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The Ghost (Bod’s Biological Mother)
Mother Slaughter is a kindly, elderly ghost in the graveyard. She’s initially shocked when Mrs. Owens proposes giving Bod the Freedom of the Graveyard, but over the course of the debate she becomes one of the fiercest supporters of taking Bod in. Mother Slaughter is one of the last ghosts whom Bod can see when he begins to lose his ability to see and interact with ghosts.
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Mother Slaughter Character Timeline in The Graveyard Book
The timeline below shows where the character Mother Slaughter appears in The Graveyard Book. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...baby Caius Pompeius, the old Roman, asks what Mrs. Owens plans to feed the baby. Mother Slaughter , meanwhile, asks where the baby will live. She looks shocked when Mrs. Owens suggests...
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...Since he can leave the graveyard, Silas offers to fetch food for the baby. When Mother Slaughter points out that Silas could easily have to abandon his duties, Silas offers a suggestion:...
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Chapter 5
...Come to dance the Macabray.” She refuses to explain what it means. Bod then finds Mother Slaughter squinting at a climbing plant. She asks Bod to tell her if the flowers are...
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Chapter 8
Bod makes his way back to the better-maintained part of the graveyard and comes across Mother Slaughter . She asks him to pick the blooming nasturtiums and put them on her grave....
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