I've always loved both the book and film versions of Pet Sematary, as any awesome horror fan should, but just recently I reread the book and then watched the movie again. And it's weird, but it wasn't until this last trip to Ludlow, Maine with the Creeds that I finally realized what Pet Sematary is.

On the back of my terribly tattered older copy of the book is a quote from a Publishers Weekly review that states that Pet Sematary (keep your pants on, spellcheck... the misspelling is intended) is "the most frightening book Stephen King has ever written." Truthfully, I've never agreed with this hyperbole before. I was always, like, 'What's the biggie? It's just about bringing pets and people back to life via an Indian burial ground! There's scarier shit out there than that.' But now I know - no, there's not. This book is absolutely horrific and I can't believe it's taken this long for it to really hit me. And my revelation is probably not news to anybody else who has also read the book, but I think I had to look at it in a different context than I had before to really get it.

Pet Sematary is so frightening because it is about the complete destruction of an innocent family. Duh, right? But I think now that that is a really important fact to keep in mind when you're thinking about what's happening on screen or while you're reading the book. It's about a family being completely annihilated by horrific violence and evil. King's stories usually include ordinary people in extraordinary situations, but this is a family.

And what really sunk this thought into my head was comparing the Creeds to my sister's family. She has two boys - one is eight years old and one is just about to turn two, the same age as Gage Creed. Having no children of my own, they're the ones I think about when I have to deal with this kind of stuff in movies or books, and thinking about the events in Pet Sematary happening to them chills me to the bone. It terrifies and horrifies me to no fucking end. Imagining my little nephew, cute as a button, running into the road, laughing his adorable laugh, not seeing a huge tanker truck barreling toward him about to end his short life? Imagining how inconsolable my sister and brother-in-law would be? Gah, I can't even think about it now.

Though the novel ends rather ambiguously with Rachel coming back to Louis from the dead, I'm not assuming any kind of happy ending here. I think it's safe to say that Rachel either killed Louis, or Louis killed her and then himself. Little Ellie is the only one left alive, but I'd say she probably lives out the rest of her days in a padded room, rocking back and forth with foam coming out of her mouth, muttering things about the Pet Sematary and Oz the Gweat and Tewwible.

King has said that many of his story ideas come from asking the question what if? And the idea behind Gage's death came from the almost exact incident happening to King when his son was a child. The boy was playing with a kite and started running off toward the road, which had trucks constantly blazing past their house. King ran after him, hearing a truck coming not far away. His son thankfully did not get hit, but that what if? question stayed with him. I'd always known this story and the fact that it's one of the reasons King always felt that he had "gone too far" with Pet Sematary - even he has said that the novel is the most frightening one he has ever written because the story hit too close to home.

I understand now, Stephen, I truly do. These macabre and unspeakable things are not things that you ever want to come near the people you love - the people you love more than yourself - and I'm not just talking about the gruesome idea of turning a two-year-old into a murderous zombie. No one should have to bury a child, or even a beloved pet, so far before their time. The grief that Louis Rachel, and Ellie have when Gage dies is powerful, as is the guilt that Jud Crandall has for setting all this in motion.

"The most frightening book Stephen King has ever written." I  don't think it means frightening in a "Boo!" way at all, but more like an idea that scares you to the core and hits you where it hurts the most. I may have scoffed at this simple review of Pet Sematary before, but bringing this story closer to my heart, with the image of my sweet little nephew in mind, I have to say that I completely agree with the statement now.

Another Look at Pet Sematary. There are any Another Look at Pet Sematary in here.