Pet Sematary
Encyclopedia
Pet Sematary is a 1983 horror novel by Stephen King
. It was nominated for a World Fantasy Award for Best Novel
in 1984, and was later made into a film of the same name
.
with his wife Rachel, their two young children, Ellie and Gage, and Ellie's cat, Winston Churchill ("Church"). Their neighbor, an elderly man named Jud Crandall, warns Louis and Rachel about the highway that runs past their house; it is used by trucks from a nearby chemical plant that often pass by at high speeds.
Jud and Louis become friends. Since Louis's father died when he was three, his relationship with Jud takes on a father-son dimension. A few weeks after the Creeds move in, Jud takes the family on a walk in the woods behind their home. A well-tended path leads to a pet cemetery
(misspelled "sematary") where the children of the town bury their deceased animals, most of them dogs and cats killed by the trucks on the road. A heated argument erupts between Louis and Rachel the next day. Rachel disapproves of discussing death and she worries about how Ellie may be affected by what she saw at the cemetery. It is later explained that Rachel was traumatized by the early death of her sister, Zelda, from spinal meningitis.
Louis has a traumatic experience as doctor of the University of Maine
's campus health service when Victor Pascow, a student who is fatally injured after being struck by an automobile, addresses his dying words personally to Louis even though they have never met. On the night following Pascow's death, Louis is visited by the student's walking, conscious corpse, which leads him to the cemetery and refers specifically to the "deadfall", a dangerous pile of tree and bush limbs that form a barrier at the back. Pascow warns Louis not to "go beyond, no matter how much you feel you need to." Louis wakes up in bed the next morning convinced it was a dream, but discovers his feet and the bedsheets covered with dirt and pine needles. Louis dismisses the episode as a result of stress from Pascow's death coupled with his wife's anxieties about death. He accepts the situation as a bout of sleep walking.
Louis is forced to confront death at Halloween, when Jud's wife, Norma, suffers a near-fatal heart attack. Thanks to Louis's immediate attention, Norma recovers. Jud is grateful for Louis's help, and decides to repay him after Church is run over by a truck at Thanksgiving. Rachel and the kids are visiting her parents in Chicago, and Louis frets over breaking the news to Ellie. Jud takes him to the pet cemetery, supposedly to bury Church. Instead, Jud leads Louis beyond the deadfall to "the real cemetery": an ancient burial ground
that was once used by the Micmacs, a Native American tribe. Following Jud's instructions, Louis buries the cat and constructs a cairn
.
The next afternoon, the cat returns home. However, while he used to be vibrant and lively, he now acts strangely and "a little dead," in Louis's words. Church hunts for mice and birds much more often, but rips them apart without eating them. The cat also gives off an unpleasant odor. Louis is disturbed by Church's resurrection and begins to regret his decision. Jud tells Louis about his dog Spot. Louis asks if a person was ever buried in the Micmac grounds, to which Jud answers vehemently no.
Several months later, Gage, who had just learned to walk, is run over by a speeding truck. At Gage's wake
, Rachel's father, Irwin, who never respected Louis or his daughter's decision to marry him, berates Louis harshly, blaming Louis for the boy's death. The two fight in the funeral home's viewing room and upset the casket; Rachel witnesses the fight and becomes hysterical.
Overcome with grief and despair, Louis considers bringing his son back to life with the power of the burial ground. Jud, guessing what Louis is planning, attempts to dissuade him by telling him the story of Timmy Baterman, a young man from Ludlow who was killed charging a machinegun nest on the road to Rome
during World War II
. His father, Bill, put Timmy's body in the burial ground, where he came back to life, and was seen by the terrified townsfolk soon thereafter. Jud and three of his friends went to the Baterman house to confront the pair, but Timmy confronted each of them with indiscretions they had committed, indiscretions he had no way of knowing, thus giving the impression that the resurrected Timmy was actually some sort of demon who had possessed Timmy's body. Jud and his friends fled the house horrified, and Bill shot his son and burned his house to the ground, killing himself.
Jud concludes that Gage died because he showed Louis the burial ground. There are hints that the burial ground was sometimes used for victims of cannibalism and that the ground behind the pet cemetery has become the haunt of the Wendigo
, a terrible creature of the forest, whose mere presence gives men a taste for flesh of their own kind. In Jud's words the "ground had gone sour" and now corrupts the souls of those animals and people buried there.
