If you’re a horror author, you prefer to ignore the first rule they teach in MFA programs: namely,
write from your own experience. Far better to consult your overheated imagination or, in the worst
case, your feverish nightmares. I assure you that Edgar Allan Poe didn’t want to experience "The
Premature Burial" or "The Pit and the Pendulum." Robert Bloch, author of Psycho, had no interest
in checking in at the seedy Bates Motel. H.P. Lovecraft would have gladly skipped the opportunity
for a face-to-face (face-to-mandible?) interview with Cthulhu or Azathoth.
But Stephen King actually paid a visit to the
Pet Sematary. The resulting novel—which
King later described as "the most frightening
book I’ve ever written"—drew extensively on
events and settings he encountered after
returning to his alma mater, the University of
Maine at Orono, for a guest teaching stint in the
late 1970s.
King rented a house in Orrington, a rural
community twelve miles from the University
campus. The house bordered on a busy
country road, and a neighbor warned him
about the dangers it posed to children and
pets. "That road has used up a lot of animals,"
the local shopkeeper told King, and in ominous
confirmation of this remark, the author's
daughter soon lost her cat Smucky, killed by
a passing vehicle.
But the youngsters in the area had created their
own impromptu animal graveyard a short
distance away from the King residence, in a
secluded wooded area. A sign on a tree declared
it was the "Pet Sematary"—a creepy misspelling
that the author later latched on to as the title for
his book. Here Smucky was laid to rest, along
with a homemade tombstone, prepared by King's
daughter, which read: "SMUCKY: HE WAS OBEDIENT." (To which King adds: "Smucky wasn't in
the least obedient, of course; he was a cat, for heaven’s sake.")
King describes an unnerving coda to this incident: "Our youngest son, then less than two years old,
had only learned to walk, but already he was practicing his running skills. On a day not long after
Smucky’s demise, while we were out in the neighboring yard fooling around with a kite, our toddler
took it into his head to go running toward the road." King took off after his son but, at that same
moment, could hear the sound of a truck barreling down the street in the direction of their home.
The near disaster was averted—King either caught the boy, or the toddler stumbled. "When you're
really scared, your memory often blanks out,” he later noted. “All I know for sure is that he is still
fine and well and in his young manhood." [Ted's gloss: And is also a well-known horror writer in his
own right, working under the name Joe Hill.] "But a part of my mind has never escaped from that
gruesome what if: Suppose I hadn't caught him? Or suppose he had fallen in the middle of the road
instead of on the edge of it?"
Almost every detail here found its way into King’s novel—even
Smucky and the makeshift grave marker. Yet the end result is
a book so phantasmagorical, that readers would hardly guess
that so many real-life settings and incidents went into its making.
The 'Pet Sematary' itself, as depicted in the book, is one of the
eeriest settings in the history of horror fiction, on a par with
Richard Matheson’s ‘Hell House’ or Mr. Bloch’s infamous
roadside motel. The small touches—the graves set in a spiral,
the chronological ordering of the dead pets, the broken-down
tombstones constructed from scrap materials, the peculiar or
misspelled tributes to "MARTA OUR PET RABIT" and "GEN.
PATTON (OUR! GOOD! DOG!)"—make this amateur necropolis
both palpably realistic and disturbingly unreal.
Of course, the Pet Sematary in the novel is much more than a
graveyard. The nearby land previously served as a Micmac
burial ground, and a few local residents know about strange
events that have taken place there over the years. Our hero
Louis Creed, who has settled in the area to take a job as
physician at the University’s student health center, gets an
unexpected introduction to the dark powers attached to the Micmac land when his daughter Ellie's
cat is struck and killed by a truck on the adjacent road. His neighbor Jud takes him to a hidden
place beyond the Pet Sematary, and provides instructions on how to dig a hole and set up a burial
mound for the animal. The next day, the cat returns home, resurrected from the grave—but now
with more violent tendencies, jerky and unnatural movements, and a bad smell that won’t go away
no matter how many times the animal is bathed and scrubbed.
Gradually Creed learns about the history of this area—and the handful of local residents who have
used it to bring back a beloved animal from the Great Beyond. But when Creed asks his neighbor
whether anyone has every tried to revive a dead human being in this manner, Jud grows secretive
and defensive. In a brilliant stroke, King has telegraphed the inevitable plot twist in his novel, but
in such a way as to add to the suspense and uncertainty. Usually readers lose interest when they
know what will happen in a novel, and this is especially true with horror books, which depend on
surprise for their greatest effects. Yet the opposite is the case with Pet Sematary. Readers soon
realize that a dead person will rise from this grave in this novel. But who will it be? What will they
do? And, above all, what will they tell us about their experiences in the depths of the Underworld?
