Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio Summary, Characters and Themes
Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio is a modern Gothic novella set in a small college town where five night-shift workers, drawn together by insomnia and personal struggles, meet regularly in a centuries-old graveyard.
When they discover a freshly dug, empty grave that shouldn’t be there, they find themselves entangled in a sinister mystery involving strange violent attacks, dead rats, and hints of unethical scientific experiments. With themes of isolation, insomnia, and blurred reality, this eerie tale blends psychological tension with dark academia vibes, weaving a chilling story about friendship, fear, and the horrors lurking just beneath the surface.
Summary
In Graveyard Shift, five night-shift workers form an unusual friendship born from shared sleeplessness and personal struggles. They call themselves “The Anchorites,” after the abandoned Church of Saint Anthony of the Anchorite, where they meet nightly in the adjacent graveyard.
These five characters—Edie, the driven editor-in-chief of the college paper; Theo, a brooding bartender with unspoken feelings for someone in the group; Hannah, a rideshare driver with a practical mindset; Tuck, the steward of the derelict church; and Tamar, a calm and enigmatic hotel receptionist—find solace in their midnight meetups.
However, their routine is shattered when they stumble upon a freshly dug grave in the cemetery.
The grave, inexplicably open and empty, marks the beginning of a string of strange and unsettling events in their town. As they begin to investigate, the group notices other bizarre occurrences: an increasing number of dead rats buried in the graveyard and reports of townspeople erupting into violent, animalistic outbursts.
These attacks are characterized by howling, biting, and frenzied rage—behavior eerily reminiscent of zombie films. Troubled by these incidents, the Anchorites suspect a deeper mystery is at play.
The group’s investigation leads them to discover that the local university had been conducting secret sleep studies using a unique fungal strain to combat insomnia. However, the experiments went horribly wrong.
The fungus, meant to help regulate sleep cycles, caused terrifying side effects in test subjects, including violent aggression and disturbing psychological changes. Instead of taking accountability, the university quietly buried the infected test animals—rats—at the old cemetery, hoping to hide their mistakes.
The mystery deepens when two members of the group, Edie and an unnamed man, follow a mysterious figure to a decrepit building with “Do Not Enter” signs. Inside, they find a colony of rats infected with the fungus, their corpses sprouting grotesque fungal growths.
The discovery confirms their fears that the fungus is spreading beyond the lab, affecting both animals and humans.
Meanwhile, Hannah—who participated in one of the university’s canceled sleep studies—starts to worry that she might be infected. She confronts a researcher involved in the project, who reveals the university knew about the side effects but chose to bury the evidence.
As paranoia sets in, the group becomes increasingly desperate. They track down a local gravedigger who is involved in the secret burial of infected rats. In a morally dubious act, Theo and Hannah spike his drink and abduct him, questioning him for information before leaving him abandoned on the side of a highway in freezing weather. Their moral boundaries blur as they spiral deeper into the mystery, driven by fear and exhaustion.
The novella reaches its climax with the characters witnessing more violent outbursts in town. Hannah notices the first signs of fungal growth on her own face, suggesting she is already infected.
The story ends on an ominous and ambiguous note as dawn breaks.
The mystery remains unresolved, leaving readers questioning whether the horrors were real or hallucinations brought on by the group’s collective insomnia and fractured psyches.
At its heart, Graveyard Shift explores themes of isolation, moral ambiguity, and the fine line between reality and delusion, wrapped in an unsettling atmosphere of dark academia and creeping biological horror.
Characters
Edie
Edie is the editor-in-chief of the university’s campus newspaper and serves as the de facto leader of the Anchorites, the group of five insomniacs who regularly meet in the graveyard. She is observant, driven, and organized, often taking the initiative when it comes to solving the mystery at hand.
Edie’s leadership is evident in her ability to keep the group together, even as tensions rise and strange occurrences unfold. However, her dedication to her role comes at a cost—her struggles with insomnia, anxiety, and a constant need to stay in control make her an anxious and highly driven character.
Edie’s personal challenges create a complex layer to her character, as her leadership is both a strength and a source of internal conflict, especially when she feels responsible for the safety of the group.
