"Graveyard Shift" received critical acclaim upon release and is often cited as one of the show's best episodes. Emily Esteem of WeGotThisCovered.com ranked the episode No. 2 on her "Top 10 Episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants" list, saying, "It is another scary episode of SpongeBob, and it's my favorite one."[16] She added, "I love 'Graveyard Shift' for a myriad of reasons, but mostly because it puts the two SpongeBob SquarePants characters with the best chemistry together: Squidward and SpongeBob. The episode is kind of like a puzzle, and SpongeBob's relentless cheer in the midst of likely doom is inspiring."[16]