Even in the hands of a lesser writer, these ingredients could
serve as fodder for a successful story, and probably a juicy
movie deal. But King is the master at extracting the maximum
impact from his plots, and works his own kind of magic in these
pages—perhaps not the same kind possessed by an ancient
Micmac burial ground, but powerful in its own way. He doesn't
just toss off cardboard characters, as do so many genre writers,
but brings them to life (okay, maybe he has some Micmac blood
in him) via incidents, details and revealing dialogue. King also
learned long ago something that many horror writers never grasp
—namely that laughter and screams can work in tandem. I could
imagine King, in an alternate universe, pursuing a career as a
humor writer, and although he only applies comedy in judicious doses here, he does so in effective
ways, sometimes to dissipate tension, at other junctures to leave the reader less prepared for the
frights ahead.
King is also a master at pacing, backstory and subplots, and though he will never put Cormac
McCarthy or Marilynne Robinson out of business as a describer of landscapes, he knows when
to linger on the scenery or call the reader’s attention to some uncanny detail. Indeed, Stephen
King rarely rushes into the main conflict in his books, and often devotes a hundred pages or
more to establishing the readers’ emotional connection to his characters. This may be the most
underrated virtue of his craft—perhaps unmentioned because it is so unfashionable in the current
day. Critics will remark on his skill in conjuring up scary scenes, but these often wouldn’t have
half the impact on the audience without the fright-free narrative that precedes them. In some
ways, King is a throwback to an earlier generation of genre writers. Just compare his careful
build-up to key moments of crisis to the usual fare nowadays in horror tales and movies.
Above all, King possesses that supreme talent for a horror writer: knowing what to leave unsaid.
Sometimes he offers explanations for the incidents in this book, but just as often he lets them
events speak for themselves. Or even remain silent, as the situation warrants. And as anyone
who has lingered in cemeteries late at night can tell you, the silence is the scariest part. That’s
why folks whistle when they walk by.
I won’t tell you how Pet Sematary ends; but trust me—there isn’t much whistling involved. Our
protagonist has been granted the rarest of powers, the ability to raise the dead. But in this instance,
the worst horror is the one you bring upon yourself by Faustian overreaching. And if other scary
tales aim to summon up the fear of the grave, King manages to show that the story of what
happens after we bury our dead can be even more gruesome. The result is a horror classic,
and one of King’s finest efforts.
Ted Gioia writes about music, literature and popular culture. His latest book is How to Listen to Jazz from Basic Books.
Publication Date: July 25, 2016

This is my year of horrible reading.
I am reading the classics of horror fiction
during the course of 2016, and each week will
write about a significant work in the genre.
You are invited to join me in my annus
horribilis. During the course of the year—if
we survive—we will have tackled zombies,
serial killers, ghosts, demons, vampires, and
monsters of all denominations. Check back
each week for a new title...but remember to
bring along garlic, silver bullets and a
protective amulet. Ted Gioia















A Visit to Stephen King's Pet Sematary
|
To purchase, click on image
By Ted Gioia
The Pet Sematary (as envisioned by Hollywood)
I could imagine
Stephen King, in an
alternate universe,
pursuing a career
as a humor writer.

Follow Ted Gioia on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/tedgioia
Conceptual Fiction:
A Reading List
(with links to essays on each work)
Home Page
Abbott, Edwin A.
Flatland
Adams, Douglas
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Aldiss, Brian
Barefoot in the Head
Aldiss, Brian
Hothouse
Aldiss, Brian
Report on Probability A
Allende, Isabel
The House of the Spirits
Amado, Jorge
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands
Amis, Martin
Time's Arrow
Apuleius
The Golden Ass
Asimov, Isaac
The Foundation Trilogy
Asimov, Isaac
I, Robot
Atwood, Margaret
The Blind Assassin
Atwood, Margaret
The Handmaid's Tale
Banks, Iain M.
The State of the Art
Ballard, J.G.
The Atrocity Exhibition
Ballard, J.G.
Crash
Ballard, J.G.
The Crystal World
Ballard, J.G.
