The Tribune's Brandon Griggs spoke recently with Smith about his job, ghosts and Halloween, which, as you might guess, is not his favorite holiday:

Q: What does a sexton do?

A: I oversee everything from the interments to the mowing of the grass.

Q: What do people say when you tell them you work in a cemetery?

A: You get some strange responses. I think cemeteries have gotten kind of a bad rap. Hollywood has made them seem sort of dark and evil, when they're not. To me, a cemetery is a hallowed place. It's a peaceful place. I have people who come up here every day to eat lunch and enjoy the view and the wildlife.

Q: What kind of wildlife?

A: We have birds, we have foxes, we have deer, we have the occasional moose.

Q: What is the biggest misperception people have about cemeteries?

A: They look at them as a scary place. I don't feel a cemetery is a place to get scared. I think a cemetery is a place to show respect for those that are buried.

Q: So you've never gotten a spooky feeling here?

A: No, and I come in all hours of the night. I get police calls when kids are in here misbehaving. I'm a believer that if you want to be scared, go to a spook alley. Don't come to a cemetery.

Q: Is the cemetery open at night?

A: Our gates are locked at dusk. The city ordinance stipulates that you're not supposed to be in here after dusk.

Q: Have you heard any ghost stories about the cemetery?

A: Not in our cemetery. I can't speak for any others.

Q: How much of a problem is vandalism?

A: The police do a very good job of patrolling the cemetery. They do patrol at night. Vandalism is very, very low, and we'd like to keep it that way.

Q: Is it worse around Halloween?

A: It does increase. People are drawn to cemeteries during Halloween because of movies and the folklore that surround cemeteries.

Q: Do you like Halloween?

A: That's like asking a retail clerk if they like Christmas.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I like the history aspect of it. I always look at this as a jewel in the city because of the history we have here. The cemetery's been around since 1847. It was here in the beginning and it's gonna be here long after I'm gone. I like the staff I have here. I like coming in in the morning and watching the cemetery wake up, watching the birds and the foxes, watching the sun come over the mountains.

Q: Do you like scary stories and books and movies?

A: I don't mind them, but it's not something I search out.

Q: Mark, this is a Halloween feature - help me out here. Do you believe in ghosts?

A: You have to define what a ghost is. Is it a bedsheet floating through the air or is it the presence of someone you love? Ghosts could be a lot of things. To you a ghost might be one thing, to me a ghost might be something totally different. I don't worry about it. You can take the Hollywood aspect of it, that a ghost is something that's trying to scare you. But you can only be scared if you let it scare you.