The Graveyard Book Summary

A horrifying tragedy unfolds as a man named Jack murders a family, leaving only a baby boy alive. Upon finding the child missing from his crib, Jack follows him to a graveyard where he's intercepted by a mysterious figure, Silas. Meanwhile, the boy, named Nobody Owens by the ghost couple, Mr. and Mrs. Owens who find him, is granted sanctuary in the graveyard by the Lady on the Grey. As the years pass, Nobody befriends a living girl, Scarlett, encounters ghouls and other strange creatures, and learns about a treasure guarded by the creature called the Sleer. When Scarlett moves away, Nobody is left under the care of Miss Lupescu, who teaches him about the supernatural world.

As Nobody grows, his adventures become increasingly dangerous. At eight, he meets a witch without a headstone and decides to buy one for her. This leads him to steal one of the treasures guarded by the Sleer, a brooch, and venture into town where he is trapped by a suspicious antique dealer. With the witch's help, he manages to escape, returning the brooch to the Sleer and creating a makeshift headstone for the witch. As Nobody continues to age, he discovers a plot by Jack to complete his unfinished job, leading him to desire a normal education to prepare himself for the pending confrontation. However, when he becomes involved in a school fight, his guardian Silas decides it's safer for him to leave school.

At fourteen, the returned Scarlett assists Nobody in learning more about his past, unknowingly leading him to Jack. After a confrontation involving all the graveyard's ghosts, Nobody finally eliminates the threat by arranging for Jack to be taken by the Sleer. Tragically, this results in Scarlett fearing and forgetting Nobody, causing him to be alone once again. As he grows older, he feels his connection to the graveyard fading. Finally, he leaves, having outgrown the sanctuary of the graveyard and venturing into the world of the living. The ghost couple, though saddened, express their pride and love for the boy they raised, thus concluding Nobody's peculiar childhood in the graveyard.