Tuck
Tuck is the character with the deepest connection to the cemetery’s history, particularly tied to the condemned church that looms over it. He is portrayed as somewhat mysterious and brooding, and his attachment to the cemetery hints at a personal history that’s both unresolved and deeply entangled with the town’s secrets.
Tuck’s role in the group is crucial in that he brings a unique perspective to their investigations. His insights, often marked by an emotional connection to the place, provide essential pieces of the puzzle as the group seeks to uncover the truth.
His connection to the cemetery suggests that he may be grappling with a sense of guilt or past trauma, which adds a layer of complexity to his motivations and actions. Tuck’s character provides a grounding force in the narrative, balancing the more chaotic elements introduced by the others.
Theo
Theo, the bartender in the group, is the most intense and intimidating member of the Anchorites. He is protective of the others, particularly Edie, with whom he harbors unspoken romantic feelings.
His brooding and stoic demeanor often hides the depth of his emotions, and much of his character is shaped by the trauma he carries from past relationships and his tough job. Theo is a character who struggles with the weight of his own personal demons, including unresolved anger and a sense of isolation.
Theo’s protective nature makes him fiercely loyal to the group, yet he is also marked by a darker side that becomes evident as the investigation into the strange occurrences around the cemetery intensifies. His character arc suggests that his inner turmoil will play a significant role in the resolution of the group’s investigation.
Hannah
Hannah, a rideshare driver and one of the central members of the group, brings a cool, practical demeanor to the group’s otherwise chaotic dynamic. She is often the voice of reason, grounded by her pragmatism and clear-headedness.
Hannah’s background as a former participant in a sleep study adds a personal stake to the mystery surrounding the cemetery, as she begins to suspect that the bizarre occurrences are linked to a fungus that may have infected her. Throughout the story, Hannah’s calm exterior masks the increasing panic and paranoia she feels as she struggles with her own potential infection.
Her vulnerability becomes more evident as the mystery unfolds, especially when she confronts the possibility of becoming the very thing she fears: a victim of the university’s unethical experiments. This internal conflict makes her a deeply empathetic character, and her transformation from a calm observer to a terrified participant highlights the toll the events take on her.
Tamar
Tamar is a librarian and hotel front desk worker, often seen as the group’s anchor. She is characterized by her calming presence and mysterious demeanor, making her an essential stabilizing force within the group.
Tamar’s tranquil nature often contrasts with the anxiety and chaos experienced by the others, and her role as both a romantic interest for Hannah and a moral center for the group creates an intriguing dynamic. Despite her calm exterior, Tamar too is dealing with her own set of challenges, particularly related to the emotional toll of working late-night shifts and her place within the group’s unraveling mystery.
Tamar’s relationship with Hannah adds another layer to her character, as it becomes clear that the bond they share is one of emotional support and solace in the midst of the horrors around them. Her presence often provides the group with much-needed clarity, and her connection to the emotional heart of the group is undeniable.
Themes
Insomnia, Anxiety, and Existential Despair
In Graveyard Shift, insomnia is not merely a condition—it becomes a driving force that shapes the characters’ psychological states and serves as a metaphor for deeper existential struggles. Each of the five main characters battles with sleeplessness for different reasons—whether driven by anxiety, depression, or past trauma.
This collective insomnia pushes them into the arms of the graveyard, a space where their weary bodies and minds seek a temporary refuge from their personal demons. However, the graveyard, a place of death and eternal rest, is the perfect backdrop for exploring the fragility of life itself.
As they grapple with their inability to sleep and the ensuing exhaustion, the line between reality and illusion becomes increasingly blurred. This psychological descent into madness challenges the characters’ perceptions of time and their ability to trust their own thoughts, making their journey a deeply unsettling and existential one.
The physical toll of insomnia mirrors the emotional toll of living with the unrelenting weight of anxiety and depression, a combination that gradually morphs into something darker, threatening to consume not just their sleep but their very sense of self.
The Moral Consequences of Playing God with Human Minds
At the heart of Graveyard Shift is a profound examination of scientific ethics, particularly in the realm of psychological experimentation. The novella sheds light on the unethical and reckless behavior of the university’s research team, whose pursuit of a “cure” for insomnia leads them to conduct secretive experiments that blur the lines between scientific advancement and moral responsibility.
