PHOTOS BY KRISTY GRAVER

Hello. I’m Kristy Graver, The Food Editor Formerly Known As Kristy Locklin. I went back to my maiden name just in time for Halloween.

Given my obsession with zombie-movies, boneyards and wide-brimmed, black hats, it was a no-brainer. Every time I walk through Allegheny Cemetery someone asks me for directions to the “Jaws” tombstone. (It’s in Section 26, Chief!)

My ancestors are buried in Section 5. There’s even a big, fancy statue dominating the family plot. I pay my respects to the Gravers each time I visit the sprawling burial ground. It’s my favorite place in Pittsburgh, if not the world. 

Sometimes I take a detour from tiptoeing through the tombstones and patronize a nearby business. Allegheny Cemetery spans 300 acres between Lawrenceville and Bloomfield, so there are plenty of eateries, bars and breweries in the area.

If you exit from the Penn Avenue side and hang a left, you’ll hit Mixtape, Soju, Tasty Taquitos, Spak Brothers, Two Frays Brewery and Peoples Indian Restaurant. Head right and you’ll find Apteka, one of Pittsburgh’s best restaurants.

I heard a rumor that someone’s reopening the Graveyard Grille across the street from the cemetery gates. If the deal falls through, I’d like to buy their old sign and hang it in my kitchen as a warning. 

There are a bunch of food and beverage options on the Butler Street side as well. Last week, I ventured a block off the beaten path to Lawrenceville Distilling on Harrison Street where Joe DeGroot was adding Bosco Chocolate Syrup to the company’s 1129 Ridge Ave. Absinthe Rouge. The red-hued booze is distilled from grapes with wormwood, green anise, fennel and hibiscus. It’s named after a property in Manchester where a purportedly haunted mansion once stood. 

Sounds like a great horror movie premise to me!

PHOTO COURTESY OF LAWRENCEVILLE DISTILLING

Director George Romero used Bosco as a stand-in for blood in his locally shot, black-and-white film “Night of the Living Dead” because red appears as light gray on screen.

Since I’m a food editor and an undeadhead, I follow the New Jersey-based Bosco on Instagram. That’s where I saw a recipe that calls for 1½ ounces of The Green Fairy mixed with 4½ ounces of zombified milk. After shaking the concoction with ice and straining it into a Collins glass, it’s garnished with Luxardo Maraschino Cherry, thus making Night of the Living Red my new favorite cocktail.

It’ll appear on the distillery’s menu throughout October. Although banned in the United States from 1912 to 2007, absinthe does not cause hallucinogenic effects. It tastes like my mom’s Italian Christmas cookies. 

Lawrenceville Distilling also is bringing back its Savini Sour, a drink named in honor of Bloomfield-born special effects legend Tom Savini, who directed the 1990 colorized remake of “Night of the Living Dead.” 

I’m not sure what ice cream topping Savini used for blood in that flick, but his signature elixir is a mix of Jaggerbush Gin, lemon, simple syrup, aquafaba and a bourbon-barrel-rested red wine float. 

Beer-drinking horror fans are in luck, too. Breweries are popping up like ghouls from the grave near Butler County’s Evans City, backdrop for the original “Night of the Living Dead.” You can celebrate the movie’s 55th anniversary at Living Dead Weekend Oct. 20-22. 

Brew Monkey is located in the former Living Dead Museum at 121 E. Main St., but all of the spooky artifacts are now housed inside Monroeville Mall, filming location for Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead.” They’ve got a nice selection of beers, small bites, a rotating schedule of food trucks, cheerful decor and a play area for kids. I bought my kid a plush zombie there when it was an apocalyptic gift shop. 

You’ll find Back Home BBQ & Brew less than three miles away in Callery.

After living down south for years, Butler County native Tyler Skidmore moved back home to open a restaurant with his dad, Chris Skidmore, who’s been homebrewing since the early ’90s.

The eatery serves both savory, Texas-style beef and chicken as well as sweeter Carolina meats. Back Home’s three-barrel brewing system churns out some tasty suds. I paired my Rose Tattoo Red Ale with the Smokehouse Cuban: pulled pork topped with bacon, Swiss cheese, homemade pickles and Carolina Gold sauce between two slices of Mancini’s bread. 

Speaking of Mancini’s, I’m trying to convince bakery co-owner Nick Mancini Hartner to use his dough-sculpting skills to create a Night of the Living Bread zombie for October’s ghoul fest. Dennis Detar’s DRE Catering Company will feed attendees at the Steamfitters Event Center in Harmony and Addison Avenue Catering is taking care of the VIP Brunch at Evans City Cemetery. 

Maybe next year they’ll organize a Zom-B-Q with local beer, absinthe cocktails, spooky charcuterie from The Cheese Queen and a buffet table loaded with ears of corn and smoked ribs, thighs and legs just so I can paraphrase Johnny’s famous line from “Night of the Living Dead”: They’re coming to get you, barbecue!

Allegheny Cemetery officials remind readers that mausoleums are not to be used as picnic spots; picnic tables are provided for such activities. A permit is required for all photography beyond personal use. While the public is welcome to visit the grounds, the cemetery is private property and has rules to ensure that the historical grounds, monuments and structures are respected.