Despite Jud's warning and his own reservations, Louis's grief and guilt spur him to carry out his plan. Louis has Rachel and Ellie visit her parents in Chicago again, not telling them his intentions. Louis exhumes his son's body and takes him to the burial site. Along the trail, the Wendigo nearly frightens him away but Louis's determination, combined with the power of the burial site, keeps him moving.
Ellie has a nightmare featuring Victor Pascow on the flight to Chicago. Because of Ellie's near hysteria, and an agreement between Rachel and her daughter as to Louis' behavior, Rachel attempts to fly back to Maine, but misses her connecting flight at Boston and she decides to drive the rest of the distance to her home that night.
Louis buries Gage at the burial ground. Gage returns as a demonic shadow of his former self, able to talk like an adult. He breaks into Jud's house and taunts Jud about his wife's implied infidelity, then kills Jud with one of Louis' scalpels. When Rachel arrives at Jud's house, Gage kills her also (and, it is implied, partially eats her corpse). It is suggested that this event pushes Louis's mind into its final stage of insanity. Louis kills Church and Gage without hesitation with a fatal dose of morphine, and then grieves for his son by sitting in the corner of the hallway.
Louis, now completely insane and having prematurely aged, burns down Jud's house, then carries Rachel's body to the burial ground, saying that he "waited too long" with Gage but is confident that Rachel will come back the same as before. After being interrogated by investigators about the fire, Louis waits until nightfall for Rachel to return. Playing solitaire, he hears his resurrected wife walk into the house, and the novel ends with Rachel speaking "Darling", her mouth sounding as if it is full of dirt.
, the University of Maine at Orono, to teach a year in return for the education he had received there. During this time his family rented a house on a busy road in Orrington. The road claimed the lives of a number of pets, and the neighborhood children had created a pet cemetery in a field near the Kings' home. King's daughter Naomi buried her cat "Smucky" there after it was hit, and shortly thereafter their son Owen had a close call running toward the road. King wrote the novel based on their experiences, but feeling he had gone too far with the subject matter of the book it became the first novel he "put away" on the advice of his wife Tabitha and friend, author Peter Straub
. King reluctantly submitted it for publication only after Doubleday insisted on receiving a final book due on his contract.
in the autumn of 1988 (released April 1989) and directed by Mary Lambert, starring Dale Midkiff
as Louis, Fred Gwynne
as Jud, Denise Crosby
as Rachel and Miko Hughes
as Gage. A man, Andrew Hubatsek
, was chosen for Zelda's role because the filmmakers could not find a woman bony enough to portray the terminally ill girl. The Ramones
recorded the title song for the film which can be found on their album Brain Drain
. Although the song is heard only during the closing credits, their song "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker
" is played when Gage is killed.
Pet Sematary was filmed in King's home state of Maine, utilizing locations such as Mount Hope Cemetery (Bangor) and Ellsworth. King also makes a cameo appearance as a minister who officiates at the funeral of Missy Dandridge. This scene was shot at Mt. Hope Cemetery.
Fangoria
magazine had exclusive coverage of Pet Sematary, and its reporter, Rod Labbe, visited the set twice. His articles ran in Fangoria and its companion magazine, Gorezone. Labbe has written a twenty-year "monster memories" of Pet Sematary for Fangoria, to be published in 2011.
There was also a sequel, Pet Sematary II
.
In 1997 BBC Radio 4
broadcast a dramatisation of the story in six half-hour episodes. It was adapted by Gregory Evans and starred John Sharian
, Briony Glassco and Lee Montague
. The director was Gordon House.
In March 2010, it was announced that a remake was in the works, with Matt Greenberg
(writer of another King adaptation, 1408
) currently working on the screenplay.
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
. It was nominated for a World Fantasy Award for Best Novel
World Fantasy Award for Best Novel
This World Fantasy Award is given to the fantasy novel or novels voted best by a panel of judges, and presented each year at the World Fantasy Convention.-1975:...
in 1984, and was later made into a film of the same name
Pet Sematary (film)
Pet Sematary is a 1989 horror film adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same name. Directed by Mary Lambert and written by King, the film features Dale Midkiff as Louis Creed, Denise Crosby as Rachel Creed, Blaze Berdahl as Ellie Creed, Miko Hughes as Gage Creed, and Fred Gwynne as Jud Crandall...
.