The Drowned World
Barker, Clive
Books of Blood, Vols. 1-3
Barth, John
Giles Goat-Boy
Bester, Alfred
The Demolished Man
Bierce, Ambrose
The Complete Short Stories
Blish, James
A Case of Conscience
Borges, Jorge Luis
Ficciones
Bradbury, Ray
Dandelion Wine
Bradbury, Ray
Fahrenheit 451
Bradbury, Ray
The Illustrated Man
Bradbury, Ray
The Martian Chronicles
Bradbury, Ray
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Brockmeier, Kevin
The View from the Seventh Layer
Bulgakov, Mikhail
The Master and Margarita
Bunch, David R.
Moderan
Burgess, Anthony
A Clockwork Orange
Butler, Octavia E.
Fledgling
Campbell, Ramsey
Demons by Daylight
Card, Orson Scott
Ender's Game
Carpentier, Alejo
The Kingdom of This World
Carroll, Lewis
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Chabon, Michael
The Yiddish Policemen's Union
Chambers, Robert W.
The King in Yellow
Chiang, Ted
Stories of Your Life and Others
Clarke, Arthur C.
Childhood's End
Clarke, Arthur C.
A Fall of Moondust
Clarke, Arthur C.
2001: A Space Odyssey
Clarke, Susanna
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Crowley, John
Little, Big
Danielewski, Mark Z.
The Fifty Year Sword
Danielewski, Mark Z.
House of Leaves
Davies, Robertson
Fifth Business
Delany, Samuel R.
Babel-17
Delany, Samuel R.
Dhalgren
Delany, Samuel R.
The Einstein Intersection
Delany, Samuel R.
Nova
Dick, Philip K.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Dick, Philip K.
Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said
Dick, Philip K.
The Man in the High Castle
Dick, Philip K.
Ubik
Dick, Philip K.
VALIS
Disch, Thomas M.
Camp Concentration
Disch, Thomas M.
The Genocides
Doctorow, Cory
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom
Donoso, José
The Obscene Bird of Night
Ellison, Harlan (editor)
Dangerous Visions
Ellison, Harlan
I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream
Esquivel, Laura
Like Water for Chocolate
Farmer, Philip José
To Your Scattered Bodies Go
Fowles, John
A Maggot
Fuentes, Carlos
Aura
Gaiman, Neil
American Gods
Gaiman, Neil
Neverwhere
Gibson, William
Burning Chrome
Gibson, William
Neuromancer
Grass, Günter
The Tin Drum
Greene, Graham
The End of the Affair
Grossman, Lev
The Magicians
Haldeman, Joe
The Forever War
Hall, Steven
The Raw Shark Texts
Harrison, M. John
The Centauri Device
Harrison, M. John
Light
Heinlein, Robert
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Heinlein, Robert:
Stranger in a Strange Land
Heinlein, Robert
Time Enough for Love
Helprin, Mark
Winter's Tale
Herbert, Frank
Dune
Hill, Susan
The Woman in Black
Hoffman, Alice
Practical Magic
Houellebecq, Michel
Submission
Huxley, Aldous
Brave New World
Jackson, Shirley
The Haunting of Hill House
James, Henry
The Turn of the Screw
James, M.R.
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
Keret, Etgar
Suddenly, A Knock at the Door
Ketchum, Jack
Off Season
Keyes, Daniel
Flowers for Algernon
King, Stephen
Carrie
King, Stephen
Pet Sematary
Krilanovich, Grace
The Orange Eats Creeps
Kundera, Milan
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting
Kunzru, Hari
Gods Without Men
Lafferty, R.A.
Nine Hundred Grandmothers
Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Dispossessed
Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Lathe of Heaven
Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Left Hand of Darkness
Leiber, Fritz
The Big Time
Leiber, Fritz
Conjure Wife
Leiber, Fritz
Swords & Deviltry
Leiber, Fritz
The Wanderer
Lem, Stanislaw
His Master's Voice
Lem, Stanislaw
Solaris
Lethem, Jonathan
The Fortress of Solitude
Levin, Ira
Rosemary's Baby
Lewis, C. S.
The Chronicles of Narnia
Link, Kelly
Magic for Beginners
Lovecraft, H.P.
Tales
Malzberg, Barry N.
Herovit's World
Mandel, Emily St. John
Station Eleven
Mann, Thomas
Doctor Faustus
Márquez, Gabriel García
100 Years of Solitude
Markson, David
Wittgenstein's Mistress
Matheson, Richard
Hell House
Matheson, Richard
I Am Legend
Matheson, Richard
What Dreams May Come
McCarthy, Cormac
The Road
Miéville, China
Perdido Street Station
Miller, Jr., Walter M.