The fungus at the center of the mystery symbolizes the unforeseen dangers of tampering with nature and manipulating human psychology for perceived greater goods. The experiment, initially intended to help people manage insomnia, spirals out of control, causing violent, erratic behavior and irreversible psychological changes in its test subjects.
This focus on the university’s moral failures exposes the dangers of prioritizing progress over humanity. As the characters uncover the darker aspects of the study, they are forced to confront the ethical consequences of scientific ambition—an ambition that, once unleashed, cannot be contained or undone.
The novella suggests that in the quest for knowledge, we often sacrifice our very humanity, and sometimes, the search for truth leads to unanticipated chaos.
The Perils of Escapism and the Danger of Losing One’s Sense of Identity Amidst the Void of Trauma
As the Anchorites band together in their shared insomnia, their nightly rituals in the graveyard serve as an escape from their individual struggles. However, the graveyard—a symbol of death and decay—ultimately becomes a place where their struggles are intensified, not alleviated.
This repeated return to the graveyard suggests that their need to escape from their fears, anxieties, and inner turmoil only serves to exacerbate these emotions, rather than resolve them. The discovery of the mysterious open grave further underscores this theme, as it symbolizes the emotional void each character is attempting to fill.
The grave, a literal hole in the ground, becomes a metaphor for the emptiness the characters feel inside. Their personal traumas, unresolved grief, and mental health issues grow more pronounced as they face the increasingly bizarre and terrifying events surrounding the open grave.
The characters’ attempts to understand the mystery of the grave and the source of the fungal infection become an extension of their attempts to confront their own personal voids. As the story progresses, they struggle with the idea that they may not only be facing an external horror, but one that is deeply connected to their internal, unresolved pain.
This theme highlights how trauma, when ignored or inadequately addressed, can fester and grow—shaping a person’s actions and thoughts in profound ways.
Paranoia, Mistrust, and the Fragility of Human Perception
As the mystery in Graveyard Shift unfolds, the characters experience a growing sense of paranoia and distrust, which echoes the overarching theme of how unreliable human perception can become under extreme stress. The fungus, which infects both the rats and eventually the characters, not only physically alters those affected but also leads to shifts in mental states.
The behavioral changes in the townspeople, once mild-mannered, gradually transform them into violent, animalistic figures. This transformation is unsettling, as it raises questions about how far removed human beings are from their primal instincts.
For the group of insomniacs, paranoia seeps into every interaction, blurring the distinction between friend and foe, self and other. This psychological unraveling is also fueled by their collective distrust of the outside world—an external manifestation of their personal insecurities and fears.
As the characters investigate the mystery, they begin to doubt their own sanity and motivations, which heightens the sense of disorientation that permeates the novella. The novel thus explores how, when faced with trauma or unsettling experiences, individuals may spiral into a state where they no longer trust their own perceptions of reality.
This theme touches on the fragility of the human mind when placed under stress, revealing how easily it can fracture when confronted with terrifying unknowns.
The Disintegration of Community and the Search for Belonging Amidst Isolation
A central motif in Graveyard Shift is the complex dynamics of community and belonging, particularly in the context of isolation and loneliness. Each of the characters is an outsider in some way—whether due to their insomnia, their roles as night-shift workers, or their emotional struggles.
Yet, in the graveyard, they find a shared space where they can bond over their collective sense of alienation. The group, despite its fragmented personalities and differing backgrounds, forms a makeshift family—the “Anchorites.”
This makeshift family dynamic, however, is not without its cracks. The characters are all seeking something—whether it’s solace, validation, or understanding—but their mutual search for answers in the face of the grave’s mystery ultimately drives them apart.
As they uncover the sinister truth about the fungus and the university’s experiments, their sense of unity begins to dissolve, and they are forced to confront the reality that their bond may not be enough to overcome the horrors they are facing. The disintegration of the Anchorites’ community mirrors the breakdown of their individual psyches.
The loneliness and isolation that define their lives cannot be cured by simply being around one another; the true journey of healing, the novella suggests, must come from within. The group’s eventual unraveling speaks to the elusive nature of belonging and the difficulty of finding true connection in a world fraught with personal and collective struggles.