Plot
Louis Creed, a doctor from Chicago, moves to a house near the small town of Ludlow, MaineLudlow, Maine
Ludlow is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 402 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 22.0 square miles , of which, 22.0 square miles of it is land and 0.05% is water...
with his wife Rachel, their two young children, Ellie and Gage, and Ellie's cat, Winston Churchill ("Church"). Their neighbor, an elderly man named Jud Crandall, warns Louis and Rachel about the highway that runs past their house; it is used by trucks from a nearby chemical plant that often pass by at high speeds.
Jud and Louis become friends. Since Louis's father died when he was three, his relationship with Jud takes on a father-son dimension. A few weeks after the Creeds move in, Jud takes the family on a walk in the woods behind their home. A well-tended path leads to a pet cemetery
Pet cemetery
A pet cemetery is a cemetery for animals.-History:Many human cultures buried animal remains. The Ancient Egyptians mummified and buried cats, which they considered deities....
(misspelled "sematary") where the children of the town bury their deceased animals, most of them dogs and cats killed by the trucks on the road. A heated argument erupts between Louis and Rachel the next day. Rachel disapproves of discussing death and she worries about how Ellie may be affected by what she saw at the cemetery. It is later explained that Rachel was traumatized by the early death of her sister, Zelda, from spinal meningitis.
Louis has a traumatic experience as doctor of the University of Maine
University of Maine
The University of Maine is a public research university located in Orono, Maine, United States. The university was established in 1865 as a land grant college and is referred to as the flagship university of the University of Maine System...
's campus health service when Victor Pascow, a student who is fatally injured after being struck by an automobile, addresses his dying words personally to Louis even though they have never met. On the night following Pascow's death, Louis is visited by the student's walking, conscious corpse, which leads him to the cemetery and refers specifically to the "deadfall", a dangerous pile of tree and bush limbs that form a barrier at the back. Pascow warns Louis not to "go beyond, no matter how much you feel you need to." Louis wakes up in bed the next morning convinced it was a dream, but discovers his feet and the bedsheets covered with dirt and pine needles. Louis dismisses the episode as a result of stress from Pascow's death coupled with his wife's anxieties about death. He accepts the situation as a bout of sleep walking.
Louis is forced to confront death at Halloween, when Jud's wife, Norma, suffers a near-fatal heart attack. Thanks to Louis's immediate attention, Norma recovers. Jud is grateful for Louis's help, and decides to repay him after Church is run over by a truck at Thanksgiving. Rachel and the kids are visiting her parents in Chicago, and Louis frets over breaking the news to Ellie. Jud takes him to the pet cemetery, supposedly to bury Church. Instead, Jud leads Louis beyond the deadfall to "the real cemetery": an ancient burial ground
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
that was once used by the Micmacs, a Native American tribe. Following Jud's instructions, Louis buries the cat and constructs a cairn
Cairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
.
The next afternoon, the cat returns home. However, while he used to be vibrant and lively, he now acts strangely and "a little dead," in Louis's words. Church hunts for mice and birds much more often, but rips them apart without eating them. The cat also gives off an unpleasant odor. Louis is disturbed by Church's resurrection and begins to regret his decision. Jud tells Louis about his dog Spot. Louis asks if a person was ever buried in the Micmac grounds, to which Jud answers vehemently no.
Several months later, Gage, who had just learned to walk, is run over by a speeding truck. At Gage's wake
Wake (ceremony)
A wake is a ceremony associated with death. Traditionally, a wake takes place in the house of the deceased, with the body present; however, modern wakes are often performed at a funeral home. In the United States and Canada it is synonymous with a viewing...
, Rachel's father, Irwin, who never respected Louis or his daughter's decision to marry him, berates Louis harshly, blaming Louis for the boy's death. The two fight in the funeral home's viewing room and upset the casket; Rachel witnesses the fight and becomes hysterical.
Overcome with grief and despair, Louis considers bringing his son back to life with the power of the burial ground. Jud, guessing what Louis is planning, attempts to dissuade him by telling him the story of Timmy Baterman, a young man from Ludlow who was killed charging a machinegun nest on the road to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. His father, Bill, put Timmy's body in the burial ground, where he came back to life, and was seen by the terrified townsfolk soon thereafter. Jud and three of his friends went to the Baterman house to confront the pair, but Timmy confronted each of them with indiscretions they had committed, indiscretions he had no way of knowing, thus giving the impression that the resurrected Timmy was actually some sort of demon who had possessed Timmy's body. Jud and his friends fled the house horrified, and Bill shot his son and burned his house to the ground, killing himself.
