Why are Stephen Kings Pet Sematary titles spelled like that instead of cemetery?

Although Stephen King isn’t exactly lacking when it comes to the number of his books and stories being turned into films and shows, his classic 1983 horror Pet Sematary is particularly popular to adapt. Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, a prequel to the 2019 film named after the book and the fourth film that’s either adapted from or inspired by the novel, is due to be released in October, making it the perfect treat for spooky season.

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The story, like much of King’s work, is quite well known, especially among horror aficionados and King fans. However, the strange way in which the author spelled “cemetery” in the title has always been a bit of a question mark. The films based on the book have continued this naming convention too, and as a result have undoubtedly contributed to countless elementary school kids failing spelling bees over the years. Here’s why Stephen King’s Pet Sematary movies are spelled like that instead of “cemetery.”

What is Pet Sematary about?

Pet Sematary follows the Creed family as they move to the small town of Ludlow in Maine, only to discover that the woods near their home contain a makeshift graveyard where the local children bury their dead pets. The creepy spot has a sign that’s spelled “Pet Sematary.” It soon transpires that beyond the cemetery lies an ancient Indigenous burial ground used by the Miꞌkmaq Nation.

When the Creed’s cat is run over while most of the family is away, the father Louis and their new neighbor Jed bury the dead animal in the Mi’kmaq grounds, and the next day the creature mysteriously appears back at the house. However, the cat now has some strange and violent tendencies, as well as harboring a terrible stench.

A few months later, Louis’ son Gage is tragically run over. Jud warns him not to bury his child in the Mi’kmaq cemetery, and tells him how the last family who did that were terrorized by the creature that returned. However, blinded by grief, Louis does it anyway, only for Gage to return and murder his sister and mother. Louis manages to kill the cat and his reanimated son, then attempts to bury his wife in the cemetery. The book ends with him alone, clearly insane, with just his wife’s cold, reanimated body for company.

Both of the films that are directly based on the book (one made in 1989 and one in 2019) broadly follow the same plot, although the endings vary slightly. A 1992 sequel to the 1989 version (entitled Pet Sematary Two) follows a different family living in the same town. The upcoming film, Pet Sematary: Bloodlines is a prequel to the 2019 film, and chronicles Jud’s discovery of the ancient burial ground and its evil magic.

Why is Pet Sematary spelled like that instead of ‘cemetery?’

Stephen King wanted to inject some realism into his story, and using a childish mispelling of the word “cemetery” achieved that quite well. The sign itself was inspired by events in King’s life too, as he once lived in a rented house with a real pet cemetery behind it, with the same mispelled sign.

Is Pet Sematary based on a real story?

While the reanimated corpses and magic-imbued Native American burial grounds are from the realm of fiction, King’s offical page for Pet Sematary on his website tells readers that the setting and circumstances of the book were inspired by real life occurrences:

“In early 1979, Stephen was serving as a writer-in-residence at the University of Maine at Orono and living in a rented house…In the woods behind his house, local children had created an informal pet cemetery. One day, his daughter’s cat was killed by a passing truck. Stephen was faced with the task of burying the cat in the pet cemetery and then explaining to his daughter what had happened. It was on the third day after the burial that the idea for a novel came to him. He wondered what would happen if a young family were to lose their daughter’s cat to a passing truck, and the father rather than tell his daughter, were to bury the cat in a pet cemetery. And what would happen if the cat were to return the next day, alive but fundamentally different…After dreaming that night of a reanimated corpse walking up and down the road outside of the house, he began to think about funerals, and the modern customs surrounding death and burial.”

Pet Sematary: Bloodlines will be released on October 6 2023.

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