A Canticle for Leibowitz
Millhauser, Steven
Dangerous Laughter
Mitchell, David
Cloud Atlas
Moorcock, Michael
Behold the Man
Moorcock, Michael
The Final Programme
Morrison, Toni
Beloved
Murakami, Haruki
1Q84
Murakami, Haruki
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the
End of the World
Nabokov, Vladimir
Ada, or Ardor
Niffenegger, Audrey
The Time Traveler's Wife
Niven, Larry
Ringworld
Noon, Jeff
Vurt
Obreht, Téa
The Tiger's Wife
O'Brien, Flann
At Swim-Two-Birds
Okri, Ben
The Famished Road
Percy, Walker
Love in the Ruins
Poe, Edgar Allan
Tales of Mystery & Imagination
Pohl, Frederik
Gateway
Pratchett, Terry
The Color of Magic
Pynchon, Thomas
Gravity's Rainbow
Rabelais, François
Gargantua and Pantagruel
Rice, Anne
Interview with the Vampire
Robinson, Kim Stanley
Red Mars
Rowling, J.K.
Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone
Rushdie, Salman
Midnight's Children
Russ, Joanna
The Female Man
Saramago, José
Blindness
Sheckley, Robert
Dimension of Miracles
Sheckley, Robert
Mindswap
Sheckley, Robert
Store of the Worlds
Shelley, Mary
Frankenstein
Silverberg, Robert
Dying Inside
Silverberg, Robert
Nightwings
Silverberg, Robert
The World Inside
Simak, Clifford
City
Simak, Clifford
The Trouble with Tycho
Smith, Clark Ashton
The Dark Eidolon
Smith, Cordwainer
Norstrilia
Smith, Cordwainer
The Rediscovery of Man
Stephenson, Neal
Snow Crash
Spinrad, Norman
Bug Jack Barron
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde
Stoker, Bram
Dracula
Stross, Charles
Glasshouse
Sturgeon, Theodore
More Than Human
Sturgeon, Theodore
Some of Your Blood
Swift, Jonathan
Gulliver's Travels
Thomas, D.M.
The White Hotel
Tiptree, Jr., James
Warm Worlds and Otherwise
Tolkien, J.R.R.
The Hobbit
Updike, John
The Witches of Eastwick
Van Vogt, A.E.
The Mixed Men
Van Vogt, A.E.
Slan
Van Vogt, A.E.
The Voyage of the Space Beagle
Van Vogt, A.E.
The World of Null A
Vance, Jack
The Dragon Masters
Vance, Jack
Emphyrio
Vance, Jack
The Languages of Pao
Verne, Jules
Around the Moon
Verne, Jules
From the Earth to the Moon
Verne, Jules:
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Vollmann, William T
Last Stories and Other Stories
Vonnegut, Kurt
Cat's Cradle
Vonnegut, Kurt
The Sirens of Titan
Vonnegut, Kurt
Slaughterhouse-Five
Wallace, David Foster
Infinite Jest
Walpole, Horace
Hieroglyphic Tales
Wells, H.G.
The First Men in the Moon
Wells, H.G.
The Island of Dr. Moreau
Wells, H.G.
The Time Machine
Wilson, Robert Anton & Robert Shea
The Illuminatus! Trilogy
Winton, Tim
Cloudstreet
Woolf, Virginia
Orlando
Zabor, Rafi
The Bear Comes Home
Zelazny, Roger
Lord of Light
Zelazny, Roger
This Immortal
Special Features
Notes on Conceptual Fiction
My Year of Horrible Reading
When Science Fiction Grew Up
Ray Bradbury: A Tribute
The Year of Magical Reading
Remembering Fritz Leiber
A Tribute to Richard Matheson
Samuel Delany's 70th birthday
The Sci-Fi of Kurt Vonnegut
The Most Secretive Sci-Fi Author
Curse You, Neil Armstrong!
Robert Heinlein at 100
A.E, van Vogt Tribute
The Puzzling Case of Robert Sheckley
The Avant-Garde Sci-Fi of Brian Aldiss
Science Fiction 1958-1975: A Reading List
Links to related sites
The New Canon
Great Books Guide
Postmodern Mystery
Fractious Fiction
Ted Gioia's web site
Ted Gioia on Twitter
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SF Site
io9
Graeme's Fantasy Book Review
Los Angeles Review of Books
The Millions
Big Dumb Object
SF Novelists
More Words, Deeper Hole
The Misread City
Reviews and Responses
SF Signal
True Science Fiction
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