Jud concludes that Gage died because he showed Louis the burial ground. There are hints that the burial ground was sometimes used for victims of cannibalism and that the ground behind the pet cemetery has become the haunt of the Wendigo
Wendigo
The Wendigo is a mythical creature appearing in the mythology of the Algonquian people. It is a malevolent cannibalistic spirit into which humans could transform, or which could possess humans...
, a terrible creature of the forest, whose mere presence gives men a taste for flesh of their own kind. In Jud's words the "ground had gone sour" and now corrupts the souls of those animals and people buried there.
Despite Jud's warning and his own reservations, Louis's grief and guilt spur him to carry out his plan. Louis has Rachel and Ellie visit her parents in Chicago again, not telling them his intentions. Louis exhumes his son's body and takes him to the burial site. Along the trail, the Wendigo nearly frightens him away but Louis's determination, combined with the power of the burial site, keeps him moving.
Ellie has a nightmare featuring Victor Pascow on the flight to Chicago. Because of Ellie's near hysteria, and an agreement between Rachel and her daughter as to Louis' behavior, Rachel attempts to fly back to Maine, but misses her connecting flight at Boston and she decides to drive the rest of the distance to her home that night.
Louis buries Gage at the burial ground. Gage returns as a demonic shadow of his former self, able to talk like an adult. He breaks into Jud's house and taunts Jud about his wife's implied infidelity, then kills Jud with one of Louis' scalpels. When Rachel arrives at Jud's house, Gage kills her also (and, it is implied, partially eats her corpse). It is suggested that this event pushes Louis's mind into its final stage of insanity. Louis kills Church and Gage without hesitation with a fatal dose of morphine, and then grieves for his son by sitting in the corner of the hallway.
Louis, now completely insane and having prematurely aged, burns down Jud's house, then carries Rachel's body to the burial ground, saying that he "waited too long" with Gage but is confident that Rachel will come back the same as before. After being interrogated by investigators about the fire, Louis waits until nightfall for Rachel to return. Playing solitaire, he hears his resurrected wife walk into the house, and the novel ends with Rachel speaking "Darling", her mouth sounding as if it is full of dirt.
Origin and Inspiration
In 1978, King returned to his Alma MaterAlma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
, the University of Maine at Orono, to teach a year in return for the education he had received there. During this time his family rented a house on a busy road in Orrington. The road claimed the lives of a number of pets, and the neighborhood children had created a pet cemetery in a field near the Kings' home. King's daughter Naomi buried her cat "Smucky" there after it was hit, and shortly thereafter their son Owen had a close call running toward the road. King wrote the novel based on their experiences, but feeling he had gone too far with the subject matter of the book it became the first novel he "put away" on the advice of his wife Tabitha and friend, author Peter Straub
Peter Straub
Peter Francis Straub is an American author and poet, most famous for his work in the horror genre. His horror fiction has received numerous literary honors such as the Bram Stoker Award, World Fantasy Award, and International Horror Guild Award, placing him among the most-honored horror authors in...
. King reluctantly submitted it for publication only after Doubleday insisted on receiving a final book due on his contract.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
Pet Sematary was made into a filmPet Sematary (film)
Pet Sematary is a 1989 horror film adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same name. Directed by Mary Lambert and written by King, the film features Dale Midkiff as Louis Creed, Denise Crosby as Rachel Creed, Blaze Berdahl as Ellie Creed, Miko Hughes as Gage Creed, and Fred Gwynne as Jud Crandall...
in the autumn of 1988 (released April 1989) and directed by Mary Lambert, starring Dale Midkiff
Dale Midkiff
Dale Alan Midkiff is an American actor.-Early life:Midkiff was born in Chance, Maryland, the son of Joyce and Thomas Midkiff. He attended Edgewood High School near Baltimore. His first acting experience came playing Jack in a production of Jack and the Beanstalk for a local children's theater. His...
as Louis, Fred Gwynne
Fred Gwynne
Frederick Hubbard "Fred" Gwynne was an American actor. Gwynne was best known for his roles in the 1960s sitcoms Car 54, Where Are You? and The Munsters, as well as his later roles: Pet Sematary and My Cousin Vinny...
as Jud, Denise Crosby
Denise Crosby
Denise Michelle Crosby is an American actress best known for portraying Security Chief Tasha Yar on Star Trek: The Next Generation...
as Rachel and Miko Hughes
Miko Hughes
Miko John Hughes is an American actor best known for his film roles as a child actor as Gage Creed in Pet Sematary , as an autistic boy opposite Bruce Willis in Mercury Rising and as Dylan, Heather Langenkamp's son in Wes Craven's New Nightmare .-Career:Hughes started his acting career in a...
as Gage. A man, Andrew Hubatsek
Andrew Hubatsek
Andrew Hubatsek is an associate ensemble member of Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble. He is also an actor, who performed in and directed such shows as On the Westward Trail and Y1K, Life in the Year 1000....
