A baby boy named Nobody Owens escapes a murderer who kills his family and finds safety in a graveyard. The ghosts decide to raise him as one of their own, while a mysterious guardian named Silas protects him and provides for him from the world of the living.
As Bod grows up, he learns supernatural skills and has many unusual adventures with ghosts and other magical creatures. However, the murderer who killed his family continues to search for him.
When he becomes older, Bod realizes he cannot stay in the graveyard forever. In the end, he leaves to start a new life among the living.