The Graveyard Book Theme of The Supernatural

We get a satisfying dose of the supernatural in The Graveyard Book. If you’re craving mummies, vampires, ghosts, ghouls, werewolves, snaky beings at the bottoms of hills, and much more, then this tightly-packed fantasy adventure is just for you. We also get to see all sorts of cool powers being used, for good and for not-so-good.

Questions About The Supernatural

  1. What kind of creature is the Lady on the Grey? What kind of creature is Silas? What is the Sleer?
  2. Which supernatural creatures behaved in ways you expected? Which behaved in surprising ways? For example, do the ghouls in The Graveyard Book act like ghouls you've seen in other books or movies? How about the werewolves and vampires?
  3. Do you think Liza is really a witch? Why or why not?
  4. Do the Jacks have supernatural powers? If so, where do they get them?
  5. Which of Bod’s powers are supernatural, and which are things that can be learned even by humans?
  6. At what point did you realize that Silas was a vampire? What were the biggest clues? Why do you think Neil Gaiman never tells us directly that Silas is a vampire, even though he tells us that Miss Lupescu is a werewolf?
  7. How will Bod's life be different now that he's lost the Freedom of the Graveyard?

Chew on This

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

The Jacks of All Trades are ordinary humans, ruined by greed and power.

The Jacks of All Trades were ordinary humans, but they gained some supernatural powers from killing others in a special way.

The Lady on the Grey is a personification of death. In other words, she a representation of death in human form, like a less scary version of the Grim Reaper.