Blog Contributor: Rhiana Boutot
In Stephen King's Pet Sematary, Louis Creed and his family are expecting to live out a quiet life when they move to Ludlow, Maine. Though, that is definitely not what they get upon arriving in the rural town. For one thing, there is a cemetery full of dead pets in the woods behind the family's beautiful new home. And wasn't that cat dead, only a week ago? Ludlow seems to be full of unspoken mysteries, many of which have a dangerous air surrounding them.
Of course, Pet Sematary is a horror novel. While the book may not have traditional horror aspects (i.e. vampires, ghosts and ghouls, "jumpscares", etc.), this book is still terrifying. The book - like all King novels - messes with your mind. The realistic characters makes it easy for readers to imagine themselves in these otherwise outlandish scenarios. For example, the way Louis is written allows the reader to envision themselves doing everything he does. I don't know about you, but I find that alarming - especially when you know what happens at the end of the book.
However, even if the book is more psychologically scary, that doesn't undermine just how frightening bringing back the dead is. Particularly because of how the dead act after they are resurrected. They don't seem quite... human anymore. Also, the lore surrounding the burial grounds and the entire process of resurrection is chilling. It seems like there is something supernatural occurring, and that in itself is enough to make Pet Sematary King's scariest novel.
Although the book might surround the literal horrors of resurrections and the tales of ancient burial grounds, what interested me more was how King portrayed the different ways each character dealt with the loss of someone close to them. Such as how Louis was irrational and didn't think of the consequences of his actions (though, of course, that could just be the burial ground's strange powers). Some characters completely shut down when it came to death (Louis' daughter and wife, Ellie and Rachel), and some saw death as a completely natural stage of life (Jud Crandall). The diverse ways each character grieves makes it easy for readers to find a character they can relate to.
I would recommend Pet Sematary to people who like horror novels, and especially to anyone who isn't bothered by gore and more adult themes. I will say, some of the more explicit details did make me want to put the book down because I can't STAND blood. Yet the suspense of the book, combined with King's brilliant writing, kept me going. As mentioned above, this is definitely King's scariest work.
although I am not a fan of horror book its not that blood or anything bothers me I just find it boring. But I have to admit I was intrigued by the way you explained the book. It was extremely interesting how you explained that it was more psychologically scary it made me want to read the book to see that different aspect of scary then the normal horror you see in other books. I applaud you for not spoiling the book well still having great detail and explanation on it.
ReplyDeleteThis movie was crazy from the beginning to the end. From reading this I found out that the theme has to do with grief. When Rachel's sister died, she could not except the fact that she caused it. She justed wanted to get her own twisted view of how her sister died.
ReplyDeleteI have never read this book or watched the movie but the way you describe the book makes me want to read it. I like to read books that make you feel like you are really in the same situations as the characters are in. I don't like too much scary books to read but this book seems so good that i might read it just because of how you described it.
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds really good. I don't like horror books but I might check this book out anyway. However I won't watch the movie because I don't like horror films. The reason why is because Im not a fan of blood and jump scares.
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds really interesting. I have wanted to read a book by Stephen King and I think I might pick this one. I have never read any horror books and I rarely watch scary movies so this sounds interesting to me.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read a Stephen King book yet but I've wanted to for a while. This one sounds interesting and a good one to start with. Which other Stephen King books would you suggest?
ReplyDeleteI saw the movie in theaters and I loved it. I thought that the book wouldn’t be as swell as the movie was. Boy was I wrong, the plot was much more easy to depict than the movie. I would recommend this book to everyone with an interest in reading Stephen King
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has seen the film and has read the book, this is without a doubt the scariest novel Steven King has published. I would recommend this book to someone who loves horror and gore.
ReplyDeleteJust by reading what the book was about, I found it really interesting that how dead things can just randomly come back to life like that? I'm not really a fan of horror books and movies, but i can say that this book seems interesting.
ReplyDeleteI have never read any Stephen King books, but I would like to read some of them. I’ve heard some good things about the movie so I’m hoping the book will be good as well. The concept of dead things being resurrected is very interesting. I will definitely have to read this.
ReplyDeleteNow I have never read a Steven King Novel before, Nor have I ever dipped into the horror genre before. However this seems like a riveting tale that may be able to keep me on the edge of my chair while I keep guessing just what will happen next. I am very interested in the different character responses that has been mentioned in this blog.
ReplyDeleteI like to read things that will keep me in suspense and this book did that for me. I really enjoyed reading the book, and it was riveting. I couldn't put the book down.
ReplyDeleteI don't read horror genre, don't really watch it that much either. i wonder if it's different than watching it. Do the words keep you on the edge of your seat more than a movie could? I'm really interested in Steven Kings work because those are the very few horror I do watch.
ReplyDeleteI have read the book and watched the movie. I loved every bit of it it kept me in suspense the whole time. I would definitely read it again
ReplyDeleteI have never been much in to reading horror, but it is always has been something I've wanted to get into. I have seen this movie in theaters and I really enjoyed it. This tale was by far my favorite Stephen King movie. So I feel like it would be a cool experiment to see which I like more the book or the movie
ReplyDeleteI've only watched 2 of the old movies. I hope to read the book one day. I remember one of the characters saying "dead is better" and they are right because there will always be consequences to anything you do. Bringing someone back from dead is one of them since you don't actually know how they are going to be like.
ReplyDeleteI haven't gotten to read the book, but I've read many other Stephen King books and watched some movies based on his books. I can't wait to get to this title.
ReplyDeleteI am very interested to read about this book. I have read many books by Stephen King like the institute. He ranks y top 5 authors ever. Pet semetary is an interesting title because the meaning would be a place where pets are burried just like a regular human cemetary. I don´t really like scary things, but I know that I can handle a book because itś just words. It is not like a movie that pops out at you at any given time. I will definetly add this book to my reading list to the year 2020.
ReplyDelete- Esteban Solis
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