, was chosen for Zelda's role because the filmmakers could not find a woman bony enough to portray the terminally ill girl. The Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
recorded the title song for the film which can be found on their album Brain Drain
Brain Drain (album)
- Personnel :* Joey Ramone - lead vocals* Johnny Ramone - guitar* Dee Dee Ramone - bass, backing vocals* Marky Ramone - drums- Production :* Jean Beauvoir - producer* Bill Laswell - producer* Daniel Rey - producer, musical coordinator...
. Although the song is heard only during the closing credits, their song "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker
Sheena is a Punk Rocker
"Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" is a song by the punk rock group The Ramones. It first appeared on their third LP, Rocket to Russia, in 1977, and was also included on later pressings of the group's second album, Leave Home...
" is played when Gage is killed.
Pet Sematary was filmed in King's home state of Maine, utilizing locations such as Mount Hope Cemetery (Bangor) and Ellsworth. King also makes a cameo appearance as a minister who officiates at the funeral of Missy Dandridge. This scene was shot at Mt. Hope Cemetery.
Fangoria
Fangoria
Fangoria is an American magazine devoted to horror and exploitation films, which has a number of associated brands:* Fangoria Comics* Fangoria Films* Fangoria RadioFangoria may also refer to:* Fangoria , a Spanish electro pop band...
magazine had exclusive coverage of Pet Sematary, and its reporter, Rod Labbe, visited the set twice. His articles ran in Fangoria and its companion magazine, Gorezone. Labbe has written a twenty-year "monster memories" of Pet Sematary for Fangoria, to be published in 2011.
There was also a sequel, Pet Sematary II
Pet Sematary II
Pet Sematary Two is a horror film directed by Mary Lambert. The screenplay was written by Richard Outten. It is the sequel to the 1989 film Pet Sematary...
.
In 1997 BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
broadcast a dramatisation of the story in six half-hour episodes. It was adapted by Gregory Evans and starred John Sharian
John Sharian
John Sharian is an American actor whose film credits include The Machinist and Saving Private Ryan and whose television credits include CSI: Miami and Spooks.-Education:...
, Briony Glassco and Lee Montague
Lee Montague
Lee Montague is an English actor noted for his roles on film and television, usually playing tough guys.Film credits include: Moulin Rouge, The Camp on Blood Island, The Savage Innocents, Billy Budd, The Secret of Blood Island, Deadlier Than the Male, The Legacy and Brother Sun, Sister...
. The director was Gordon House.
In March 2010, it was announced that a remake was in the works, with Matt Greenberg
Matt Greenberg
Matt Greenberg is an American screenwriter and producer, most notable for his work in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later and 1408.-As Writer:*The Killing Box *The Prophecy II *Halloween H20: 20 Years Later...
(writer of another King adaptation, 1408
1408 (film)
1408 is a 2007 American psychological horror film based on the Stephen King short story of the same name directed by Swedish director Mikael Håfström, who earlier had directed the horror film Drowning Ghost. The cast includes John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, and Mary McCormack. The film was released...
) currently working on the screenplay.
Editions
- ISBN 0-385-18244-9 (hardcoverHardcoverA hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...
, 1983) - ISBN 0-451-15024-4 (paperbackPaperbackPaperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
, 1984) - ISBN 0-450-05769-0 (hardcover, 1985)
- ISBN 0-671-58227-5 (audio, 1998)
- ISBN 0-7434-1227-3 (mass market paperback, 2001)
- ISBN 0-7434-1228-1 (paperback, 2002)
- ISBN 0-613-59247-6 (library bindingLibrary bindingLibrary binding is the term used to describe the method of binding serials, and re-binding paperback or hardcover books, for use within libraries. Library binding increases the durability of books, as well as making the materials easier to use...
)
External links
- Postmodern Gothic: Stephen King's Pet Sematary Essay that examines whether Pet Sematary can be described as a Gothic novel