Scarlett Perkins | Bod's living friend |
| Liza Hempstock | Ghost of a young witch |
| The man Jack | Killer from the secret order of Jacks |
How does Bod come to the graveyard?
A man named Jack kills a family in their home at night. The youngest child, a toddler, has climbed out of his crib and wandered up the hill to the old graveyard. The ghosts of Mr. and Mrs. Owens and the guardian Silas decide to protect him. He is given the Freedom of the Graveyard, which lets him see in the dark, pass through walls and fade from sight, and is named Nobody because he looks like nobody but himself.
↑ Back to the topWhat adventures does Bod have?
Bod learns from ghosts of every century. He befriends a living girl, Scarlett, whose family later moves away. He is lured through a ghoul-gate to the desert city of the ghouls and rescued by Miss Lupescu, who is secretly a werewolf. He visits the forgotten corner for outcasts where Liza Hempstock, executed as a witch long ago, lies without a headstone, and buys her one. He tries going to school, attracts the wrong kind of attention from two bullies and learns the costs of being seen.
↑ Back to the topWho is hunting Bod?
The man Jack belongs to the Jacks of All Trades, an ancient secret society. A prophecy warned them that a child from that family would bring about their end. Silas leaves for a while on a mission, and with others like him he fights the Jacks far away.
↑ Back to the topHow does The Graveyard Book end?
When Bod is fifteen, Scarlett returns to town and unknowingly befriends Mr. Frost, who is really the man Jack. The Jacks come to the graveyard. Bod uses everything he has learned: he leads one through the ghoul-gate, traps others, and draws the man Jack down to the Sleer, an ancient guardian beneath the hill, which takes Jack forever. Scarlett, frightened by what she has seen, has her memory gently wiped by Silas.
As Bod grows up, he slowly loses the ability to see the ghosts. Mrs. Owens sings him a lullaby one last time. With a passport and money from Silas, he walks out of the graveyard gates to live his life in the world.
↑ Back to the topMore about The Graveyard Book
This summary reveals the whole plot, including the ending.